APW: Muddy Times

Funny that I chose to attend all 3 days of the APW music fest less than a week after returning from my two-month sojourn in Peru. How I longed for this music fest to break my fast from NYC shows and adventures, and how the fest was somehow very un-New York, offering rugged outdoorsy fun with a distinct hippie flair. A 3-day event at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ, with 3 different stages and different headliner acts for each night, the weather was less than favorable and yet the excitement of the festival prevailed over the inconveniences of rain and mud.

The event organizers were kind enough to honor Friday ticket-holders free entrance for the following days due to the inclement weather, while Saturday, a gloriously sunny day, was the embodiment of festival-goers' weather expectations, minus the puddles and mud. Sunday, another rainy day, offered the most disappointing start, in that entrance was delayed until the weather cleared up. All in all, it was a very saturated weekend.

Pictures below.

Friday, July 31:

(even though the Beastie Boys canceled...)

(above, the "Do Lab," featuring DJ's, dancing and mud-wrestling ...)

(above, lemonade stand knocked down because of the wind! Right before it started raining Friday).

(above, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

(above, Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

(above, count down for Jay-Z, who replaced the Beastie Boys as Friday's headliner)
(above, Jay-Z performing)



(above, some of the art installations at APW)


Saturday, August 1:

(above, the Cool Kids performing)



(above 3 pictures, St. Vincent performing - lovely!!)


Sunday, August 2:

(The Black Keys, performing, above pictures)
(MGMT, pictures above, and videos below)

A music festival inherently has its pros and cons. Of APW this year...

PRO'S: many music acts every day, wide open spaces, all-day event, outdoors, amazing view of NYC skyline, art installations

CON'S: sound quality not as good as indoor venues, short set times, Beastie Boys canceled (!), drinks and food very over-priced, overlapping set times between stages (a problem if there are two different bands playing at the same time that you're interested in seeing!)

Overall, it was worth it... but I am looking forward to more indoor shows and nightlife as well!

(See Metromix's reviews of the bands and 3 days at APW here)

This Week In Music, Featuring Radiohead

This past week has been a whirlwind of music shows for me. Calling me a music junkie or a concert-going addict may not be too far off. "That's what summer's for," say my roommates. My conclusion: outdoor music shows and festivals are definitely an essential highlight of the summer.

So, the week started off with seeing The National headlining at Central Park Summerstage on Monday, with Plants and Animals and Yeasayer opening for them. The ironic part about my attendance of this show was that my friend and I sat outside of the Summerstage venue itself for the first two opening acts and opted instead to sit on my picnic blanket on the bare hill to the side. There we sat sharing a bottle of wine and mellowly enjoying the music and each other's company before deciding to make our way into the heart of the show and the crowd.

Yeasayer was in fact the highlight for me musically with its soaring vocals and sweeping sounds. I appreciated hearing them while relaxing with my (plastic) glass of wine in hand and sitting next to my friend, away from the energized crowd. After polishing off the wine, we were buoyed and ready to stand and immerse ourselves in a sea of people and sound. The National put on a strong show, with a range of both mellow and rocking tunes. To cap off the show, my friend and I had made it towards the front of the stage, where for most of the set, we were standing by the VIP section and remarkably near the actress Julia Stiles. (And in cool NYC style, she was left generally undisturbed by the crowd.)

Next show: the McCarren Park Pool Party on Thursday, with The Black Keys headlining, opened by Tapes 'n Tapes. This show did not strike me as quite so spectacular. I am not so familiar with Tapes 'n Tapes and was not so impressed, either. The Black Keys, whose album I enjoy, had a good sound live, but neither the sound nor the performance especially stood out.



I was forcibly reminded how derivative the Black Keys' sound is, though I still enjoy their kind of acoustic fusion and "blues-rock" sound. Further disappointed by the scarcity of food and amenities at McCarren Pool, where there is no re-entry, my friend and I mutually agreed to leave early.

And the clincher, headlining performance of the week: Radiohead at the All Points West Festival at Liberty State Park. The entire experience was memorable. The venue, a gorgeous sprawling lawn with three stages, food courts and "beer gardens," reminded me strongly of the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago. While my friend and I spent the first few hours there yesterday scoping out different bands (Animal Collective and Sia), and alternating our time in various lines (all just a tad excruciatingly slow), we settled down to a prime spot for the opening of Radiohead.



Radiohead's performance was nothing short of extraordinary. Thom Yorke was in top form. The sound and the lighting were incredible; they could not have been more perfectly arranged or aligned. Adding further to the beauty of their stage setup and lighting was the panoramic view of the NYC skyline surrounding the show. The overall experience was breathtaking. Radiohead played songs from both later and earlier albums, alternating between frenetic songs with intense, fluorescent lighting and very lo-fi songs with muted lighting and video projections. The band seemed to cast a spell on the crowd; we were mesmerized, entranced by the energy of the music. Thom Yorke told the audience, "We love you too," at one point, in response to the cheering of the crowd. And they showed their love to us, too, prolonging and heightening the show and the magic with two encore sets for us.

And that is the kind of magic I live for.