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 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)
NYC, I have missed you during my travels in Peru! (Although I already miss the jungles and mountains and overall lushness of Peru; to remedy it, I plan on taking myself later today to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, which has free admission on Tuesdays!
Beyond that, I am absolutely thrilled about this coming weekend, when I will be going to the All Points West Festival all three days, from Friday July 31 to Sunday, August 2.
AND, two days later, I will be seeing Erykah Badu! She is playing at the beach on Governors Island! (For tickets/show info, click here. And for info on Governors Island beach shows, click here!)
It's a little mind-boggling for me that tickets are already on sale for this event that is not happening until the end of July to the beginning of August(!) Especially because for two months before this, I will be out of the country, traveling in Peru. And I'll just be getting back into the country the 25th of July... if everything goes as planned.
This is the 2nd annual All Points West (APW) Festival, and the producers promise a more "user-friendly" experience, with free use of the light rail, more ferry service, larger beer areas, more shaded areas, etc etc.
While I am not completely enthusiastic about this year's headliners - Beastie Boys, Tool and Coldplay - the lineups look strong for each day, and if it is half as fun as last year's festival, with a better set-up, this is a not-to-miss opportunity. The views from Liberty State Park are breathtaking, especially when provided as a backdrop to large, sprawling outdoor concerts.
Oh, and the presale starts today, Thursday April 2, at noon. Regular tickets on sale Friday at noon. Tickets are $89 for a one-day pass and, for a limited time, $200 for a 3-day pass, plus service fees for the tickets. I think a 3-day pass may be too good of a deal for me to pass up...
I am not tiring of my blog; rather, I am tiring of winter in NYC... ah, the doldrums.
Well, this weekend will hopefully clear some of the cobwebs, as I am heading up to Studio B (up in the wilds of Greenpoint) to see Little Boots, a quirky electro-pop outfit from the UK that I discovered through the CMJ festival this fall.
Check out the Studio B calendar for event and ticket info. Show is Friday, February 6; doors are at 10 pm! Also, check out Little Boots' Myspace page. Yay Little Boots!
For other weekend fun, I am thinking of checking out the "Sounds Like Brooklyn" music festival sponspored by BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music).The festival goes on from February 6-14th; and the headliners are Beirut (sold out) and Clap your Hands Say Yeah (I am buying a ticket!).
Tonight marks the opening of the CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival, which is going on through October 25th and features some really well-known up-and-coming music, as well as films and panels. The ironic thing is that, while I had known about the upcoming CMJ festival for some time, I had completely coincidentally passed by the CMJ registration session today, which was going on around the NYU campus by Washington Square. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to scope it out and/or register, as I was on my way to a panel sponsored by NYU's SCPS Publishing department on the Media and Privacy. More on that in another post. Thus, with CMJ now lodged more firmly in my brain, I returned home after the panel and found several e-mails in my inbox regarding CMJ shows.
Obviously, I need to check some of it out: and I recommend CMJ-related events to anyone looking to see some of their well-liked indie bands and/or discover & check out new music/film/etc. So, apparently when you register for the CMJ Festival, you get priority and discounted access to all of the shows. Check out the CMJ site for more info about registration, but beware, registration ain't cheap: it starts at $275 for an individual student badge. But, there is a LOT of music going on, as well as the panels, film and comedy. For a full list of the artists, see the CMJ list here.
I am tentatively planning on seeing Fujiya and Miyagi tomorrow, Wednesday, October 22nd, at Mercury Lounge. But, if I am not feeling up to it or do not arrive in time to get a ticket, I am considering scoping out Webster Hall on Thursday, October 23rd, which will be featuring Crystal Castles and has Fujiya and Miyagi as an opener. (It is, however, sold out, so lurking on Craigslist and/or around Webster Hall will hopefully - fingers crossed! - yield a ticket.)
Wednesday night later, at 12:30 am, also features another band I would love to see, and I recommend checking it out to anyone up for seeing a show that late on a weeknight. Beach House is playing at (le) Poisson Rouge, at 158 Bleeker St. This is a relatively new venue I have heard great things about and haven't yet had the pleasure of checking out. And tickets for this show are only $10(!).
Also, the Muslims (I know, not a politically correct name) are a band that has been getting some good attention. They are playing apparently several shows in the next couple of nights, including at the Cake Shop, Mercury Lounge, Piano's and Don Pedro's on Thursday, October 23rd. Mind you, the first three of these venues are all on the L.E.S. and Don Pedro's is in Williamsburg (or Bushwick, depending on who you ask). But I looked at the times more carefully: The Cake Shop show is at 2:30 am, so technically is a late late Wednesday night show (I think? Unless it's a late Thurs show...); and the Piano's party is at 1 pm and part of the Brooklyn Vegan party. I am considering seeing the Muslims for the myopenbar.com event Thursday (if I don't see Crystal Castles), where they will be performing with several other bands that evening at Don Pedro's for $5, alongside a 3-hour open bar with Southern Comfort drinks.
I also just found this artist as a recommendation from the Brooklyn Vegan website: Little Boots. She is adorable, with a good voice, dance-pop grooves and some intelligent song lyrics! She has a few gigs going on this week. See her Myspace page for show and DJ set dates.
(Little Boots video above)
I could continue going on, but I'll stop there and hope I've whetted your appetite for some up-and-coming music. Check out the CMJ site for full listings!
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.
(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)
(above, the Cool Kids performing)
(above 3 pictures, St. Vincent performing - lovely!!)
(The Black Keys, performing, above pictures)
(MGMT, pictures above, and videos below)
