Mud and Music - The Theme at APW 2009
Irrespective of the artist lineup during the three days of All Points West at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, the weather was unquestionably better during Day 2 than it was during Day 1 or Day 3. Cloudless skies, abundant sunshine and eighty-degree temperatures kept both audiences and artists happy. Goldenvoice also serves as the promoter of Coachella, the Californian projection of APW, where the hosting location in the Indio desert has never been a concern. Goldenvoice is hosting APW for the second year and it shows. The festival grounds at Liberty State Park are vacuous, with enormous distances between the three stages and mud pits to slosh through to and from the performance areas. As a result, the locations of the beer gardens, food stands and VIP area were ill-positioned while we passed promoter tents from Toyota, H&M and Playstation 3 every time we traversed the park from one stage to another.
That being said, APW has a charm that other festivals do not due to its proximity to New York City. Taking the ferry from lower Manhattan to Liberty State park was pleasant during the noon sunshine and beautiful at 10:30 PM when the city skyline and the Statue of Liberty’s torch were alight. While Grant Park, the grounds that hold Chicago’s Lollapalooza, also features a waterfront location, APW’s is spectacular for the views and the dozens of helicopters overhead throughout the day.
Let’s move on to the festival content, here were our five favorite performances throughout the day:
1 ) Crystal Castles
Alice Glass
Clip of “Exoskeleton”:
The set, which featured an epileptic light show, was extraordinarily danceable and ‘thrash’able. Singer Alice Glass accompanied screaming and grimacing into the microphone with a bit of stage diving during the set. For some ungodly reason, “Untrust Us” was not featured in the set.
Notables: “Alice Practice”, “Air War”, “Vanished”
Material: 8.7/10
Live: 8.9/10
2 ) St. Vincent
Clip of “Your Lips Are Red”:
The Brooklyn resident was electrifying as she ran through her critically-acclaimed sophomore album Actor. Annie Clark, who operates under the pseudonym St. Vincent, was backed by a flutist, violinist/keyboardist, clarinetist, as she belted out fan favorites and “shredded” her gui-tar (Neko Case agreed). Clark ended the set with “Your Lips Are Red”, which can be viewed above, in spectacular fashion as onlookers watched with appreciation.
Notables: “The Strangers”, “Actor Out of Work”, “Your Lips Are Red”
Material: 8.2/10
Live: 9.0/10
Clip of “Back Stabbin’ Betty”:
We didn’t know much about Cage the Elephant before we went to the show but I took the liberty of downloading their self-titled album to listen to on the way over. The band came on shortly after we jumped off of the ferry onto Liberty State Park and performed for a small crowd on the main stage. We stood next to a mud pit as Matt Shultz paraded through the crowd and danced in a drug-induced haze on stage. The band’s low-fi sound and stage antics made us feel that if the Dandy Warhols and the White Stripes had a baby, Cage the Elephant would be it.
Notables: “Back Stabbin’ Betty”, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked”
Material: 7.5/10
Live: 8.9/10
4 ) Cool Kids
Clip of “A Little Bit Cooler”:
As you can see from the clip above, the minimalist beats from Bake Sale and Gone Fishing that seem to reverberate through your entire body were not lacking at APW even though they became somewhat tiresome after the full hour performance. Mikey Rocks was sporting a throwback Ewing jersey and a t-shirt under his lid through the heat as the bass pounded. Unfortunately, the vocals cut out for about four songs during the middle of the set for the audience on the right side of the stage, but we won’t hold that against the emcees.
Notables: “Gold and a Pager”, “Mikey Rocks”
Material: 6.7/10
Live: 7.2/10
5 ) Neko Case
Clip of “This Tornado Loves You”:
Neko was assisted by an female, older country-style vocalist and a band that featured a stand-up bassist and a slide-guitarist. We were disappointed with the lack of older material as she ran through most of Middle Cyclone rather than Fox Confessor Brings the Flood or Blacklisted but as always, were impressed by her candor with the crowd and spectacular pipes.
Notables: “This Tornado Loves You”
Material: 5.6/10
Live: 7.1/10
Lewis Corson
