The Best of All Points West, Day 2

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

3 ) Cage the Elephant

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

All Points West, Second Day

 

Festival Layout

So, we’re going tomorrow so there should be some great coverage coming to [cardboard living] within the next couple of days on the second day of the festival, going down on Saturday, August 1. Here’s the official APW schedule from the website. We’ve also listed the projection of our personal schedule during the day!

[cardboard living] Day 2 Schedule:

Black Gold (12:45 – 1:25) 

White Rabbits (1:10 – 1:50)

Cage the Elephant (2:15 – 3:05)

The Cool Kids (3:30 – 4:20)

    *4:20 Break*

Arctic Monkeys (5:15 – 6:05)

St. Vincent (6:05 – 6:55)

Chairlift (6:55 – 7:30)

Neko Case (7:20 – 8:15)

My Bloody Valentine (8:15-9:00)

Crystal Castles (9:10 – 10:10)

The Ting Tings (10:35 – 11:15)

Emily Haines and Metric

If you haven’t heard of the talented Canuck/American group Metric yet… well, where have you been?  The lead vocalist and synth-master is Emily Haines who is/was a member of Broken Social Scene with guitarist James Shaw.  With the addition of John Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Keywith, Metric has formed a sound that takes its influence from both new-wave and indie.

In addition to Broken Social Scene, Haines has been a guest in projects by Stars, The Stills and fellow Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett (no word on why Feist hasn’t asked her to be a guest yet). Scott-Key and Winstead also have a side project under the name of Bang Lime.

Haines is the focal point here. Her talent is extraordinary and she is quite prolific. In addition to Broken Social Scene and Metric, she has also exercised her right to be solo. Her two attempts were released under Emily Haines and Soft Skeleton. Her voice and style has a vast range in her solo and guest work. From the morbid style inherent in “Doctor Blind,” to the

Here’s a nice sampler pack of some of Metric’s material and a selection of Emily Haines’ best solo and guest work:

Metric – Satellite Mind

7.6/10. This is a really strong track from Metric that employs the killer riffs that Bang Lime uses.  However, it could showcase Haines’ voice more.

Metric – Gimme Sympathy

8.2/10. This cut from Metric‘s new album is riff-filled as well and as catchy as a baseball mitt.  Keep in mind that Haines is operating the new-wave synths while singing.

Metric – Help, Im Alive (Immuzikation B-ting Like a Hammer Remix)

8.3/10. This Immuzikation remix of the single off of Metric‘s most recent album is so tight.  He really lays the synth down aggressively and the effect employed on Haines’ voice changes from gritty to poppy in a couple notes.

Emily Haines – Doctor Blind

8.2/10. A morbid and beautiful song.  Haines has taken notes from conterpart Neko Case on this track.  You may also notice a hint of resemblance between her solo material and that of Ms. Rilo Kiley.

It’s safe to say that Metric is a great band that has established a sound firmly grounded in new-wave and punky riffs.  While they have received much critical acclaim in Canada, let’s hope that they attack the American scene with vigor in ’09.

Lewis Corson