Quiet Color

by eliza czander (photos by marc evan)

Friday. Day 1 of the All Points West Music Festival at Liberty State Park, NJ. We found out the hard way that the path train, to the light rail, to the park…definitely not the most efficient way of getting there. We left at around 1PM, and after braving the crowded trains, the stupidly long lines for tickets, and some wrong turns guided by New Jersey’s finest, we finally arrived at the park where it was about a 3 mile walk to the actual concert. I know….not a great start to the day.

Don’t worry…it gets much better.

Once we got to the gates around 3:30, all the stresses of the day were quickly forgotten. Walking into a festival is like entering into a day of unbridled merriment. Or Funland, as my roomate eloquently puts it. Your senses are overrun as the possibilities of what the day will bring float through the air. People dance, people sleep, people set up camp. It’s a completely communal experience where everyone’s cool with each other because of the common purpose. Music, music, music. Oh yeah, about the music.

As we walked through the festival grounds, The Duke Spirit was on stage, and I was able to catch the tail end of their act. It’s hard to rock out in the middle of the day, sun glaring, and people milling about. The Duke Spirit was able to do just that. With only a small crowd in front of them, they played as if they were headlining. Good start to the day.

Though a little perturbed that the 2 hour trek out there made me miss Little Brother and The Go! Team, I was looking forward to Michael Franti and Duffy, who’s set times were quickly approaching. Well, holy shit Michael Franti! The guy is a fucking performer, eh? This was the first time I had seen him live, and the guy had the whole crowd following instructions like labradors at obedience school. Jump? Okay! Dance? Sure! He started waving his towel around, and people were literally finding anything they could helicopter over their head. I looked over and saw a guy waving his girlfriend’s purse frantically around his body.

Reluctantly, we left Michael Franti before his set was over to see Mates of State and then Duffy. Mates of State were enoyable. Not being a huge fan, that’s about all I can say. On the other hand, also never having been a huge fan of Duffy, seeing her live changed all that. The girl is engaging as hell. And that voice! After reading her interview in Spin recently, I was expecting her to be green and uneasy on stage. Her presence proved to be quite the opposite. Love love loved her. Following Duffy was CSS, who I’ve only heard described as “weird, but really fun.” I’m a fan of their music, so I was pysched to see the show. Well, weird may have been an understatement. The costumes, the makeup, the girl on stage who had no other purpose than to dance around with a frighteningly large smile plastured across her face? Pretty damn cool, I have to say. Musically, they were a little all over the place, but watching them was like watching a rainbow melt on acid. Good times.

WARWICK AVENUE BY DUFFY:

We walked over to the main stage to see the second half of Underworld. I’m always interested how DJ’s and techno artists will do in front of a live crowd, especially outdoors. The guys from Underworld proved that it can be done, and amazingly well. They sounded great, and after over 20 years, they were performing with the vigor of teenagers up there. Girl Talk was up next, meaning another hour of dancing was ahead of us. And shit, did we dance. I found a way to wander up on stage and join him and about 30 of his closest and most colorful friends for a little dance party. People were throwing glitter and sparkles all over the place, and propelling toilet paper into the crowd by attaching them to snowblowers. Craaazzy. The hour I spent on stage dancing my face off was by far the highlight of the day for me. Unfortunately, I had to jump on the ferry and return to the city before Radiohead went on, but as I watched Liberty State Park fade across the river, I was only looking forward to going back for Saturday’s performances….

Saturday, the BIG one. This certainly seemed like the day to go for most people. I was unsure if it would be as much fun as Friday, but could not wait for Radiohead to blow me away. Now, that we knew how to get there, the Water Taxi seemed like a short skip away. Of course, you never move as quickly as you’d like to, and we ended up getting there around 3. We grabbed our wristbands, and booked over to the main stage for the end of Chromeo. They were dope and delicious, spinning, singing, dancing, and finally ending their set with the truly awesome “Bona fide Lovin’”.

Sadly, Chromeo was finished, but The Felice Brothers were getting ready to start their set on the middle stage. A bathroom break and a stop in the beer garden, and we were front and center just in time for their first song. These guys really have fun together on stage. They have a sort of unrefined sound that when you hear it live, is actually quite endearing and pleasant. We could only stay a short time, since Metric was performing on the main stage shortly.

MY GIRL IS CALLING ME (A LIAR) BY CHROMEO:

Metric was pretty freaking terrific. Lead singer Emily Haines looked absolutely stunning in a short gold onesy, and rocked the stage like it was her own personal trampoline, flying from one side to the other, mic in her hand. I had to make a quick trip to the VIP tent before seeing The Virgins, and ran into Chromeo walking around near the artist area. I told them I loved their set, asked for a quick photo, and made my way to the center stage to see the relatively new youngsters play what I was hoping to be a really impressive show. Reps from KRock came on stage to rile the crowd and give props to band they referred to as “the future of radio.” The Virgins, as one might infer from their name, are fucking young. It seriously looked like a band playing their senior talent show, as the skinny rockers stood before about 50 fans on the grass. They sounded all right, but they seemed to have a tough time making a connection with the few people they had in their audience.

We stayed for about a half hour, and then decided that Animal Collective was an act that simply could not be missed. Well, that thought was squandered as I moved to, and then quickly away from the stage where Animal Collective was playing. When I say they were loud, I don’t mean loud the way rock bands are supposed to be loud at a concert. They way all of the other bands were loud. Animal Collective was unmanageably, absurdly and offensively blaring it’s way through the speakers and causing what I’m sure will be future hearing complications. I stayed for one song, and had to move on.

Sia was on at 5:30 anyway, so we walked over to the far stage to set up a spot. She scampered on to the stage in a big men’s button down like she was at a slumber party with her girlfriends. I’ve seen her perform a couple of times before, and this was definitely the most fun I’ve ever seen her have. Perhaps cause it was a small audience, perhaps cause it was still daylight, or maybe it was the New York City backdrop; either way, Sia sang her heart out without losing her soft adorable persona. Noticing that the main stage area was getting crowded with people awaiting Kings of Leon, we decided it best to make the move and get a good spot. It was my first time seeing the boys live, and they were fantastically rock and roll. Most people thought it was a pretty big jump for Kings to be playing the main stage before Radiohead, especially when The Roots were playing next at the smaller stage nearby, but to me it looked like they had earned it. It was packed, they sounded awesome, whoever decided to put them up there was thinking.

ELECTRIC BIRD BY SIA:

Next, The Roots! Ahhh, The Roots, they never disappoint. I jumped behind them on stage for a few pics; it was incredible being so close to them, watching them sweat and scream, and get the crowd pumped. I thought Damon “Tuba Gooding, Jr’s” cheeks were going to explode, he was blowing so hard. They plowed through for about an hour, never losing their intensity, and before I knew it, most of the crowd was dissipating. Radiohead was due to go on in 15 minutes. I realized that it must be pretty goddamn insulting to lose half your audience during an encore, but I guess that comes with the territory of sharing the bill with other acts.

Walking over to Radiohead, the grassy lawn was disappearing under towels, backpacks, and flip flops. We ended up finding a spot pretty far back, but still within view of the stage and main screen. Radiohead live is exactly and everything I thought it would be. Ethereal, musing, and meditative, I got lost in Thom Yorke’s voice, as it coated the air and blanketed the crowd. I drifted backstage to see if I could snap a picture, since security was so tight up front. A stagehand slapped a gold bracelet on me, and I was able to watch Radiohead from a separate box with an amazing view. Even though I was absolutely overjoyed to have pulled off this seat, I couldn’t help but miss my people during what might be my all time favorite Radiohead song, Everything In Its Right Place. Realizing they probably only had a couple of songs left, I jumped from the platform and pushed my way through the crowd and back to my friends, just in time for the emotive and impassioned All I Need. God I love that song. And feeling the breeze off the Hudson nearby, the green and purple lights reflecting the trees and the stage, it was almost a dreamlike state I had wandered into. Leaving the show, we were all in such great moods, we decided to check out the Doo Lab before leaving the park. Holy fun, what was supposed to be a few minutes turned into 2 hours of dancing to DJ Maurice’s trance jams. As expected, the tent was filled with burners, backpacked teens, and half naked misfits that usually frequent the Doo Lab tent at concerts. The exhilaration still lingering from Radiohead was only intensified by the Doo Lab experience, and standing on the roof of the ferry, getting closer and closer to the shores of NYC, there was no place else I wanted to be. Great fucking day.

EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE BY RADIOHEAD:

Sunday, the third and final day of APW. I woke up on Sunday feeling like I had spent the night sleeping on a sidewalk. I was exhausted and my back was killing me, but I knew I needed to man up and get over to Jersey fast. We all motivated in a matter of minutes, and we were out the door and at the water taxi by 2:30. We arrived in time to catch the end of Rogue Wave, who were spectacular, as expected. The kind of band you can’t just walk by on the way to another stage, we stopped to watch while Rodrigo & Gabriela were starting to perform one stage over. We watched most of their show next, and can I just say, it would be an injustice to call them simply ‘talented.’ Those two are unbelievably fucking mind-blowing. Who knew someone’s fingers could move that freaking fast?!

I had to leave early and see some of Matt Costa’s set. Another great show from an extremely talented musician. He’s so sweet and self-effacing on stage, but still manages to play like he’s been touring his whole life. I was able to meet him afterwards and have a little one on one pow wow with Matt, which will be posted later on.

I came out of the artist’s tent running over to the main stage to see Cat Power. On my way there, Jason Isbell was at the middle stage, and he was sounding so great, I was sad to have to pass him by. But, alas, Cat was an act higher on the priority list, so I had to book it. She was just as stormy and passionate as I was hoping she’d be. She almost looked enraged as she held the mic, roaming the stage and staring into the crowd. And her voice, her voice is an uneven, scratchy, velvety, not at all produced. It’s almost intoxicating, though I realized maybe not for everyone, as I looked over at my friend who seemed bored and said he “didn’t like her vibe.” Oh well.

As soon as Cat finished up, we walked back to the middle stage where The Secret Machines were starting their set. I had never heard their stuff, but I was told that I would love them by a friend. She was right, these guys were sick, and they sounded fabulous. And as the rain was just starting to slow down, they were a perfect preface for the final three acts of the night.

FIRST WAVE BY SECRET MACHINES:

Around 6:45, we went back to the main and grabbed some blanket space to enjoy Ben Harper. Ben impressed me more than I had expected. I thought his performance would be chill, maybe even a little vanilla, but he kinda tore it up on his guitar. His band, The Innocent Criminals weren’t half bad either, his bassist in particular was extremely magnetic.

After a quick break for the bathroom and some kettle corn, we were back at the middle stage where Trey Anastasio was playing. Having seen him only last weekend at The Newport Folk Festival, I figured I knew what I was in for with Trey. Well, I know nothing. Playing with his band, Classic Tab, he was upbeat, on point, and had the crowd dancing and singing along. He was solo when I saw him, an acoustic guitar his only backup, and played mostly old acoustic Phish jams. Today, Trey and his band motivated the small collection of fans, many in tie-dye Phish shirts, and it was a surprisingly fun time.

Just as 8:30 approached, we found a money spot for Mr. Johnson’s performance. Just far away enough that you won’t get trampled, but close enough to make out Jack’s face on stage. I love Jack, think he’s great, but when I saw him at Coachella, I was a little uninspired by his performance. Tonight was again, a different story. He’s such a fantastic songwriter, and is truly the master of his musical style. It’s easy to hate on him, and I’ve had guy friends tell me they’re closet fans. Sure he writes about love, and being a better person, and saving the environment, and yeah, I’ll admit a lot of his songs sound like lullabies…but so what? Watching him perform last night only reminded me how good he is, and why I love him. He does his own thing, and writes about things things that matter, and it comes across in his performances. It also didn’t hurt to have Trey and Matt Costa come up on separate occasions to play with him on stage. Quite the cherry on top.

MY DOORBELL (COVER) BY JACK JOHNSON:

A great end to a great weekend, I left Jersey City feeling both contented and tired as shit. But, I saw some awesome music with some cool people, danced so much I think I may have psoriasis, and got to meet some amazing musicians. Not bad for a lazy weekend in August. Here’s to hoping APW will return to us next year…..