Friday 08/08/08 All Points West Festival @ Liberty State Park Jersey City, NJ

The first day of the inaugural All Points West had one important thing going for them -- a nearly flawless weather day with temperatures in the high 70s and few drops of rain. While Lollapalooza, Coachella and Bonnaroo (with their unbearable high temperatures)  had name brand recognition and proven track record going for it, All Points West doesn't try to live up to those powerhouse festival. Instead, the festival offered a scaled down  concert with 15 acts on 3 stages each day.

 

It almost seems impossible to get a new music festival off the ground unless you have Radiohead headlining. Thus, the five-some returned to Jersey City, NJ, the scene of one of those memorable concerts. Back then, it was the end August, 2001, and the band played behind the Statue of Liberty to one side and the Twin Towers to the other. Seven years later, the band dedicated 'Pyramid Song' to the hustle and bustle of New York City on their first of a two night headlining stand at Liberty State Park. Even the location prompted Thom Yorke to show his sense of humor, by gleefully trying on the New Jersey accent and saying, "Hello, New Jooooiizzey".

 

The running gag through the day was whether bands should acknowledge that they are in the Garden State or just be cooler to give shouts out to New York. Mega-watt singer Duffy decided on the later, whose set was filled with the radio-ready hits that appeals to the mainstream and some retro-minded music fans.

The big conflict of the day was deciding which dance act you will loose your mind and body to. On the main stage, UK techno veterans Underworld had ravers in a fit with their epic dance tunes set to massive back projections. One cannot help to bounce around to 'Born Slippy' or 'Two Months Off'. On the side stage was hipster heartthrob Girl Talk, who didn't get the memo about the attempts to make the festival green. His mash-up style emitting from two laptops was set to handpicked concert goings who got to boogie on stage, throw confetti and launch and endless supply of toilet paper onto the crowd. By the end, the stage and ground accumulated massive piles of paper products. If dancing wasn't your thing, Andrew Bird was on the last stage impressing the crowd with his violins skills.

The rest of the performers consisted of Brooklyn heroes Grizzly Bear wowing the crowd with their transcendent indie pop, UK shoegaze rockers The Duke Spirit throwing down some mean licks, Canadian mainstays The New Pornographers making people smile with a surprise cover of ELO's 'Don't Bring Me Down', husband-wife duo Mates of State showing why they might be the coolest parents on the planet and the Brazilian gone haywire act CSS creating a party atmosphere.

The east coast has been waiting for a good festival in our neck of the woods for years...and we've finally got the answer.

Click here to see all the action from Day One in photos