I didn’t make it across the river to this weekend’s inaugural All Points West festival, which could have easily been retitled “Two days of Radiohead shows with lots of opening bands plus another underattended Jack Johnson show,” but the festival, which was put on by Coachella presenters Goldenvoice, has opened up the floodgates for complaints about many things, from a no-umbrella policy despite rain being in the forecast to the Roots being shunted off to a side stage while Kings Of Leon (?!) got the pre-Radiohead slot. The No. 1 reason for complaining, though, was the show’s policy on alcohol consumption, which was restricted not just by area (there were a few beer tents scattered around the grounds) but by volume; the 21-and-over wristbands that allowed people into the beer tent had five tabs on them, and each time a festivalgoer ordered a drink, a tab was ripped off by the person behind the counter, thus restricting consumption of beers to five per 10-hour day. On the bright side, this saved people money (beer cost between $7 and $9 a pop), but if there’s one thing people who spent a lot of money for a show don’t like, it’s the feeling of being pushed around in order to be able to spend their hard-earned cash.
Because the festival was held at a state park–New Jersey’s Liberty State Park–and open to all ages, the rules were particularly draconian; I’ve actually experienced similar issues with shows in the general NY metro area, including the Nassau Coliseum-hosted Warped Tour (where beer was only allowed to be consumed inside a Coliseum-adjacent fenced-in area that had sightlines of one tiny stage and one large one) and a few shows at Jones Beach Theater, which is at a New York state park and which, at one show I went to, actually limited alcohol consumption to the people who’d shelled out for one of those overpriced VIP packages.
However, it would appear from the complaints by ticketgoers that this festival’s alcohol policy wasn’t spelled out beforehand, which is something that would rankle even if I wasn’t planning on getting completely plastered in preparation for Thom Yorke & Co. busting out “Fake Plastic Trees.” (After all, given the choice between a beer and a Pepsi to go with my overpriced slice of pizza, I’d take the beer, if only for the palate-matching capabilities. Plus I really dislike Pepsi.) Given that All Points West is a new entrant in a super-crowded field, and ticket sales were reportedly not so great–particularly yesterday, when Jack Johnson headlined–wouldn’t full disclosure to the people who shelled out $200 be somewhat prudent, if only to ensure that people would actually come back in years when Radiohead wasn’t headlining?
Jersey City Serenades Miss Liberty With a New Rock Festival [NYT]
All Points West [Brooklyn Vegan]
[Photo: AP]
@Maura Johnston: “Although some anonymous commenters were getting dudes fired for being cool”
Also: These guys are from England and who gives a shit.
I brought a flask.
I attended the event as press, and I was so distracted by running back and forth between the three stages to take photos that I didn’t even realize people weren’t drinking while watching the different bands.
The festival should just buy some Jersey farmland so people can get as drunk and high as their little hearts desire.
@uptonking: Way to not sound like a judgmental prick! Can we hang out? You sound like so much fun!
@2ironic4u:
Sorry a band that ‘only’ (in your words) plays the Bowery isn’t worthy to
play a festival¹.
What the shit is that about…you must be too busy going to MUSE shows.
wait - i thought you were supposed to take drugs at this kind of thing…
I think the big complaint is the lack of info on all the rules that were in place. I like to have some idea of what to expect (loooooong lines) when you go to a festival. It was interesting, I got there around 4 and had to wait about an hour to get in. Oh and they never checked my ticket, I just walked past a girl who looked to be about 15. Im sure Goldenvoice wanted to put on a great festival but the rules of the State Park dont really allow for it. The problem is that they never made it clear on the website. The sound was poor for KOL and better for RH. A funny thing occured when I asked a nice girl who just sold me 4 bottles of water to leave the caps on so it would be easy to carry to my friends. She looked around and said “Im sorry but I cant because it could be used to attack someone” she looked around again “they are watching us very close” she smiled and secretly handed me 1 cap.
The beer policy was a compromise by the State Park and the Goldenvoice people. The State Park wanted no beers sales what-so-ever. It’s simply a liability issue. The sad reality is that if the beer policy wasn’t in place, there would be a bunch of 16 year-olds getting alcohol poisoning during Jack Johnson cus one of their friend’s brothers bought them all beer.
A few notes: the sound didn’t suck during KOL…KOL sucked during KOL
The festival didn’t open its gates on sunday until AFTER 2pm. Doors were supposed to open at 12 noon with the first act at 1:30pm. I had to literally sprint to Amadou & Merriam once I got inside (I got there at 1pm) and barely made it to the stage in time for their set.
also, you couldn’t just rip off your wristband and get another b/c they were marking you hand with a marker that 3 days and 3 showers later still hasn’t come off.
I had friends with handy-wipes who would drink 5, leave the tent, rip off their wristbands, wipe off the marker, and get new ones. Even still you couldn’t drink and watch music. Which, may I add, made people drink faster. I saw dozens of people come into the beer tent, buy 2 beers, chug them both and be on their way…
Could you rip the wristband off and get another one after all 5 tabs had been used?
@uwmryan: Officially, no. Although some anonymous commenters were claiming that “friendly” security guards in VIP were handing out extras.
As I drinker, I’m outraged. As someone who understands that it’s probably a pain in the ass to insure something like this (not to mention, as you’ve said earlier, that it’s already a crowded field; equating to more financial pressure and competition), I could see where they were probably trying to reduce their liability issues. Maybe next year, festivals will start to promote themselves by actually sounding like fun…
So, ummm… you’re saying five beers are… not… enough… alcohol in a 10 hour period? Really? Is that the gist of your (and other people’s) complaint? Really. Wow. That’s… that’s just sad. I pity your liver(s).
@uptonking: I think the complaint is as much about the being-penned-in as much as it is about the volume, especially since people were getting situated for Radiohead hours before their slot.
(I would have put the parentheses around the “r” in livers, btw.)
It’s really not about the quantity; it’s about being TOLD how much you
were allowed to drink.
It’s about NOT having a choice to drink.
It’s about NOT being able to watch a band and have a drink.
It’s also about NOT being told that this was the case and taking
people’s money without giving them the full details.
I think this is a pretty large departure from any other festival I have
ever been to anywhere in the world and not one word was said about it.
They did however take the time to list out
50 fing things you couldn’t do…
I hope the organizers made lots and lots of money and feel very happy
with themselves for duping the public, Karma as they say is a bitch…
“IMPORTANT NOTICE: The information in this email
(and any attachments hereto) is confidential and may be
protected by legal privileges and work product immunities.
If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use or
disseminate the information. Receipt by anyone other than the
intended recipient is not a waiver of any attorney-client or work
product privilege. If you have received this email in error, please
immediately notify me by “Reply” command and permanently
delete the original and any copies or printouts thereof. Although
this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus
or other defect that might affect any computer system into which it
is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to
insure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by
Transatlantic Reinsurance Company or its subsidiaries or affiliates
either jointly or severally, for any loss or damage arising in any way
from its use.”
@uptonking: Utilizing the old one beer per hour test, I think it’s safe to say that a beer every 2 hours isn’t nearly enough to get someone (with any experience drinking alcohol) drunk. Especially at a hot festival, where everything you drink is probably coming out as sweat anyway.
@RaptorAvatar: They should just subsidize the potential loss from a liability issue by selling more alcohol!
Everyone said it before but it was more than confirmed this weekend: APW wouldn’t exist without Radiohead.
I went both nights for Radiohead and had a great time. Didn’t drink any alcohol because I needed to get as close to the stage as possible. Since it’s not the Warped Tour/Ozzfest, you can’t count on there being a mass rush to the stage once the band hits.
Also, how was this even a “festival”? Most of these bands only play the Bowery Ballroom when they come through NYC on their own.
What outraged me was any fans who camped out (not literally - just getting there an hour before gates was enough) to get a spot near the main stage were rewarded with the worst sound I’ve ever heard at a festival.
The subwoofers were lined up across the front of the stage and pushed to the point of distortion. Every band from the New Pornos to Radiohead was only barely audible outside of the mass of bass (and high order harmonics from the bass amps clipping - audio people will know what I mean.)
On the plus side, some parts of Underworld’s set were literally moving due to high sound pressure levels, though I feel bad for anyone who didn’t bring earplugs.
i think i can speak for all slurring voiced Britons everywhere but mostly in Britain when I say bloody hell you Americans dont know how to put on a festival if you cant drink at least twenty pints in a morning and crash out before any musics even started no but seriously penned-in special drinking areas is one thing but limits on how much you can buy its unbelievable like they are treating you like babies or animals or baby animals hic
If you think about APW as two Radiohead shows with good openers, it was well above decent.
My least favorite part was how the gates were staffed by maybe 12 security people who sometimes asked you to tear your own ticket that they didn’t scan and followed-up with a cursory search, yet managed to do it so slowly that the line backed up for a half hour to forty minutes.
@SuchetaBabalistic: A festival usually encompasses acts of various popularity levels. Hence, when you have an act that plays Webster Hall (1200) playing second to last on the main stage, you really have no business charging $250 for a 3-day pass.