Idolator: all points west

All Points West: Come For Radiohead, Stay For The Chance To Complain About The Beer Policies

Maura Johnston — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

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]

General Admission Tickets Are For Suckers

Dan Gibson — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:30:00 EDT

If you've ever purchased tickets to one of the big summer festivals, I'm sure you've looked at the V.I.P. packages available and thought there's no way they're worth the generally insane prices. But for the readership of Forbes, they're really the only option.

Forbes is nice enough to detail how its readers can soak up the festival experience without experiencing the actual festival itself.

To get the most out of any festival, consider purchasing a VIP pass. Though they cost as much as three-times the regular admission, a VIP pass will guarantee a higher level of service. At Bonnaroo, where VIP admission is $1,169.50 for a pair, the special treatment includes preferred parking, seats closer to the concert stage, nicer shower and restroom facilities and VIP-only events. Regularly priced passes start at $209.50.

At other festivals, VIP treatment comes for a smaller price. Fans of '80s hair-band acts like Bret Michaels (lead singer of Poison), Warrant and Tesla can get VIP passes to the Rocklahoma festival (July 9-13) in Pryor, Okla., for $400. The pass entitles ticket-holders to up-close seats and meals and beverages.

With or without a VIP pass, many of these festivals offer cool extras. At Rocklahoma, $2,000 will get you an hours-long session with a festival musician. The evening ends with a 10-minute set before a roaring rock 'n' roll crowd. Mark Nuessle, president and general manager of Catch the Fever Music Festivals, which organizes the event, says the sessions haven't been advertised, but half of the slots are already sold.

All Points West organizer Ken Tessler says he may add additional components once the event date nears but is currently planning an interactive art exhibit and will host an eco-village where audience members can learn about environmental issues. At Pemberton, local outdoors companies will take concert-goers horseback riding, whitewater rafting and hiking for an additional price.

How can you pass up those bargains? Besides the fact that you might be the only person at Bonnaroo who takes a shower, those entry-level portable toilets are a drag, and the price difference is barely more than $800 a person. All Points West will likely not have the same celebrity be-seen quotient as its sister festival Coachella, but that eco-village sounds promising.

It's easy to understand the economics behind offering the V.I.P. ticket, since most are likely sold to corporate outfits who want to impress their clients and higher-ups, but it certainly gives people within that bubble a vastly different experience than one might get hanging out with the riff raff. Then again, can you really put a prize on a one-on-one experience with one of the members of Trixter?

Sensational Summertime Music Festivals [Forbes]

Somehow, Jack Johnson Is Only Playing Five Festivals This Summer

Maura Johnston — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:45:00 EDT

That's the word from Jeff Leeds at the New York Times, who penned a story on the fact that there may be something of a summer-rockfest glut hitting the U.S. over the coming months. With the lousy economy putting the hurt on potential cabana sales and the overlapping lineups making each festival less of a destination, can America handle "more than a dozen" parties based around the consumption of music? The answer seems to be "it depends on the lineup"—apparently the jam-band-heavy Mile High Festival is selling like gangbusters, while the promise of two Radiohead shows isn't helping tickets to the New York-adjacent All Points West festival move as quickly as one might have hoped.

Meanwhile, Charlie Walker of Lollapalooza promoter C3 thinks that this country hasn't seen enough huge music extravaganzas; "It's a big marketplace," the Times quotes him as saying . "We've got a little ways to go before we see any saturation." But that tune might change once his festivals start feeling the hurt that Coachella was rumored to be feeling this year (before the announcement that Prince would play, at least): Coachella promoter Paul Tollett called last year's sellout "an anomaly" prompted by Rage Against The Machine being on the bill, and he was wary of more festivals cropping up because "everyone [could] have the same bill and the same sort of feel at the festival. ... If every one of them is just a McFranchise, there's a specialness that'll be lost." Something tells me that he's feeling the sting of his festival going the "booking Roger Waters in an effort to be different" route—an expensive mistake, if the rumors that Prince's $4.8 million payday for headlining the festival's second night are true.

Concert Industry Is Banking on a Festive Summer [NYT]

Crocs Inc.—the makers of the ugly, ...

Maura Johnston — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:45:00 EDT

Crocs Inc.—the makers of the ugly, yet allegedly very comfortable rubber shoes that are most famously worn by Mario Batali—is trying to hip up its brand. What better way to do that than by sponsoring some music festivals? The company is throwing money at the likes of All Points West promoter AEG and the people behind Bumbershoot; it's also signed a deal with superpromoter Live Nation that will allow the company to have some sort of "on-site presence" at 25 amphitheaters throughout the country. If ever there was a reason to buy a pair of steel-toed Doc Martens for concertgoing, this is it. [IEG Sponsorship Report via The Daily Swarm]

All Points West Festival Banking On Hopes That There Are Lots Of Radiohead And Jack Johnson Fans Out There

Maura Johnston — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:17:26 EST

The All Points West Festival—from the people who brought you Coachella, and set in bucolic Jersey City—has announced the lineup for its inaugural year, and people who wanted to see Radiohead play a show somewhere around New York City are going to be really, really excited, as the band is headlining two of the fest's three nights. They'll top the bill for Aug. 8 and Aug. 9; headlining the Aug. 10 show is 2008 festival staple Jack Johnson, whose Pollstar page is going to look like a list of every major three-day show happening in the US this summer pretty soon. The rest of the roster, which includes Underworld, the Roots, Cat Power, Youssou N'Dour, CSS, Amadou & Mariam, and the Go! Team, follows after the jump.

Radiohead
Jack Johnson
Underworld
Kings of Leon
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Cat Power
The Roots
The New Pornographers
Youssou N'Dour
Animal Collective
Andrew Bird
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Metric
CSS
Girl Talk
Chromeo
The Go! Team
Amadou & Mariam
The Black Angels
Sia
The Felice Brothers
K'Naan
Jason Isbell
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Alberta Cross
The Virgins
Black Kids
Mates of State
Duffy
Forro in the Dark
Nicole Atkins
Juana Molina
Little Brother
Rogue Wave
Neil Halstead
Your Vegas

All Points West Festival [Official site]