Reviews

1. House
2. Bear Hug
3. Daily Routine
4. Lion in a Coma
5. Comfy in Nautica
6. Fireworks\Essplode
7. Brother Sport
APW

1. Reckoner
2. 15 Step
3. The National Anthem
4. Kid A
5. All I Need
6. Nude
7. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
8. Where I End And You Begin
9. The Gloaming
10. Faust Arp
11. No Surprises
12. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
13. The Bends
14. Bangers and Mash
15. Everything In Its Right Place
16. Exit Music (For A Film)
17. Bodysnatchers

Encore 1
18. Pyramid Song
19. Videotape
20. Airbag
21. Fake Plastic Trees
22. There There

Encore 2
23. House of Cards
24. Planet Telex
25. Idioteque

APW

1. 15 Step
2. There There
3. Morning Bell
4. All I Need
5. Lucky
6. Nude
7. Arpeggi
8. The Gloaming
9. Optimistic
10. Videotape
11. Reckoner
12. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
13. You And Whose Army
14. Idioteque
15. Climbing Up The Walls
16. Bodysnatchers
17. How to Disappear Completely

Encore 1
18. House of Cards
19. Pyramid Song
20. Paranoid Android
21. Dollars & Cents
22. Street Spirit

Encore 2
23. Cymbal Rush
24. Just
25. Everything In Its Right Place

APW

3.25.08 - Saul Williams @ The Troubadour
4.11.08 - Mellowdrone / Enon @ Spaceland
4.24.08 - Flight of the Conchords @ Amoeba Records
5.20.08 - M83 @ Echoplex
5.30.08 - A Flock of Seagulls / When in Rome @ Hollywood Park
8.9.08 - All Points West Festival @ Liberty State Park
9.6.08 - Nine Inch Nails @ The Forum
9.17.08 - Vampire Weekend @ The Wiltern
9.19.08 - 9.20.08 Street Scene Festival @ Tailgate Park, San Diego
11.25.08 - The Australian Pink Floyd @ Gibson Amphitheatre
12.6.08 - Slightly Stoopid @ Hollywood Palladium

Check it out:
http://drewviews.wordpress.com/Fri 8 Aug – All Points West Music & Arts Festival

Fri 8 Aug – All Points West Music & Arts Festival



Artist: Metric

I wasn't able to catch Metric's full performance, but all I cared for was hearing "Combat Baby." When I got to the stage, the band was playing "Handshakes." It was mostly the girls in the audience who were really moving around to the music. But there were guys, too. Emily Haines was sporting a gold dress-like outfit. I have to say, she's pretty energetic on stage. From what I was able to see, Metric's performance at APW was a lively one, and I think the effort to making it was shown.

Of course, when "Combat Baby" began to play, Emily Haines wasn't the only one to start singing. The crowd joined in. I was looking forward to hear this song in particular because users on YouTube post videos that seem pretty good as live acts, so I wanted to see it for myself. The song was great live, and I believe "Calculation Theme" followed.

All in all, Metric did pretty well from what I saw. Haines is chatty with the audience, which is good. I wouldn't mind seeing them again if the chance comes.



Artist: Animal Collective

This isn't a band I listen to. The only song I know of them is "Peacebone," and I'm pretty sure that Animal Collective didn't play that one. I have to say, though, I couldn't really enjoy their set as much as I would have because of the scorching sun and no water. The guy at the entrance told me I had to drain it out of my bottle, and since I was in a hurry to catch Metric's show, I didn't get the time to fill it up again. Basically, for the next few hours, I kind of fasted, simply put.

Animal Collective plays some pretty good songs from what I heard. Sure, I don't know any of the track titles, but my brother told me when they started to play "Fireworks." When that song ended, they made a quick, but suitable transition into an El Guincho-sounding song, which was a song I actually liked.

I think their performance persuaded me to listen to their albums. And that is a good accomplishment for a band: to have your live performance convince first time listeners to listen to you. Bravo!



Artist: Kings of Leon

The thing with Kings of Leon and me is that I know their tunes, but sometimes I'll mix up their song titles. For instance, when they were playing "Molly's Chambers," I thought they played "The Bucket." It's odd, I know. But, when they did play "The Bucket," I was pretty sure I'd be listening to more Kings of Leon after the night.

Kings of Leon are great live performers. They really changed the way I look at them now. I completely understand how serious they are about their work now. The crowd loved KOL, and I did too. The songs they played were great picks too. There wasn't "Red Morning Light," but they made up for that.

"Taper Jean Girl" was amazing to watch them play. The boys who make up Kings of Leon look good, individually, but as an entire group, too. Thom Yorke, during Radiohead's set, even commented that if they were as good looking of KOL, they'd be famous. I'm pretty sure Thom knows that he's already in the biggest band in the world. The modesty striked again.

I even liked "My Party" and "Fans" being played. Everyone broke out in cheers when the band began to play "King of the Rodeo." That song was actually my first KOL song, and I believe I was ten when I heard it. A woman behind me absolutely loves the band as I was able to tell. She knew almost all the lyrics of the songs being played.

My brother told me at the end of the night that he thinks the Kings of Leon are the best band in America. That's his opinion, of course, and I have to say that in this age of music where Vampire Weekend is over-hyped and people swooning over MGMT, I would say that Kings of Leon is definitely one of the best bands in America, if not the first.



Artist: Radiohead

What a night. Radiohead sure knows how to please their crowd. I managed to get a view of Thom Yorke this time since I was much close than the first night, and all I can say about last night's performances was that it was quite the epic setlist for the band. I mean, they played "No Surprises," which was a surprise itself.

The Setlist -->

Reckoner
15 Step
The National Anthem
Kid A
All I Need
Nude
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Where I End and You Begin
The Gloaming
Faust Arp
No Surprises
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
The Bends
Bangers and Mash
Everything In Its Right Place
Exit Music (For A Film)
Bodysnatchers
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Pyramid Song
Videotape
Airbag
Fake Plastic Trees
There There
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
House of Cards
Planet Telex
Idioteque

They opened with "Reckoner," which got audience members moving around and really into their performance. Maybe it was because of a bigger audience than the night before that the band played their "hits," if you will, and I'm pretty sure a whole lot of fans highly appreciated it.

After they finished "15 Step," the band played "The National Anthem." It was a phenomenal song to be seen live, I'll tell you that. I still can't get over how stupefying that this 'Fab-Five' are. They create beatiful landscapes in their music which takes you to this whole other worlld all together. Radiohead is the band that makes the songs that make you cry, laugh, and live.

The band even played "Kid A." Their performance on Saturday was much better than Friday's, mainly because of the songs they played. I just loved watching them. Radiohead is an engaging group to watch, especially with the stage's visual effects. Thom Yorke even dances in his red skinny pants. How awesome is that?

"Exit Music (For A Film)" was something I didn't expect to hear. I thought that maybe if they played this, there'd be a chance for "Talk Show Host," but they did not perform the latter. Watching Radiohead was almost unbelievable. They had so much energy in them that I think they rubbed off on any of the tired crowd members from standing all day.

People loved hearing "Airbag" and "Fake Plastic Trees." These songs were included in their encore. I suppose it was rare hearing "Planet Telex" live because there was so much applause for the song. The night ended with "Idioteque," which was pretty perfect, like the whole show overall.

Radiohead can really do nothing wrong. Fan or not, you have to give the guys credit and admit if there's any band who knows what they're doing in whatever that may be, then it's Radiohead.

Fri 8 Aug – All Points West Music & Arts Festival

Artist: Grizzly Bear

Part of the crowd that watched Grizzly Bear perform was part of the crowd who watched Girl Talk. From what I saw when I was heading over to the main stage to catch Radiohead, those fans were having a lot of fun. Girl Talk’s audience was fairly young, and he invited people to dance on stage. Beach balls were being thrown around, and you could just sense the hype and energy of the crowd.

But that was Girl Talk. I’m going to talk about Grizzly Bear.

I’m not exactly a fan of Grizzly Bear. The only songs I know of them are “Knives” and “Easier,” which makes me far from a fan. However, from what I saw when I watched them play, I could tell that there’s good musicianship involved when working as an entire group. The crowd they performed for had a bit too much energy for the songs they were playing, I’d say, but overall, it’s not like it was a boring set.

I can’t really make any judgments on Grizzly Bear if I’m not familiar with their work, so I’ll just have to say that they did some pretty good work. Nicely done.


Artist: Andrew Bird

I never cared to conceal my crush on Andrew Bird. When I first saw him helping out with the set up of equipments, I squealed and told my brother to look and so on. I was feeling pretty anxious to see him live for the very first time. I was really rooting for “Tables and Chairs” because it would’ve made my night perfect. In fact, I’ve actually said that if Andrew Bird plays “Tables and Chairs,” then I will be convinced that 2008 has been, and will continue to be, hopefully, a perfect year.

And speaking of perfect, the man is incredible on stage. Bird’s performances were mesmerizing and stunning. I can’t even describe what I was feeling when he began to play. Andrew started his set with “Why?” and then, I believe he went on to “Opposite Day.”

As he was breaking out of his stellar tunes like “Simple X,” which he credited Martin Dosh for on stage, I began to think. And then I had an epiphany. It was this: although I might love Bloc Party to an unhealthy extent, I think Andrew Bird has to be tied with them for the number one spot in my heart (musically). I absolutely love Bloc Party no matter what -“Mercury” may not have been their best song, and they might be on Guitar Hero, but I still am quite dedicated and still very much enchanted by them. However, Bird is a great performer –he knows how to treat his crowd, and he definitely knows what to play.

Some favorites were “Imitosis” and “Plasticities.” It was nice to hear him sing another Mysterious Production of Eggs song, “A Nervous Tic of Motion of the Head to the Left.” People really enjoy watching and hearing Andrew Bird sing “Dr. Stringz,” but what I thought was amazing was how good his transition was from “Dr. Stringz” to “Fake Palindromes.” Seriously, what a guy.

Audience members were grateful for “Fake Palindromes” to have been played, and I know for sure that I was, too. Andrew Bird even played two new songs from the new record, and I must say, that they were pretty good. Apparently, he was surprised when he heard his album because of how much he liked it. Of course, I’m pretty sure that was because he’s just plain modest. Us fans know that he is capable of doing brilliant things. There was a lot of strings in the show, so I was afraid that “Tables and Chairs” wouldn’t be played at all. If I was lucky, maybe he’d play “The Happy Birthday Song,” which would have been a good way to end his night if not with the former.

Even though I said that if “Tables and Chairs” were to be played, I’d declare my year to be a perfect one, I realized during the set, that that wouldn’t have been necessary. Because watching Andrew Bird play and really just getting in touch with his music in a different way than before, I realized that I would still love 2008 because I was certain, watching Andrew Bird play, that I would know that there are still talented people out there in the world, people like Mr. Bird, who can offer so much to people if they give him the chance and listen. This realization made me feel satisfied.

Andrew was apparently about to finish his night playing, but then he said, “We have more time than we thought. This song is ‘Skin, Is My.’” There was cheering, and an audience member had even called out, “Play ten more songs! No, fifty! I’m seeing Radiohead tomorrow, anyway.” And I had to agree, because I think I was more moved by Andrew Bird than I was with Radiohead, but my verdict on their performance will be coming shortly, if you’re still reading, of course.

And then he was getting ready for another song. I was sure this was going to be his last one for the night, and even though it would have been okay if he didn’t play “Tables and Chairs,” I was practically praying for it, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone told me I had a strained look on my face.

Andrew Bird is a masterpiece. He’s a gift that only really lucky people will be able to receive. I can praise him only so much, but when he announced, “This song is ‘Tables and Chairs,’” I screamed at the top of my lungs and was nearly on the verge of tears.

Not in chronological order, but the set list was:

Why?
Opposite Day
A Nervous Tic of Motion of the Head to the Left
Fiery Crash
Plasticities
Simple X
Imitosis
New Song #1 (I can’t remember the exact name of it, although I wish I could. If my memory recalls correctly, I believe he played it after “Simple X”)
Dr. Stringz
Fake Palindromes
New Song #2
Skin, Is My
Tables and Chairs

The last song played just affected me in so many ways. I realized that there is nothing more satisfying for me than to watch a completely charming and ambitious songwriter who is just incredibly and sometimes even unbelievably good, give a pleasurable, playful performance. When I saw Andrew Bird standing there with his violin at hand, I couldn’t help but think how perfect someone could be. It’s almost unfair how he was able to manage such a winning show.


Artist: Radiohead

There is something glorious about the uniting of thousands of fans to the one thing that brings them together.

I wasn’t surprised that I couldn’t get a good spot to watch Radiohead because there were a lot of people. I had to depend on the screen showing shots of various angles of the band to visualize the group, but hearing their music live is almost like hearing it for the first time.

I’ve always wondered, ‘How is it that Radiohead is so huge? How?’ And I think I got my answer last night. Radiohead never fails to reach you and pull you into your own rainbow of high and lows. One can’t help but admire the band’s craftsmanship and ability. I finally realized that Radiohead is the most brilliant band out there. They can do nothing wrong –live, they were much more exceptional than I thought they would be. Radiohead is absolutely perfect on stage and of course, all attention and focus goes to the five boys who have raided the alternative scene.

They opened with “15 Step,” as expected. There’s something about the way Thom Yorke sings “one-by-one” that might compel you (or at least it compelled me) to just watch in awe their bold performance. I’m not sure whether Yorke knows how much he’s loved by fans. His gleeful voice was amusing when he’d finish a song and say “Thank you.” Thom, you are much too humble.

What you realize with Radiohead is that they achieve the things other rock stars can’t. Somehow, they turn the saddest, angriest feelings into something so beautiful and wonderful. It’s masochism, if you think about it. Everyone quieted down to hear “Videotape,” and let it sink in. However, because of how strong and magnificent they were live, I’m not sure if this is a band quite easy to absorb.

Radiohead plays each song with perfection and grace. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” was one of my favorites of the night, along with “Reckoner.” One might not like Radiohead too much, or just isn’t able to acquire the taste to listen to them, but I assure you, watching them live is definitely worth it. The experience is just something you have to try to grasp.

A girl next to me was talking to her friend, and I overheard her say, “I can’t believe how good they are.” I completely agree. Radiohead is simply groundbreaking. I won’t say that they’ve found their solid ground to stay put in, but whatever direction they choose to head towards, the band does it with such skill and grace. The picks for the set list were good choices; they were never boring. Instead, the whole night was just focused on them. Radiohead is All Points West’s real deal. Forget Jack Johnson. It’s all about Radiohead.

The encores were stellar to watch. People were really excited to have heard “House of Cards,” and it is amazing to hear “Paranoid Android.” You had audiences jumping when the intro to “Just” broke out and if you sing along to “Cause you do it to yourself, you do, and that’s why it really hurts,” it’s not because you feel obliged to with others doing so –it’s because you simply act on an instinct. You actually have fun at a Radiohead concert.

It’s almost like an out-of-body experience when you’re hearing “Everything In Its Right Place,” and you see people having the time of their lives, or at one of the food vendors. When the show finishes, you’ve reached the end of your rainbow.

honestly, i had no interest in attending to All Points West Festival. the only thing that could have possibly attracted me was Radiohead. yet even THEY couldn't suffice, i thought. the ticket prices were ridiculous. the "rules" of festival, just as well. (no SLR cameras, no camelpacks, NO this, NO that) so i said hell w/ it, and my mind was made. soon after, the tickets went on sale. nothing changed on my part.. until i got a phone call from a dear friend, informing me with the news of his up coming attendance to APW with his 3 other friends who will travel overseas to join him. i was obviously put on the spot by this: here is me, living in new york city, shamelessly lazy -and stingy-, and cannot be bothered to go to a day long festival. and here are 4 dudes, 3 of them flying international to get there and the other one taking the train from another state.. needless to say, i had to do something. so i said to my friend, why yes i will join y'all on one of the Radiohead days. and i laid my eyes on Saturday since Metric and Animal Collective were playing on the same stage, same day. but guess what.. the tickets were gone by that time. i had to make an unpleasant phone call to my friend to transmit the bad news. he was let down. i was sad. stubhub was of course beyond help as usual. i decided not to dwell upon the subject further and kill my guilty conscience. days and weeks past. and i totally forgot about APW until two days before the festival that it occurred to me that there are 4 people coming in town to stay at my place. instead of what normal people would do by tidying up their apartment a little, maybe doing some grocery shopping and whatnot, i went online and found a $75 ticket (shipping free) for APW Saturday, so that no child would be left behind. this is what we call selflessness (note: irony)

so finally, the big day was here. the guys appeared slightly traumatized from Friday's experience of NJ light rail commute, but i thought it's only because they are non-New Yorkers. i certainly thought i could manage. when they said let's take the ferry, i laughed at their cautious decision recklessly. soon, i would learn my lesson. but back then, i didn't know any better.

we have planned to hit the ferry by noon, but w/ our usual slacker nature we ended up taking our time extensively and headed to Pier 11 around 3:30pm. i was still slightly hopeful that i could catch Metric just in time, but as we arrived on Pier 11 and saw the miles of people waiting in line to get on the ferry, i realized my chance of seeing Metric was long gone.

that being said, we barely caught Animal Collective on the main stage by the time we got to Liberty State Park. they were great from the little we managed to hear, which made us sigh deeply and regret our sloth-like attitude earlier during the day, but that didn't (couldn't) last too long. in fact, now it was time for survival mode. we had to get a decent spot in the center front for Radiohead. we dug through the crowd (which was much easier than i expected, to my surprise) and started our long wait under the still ablaze sun. honestly, none of us could care less about Kings of Leon. they were indeed mediocre as expected, and our entertainment during the course which they were on stage consisted of watching preppy kids with possible trust funds piggyback each other and be generally gay without realizing it. unfortunately i cannot go into anymore details than that, although i'd love to.. you just ought to be there to see how thoroughly their abercrombie & fitch charisma go down the drain.

anyways..
when the clocks hit 8:35pm in Liberty State Park, we have all been successfully "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" at the front rows of main stage. finally, amidst of a purple blast of lights, Radiohead came on stage and started off with a song from their latest album: Reckoner. from this point on, i (and many others) was in complete bliss. regardless of the lack of air or standing space, from the i (and many others) a "we" was created once Radiohead came on the stage. and so, we sang. we cheered. we danced. we cried. we forgot about pushing each other and trying to get in front of others standing next to us. we submitted to the sound. we let go. we lost the sense of time.

i like to use the collective we for describing the experience, as this was my second time seeing Radiohead live and i can safely claim that although it can be a unique experience for every individual, there is something very communal about it, such as mentioned above.

the amount of care Radiohead puts into setting up their live shows always blows my mind, and this time was no different. the lights and video projections had a very installation-like feel to them, almost creating a sculptural environment in which the band transformed their songs accordingly. i believe a number of people would agree with this, after witnessing the lights turn into deep ocean blue during Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, the intense red lights envelope the stage during All I Need, the bright neon green lights glow during Fake Plastic Trees or the perfectly synchronized "rain" of lights with the lyrics of The Gloaming.

yet, Thom Yorke was quite impersonal on stage, which puzzled me a little after seeing how he had interacted with the audience in Bonnaroo '06. he rarely talked this time and it didn't go much beyond saying "thanks" to the audience. but no complaints.. in fact, the set list made up for it quite sufficiently. so thank you Mr. Yorke, for making APW worthwhile for non-enthusiastic festival goers like myself.

at the end of the show, i indeed found myself make the same statement i had made two years ago: friends, because of tonight, i can go in peace from this point on. yes.