Fighting the Ghost of Festivals Past

New York Times
By BEN SISARIO
Published: July 30, 2009

CONCERT promoters tend to have a few standard goals, like turning a profit and keeping a show running smoothly. But for the organizers of All Points West, the three-day, 60-band event this weekend in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, there is another hope: to break the curse of the New York rock festival.

A late addition, Jay-Z will headline Friday night at All Points West.

Last year the first All Points West festival, held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, drew crowds but not enough to turn a profit.

Forty years ago, with Woodstock, New York gave the world what many call the archetype of the outdoor rock festival. In the last decade, though, as musical lollapaloozas have sprouted around the country, the region has largely missed out. One event after another has either been scrapped early or flamed out; for promoters the list is like a litany of war dead: Bonnaroo N.E., Field Day, Vineland, Creamfields, Across the Narrows, among others.

Planned as an East Coast cousin of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, All Points West began last year in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, a lip of green across the Hudson River with inspiring views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Its second iteration opens on Friday with Jay-Z, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Vampire Weekend as first-night headliners, continuing with Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Gogol Bordello and Neko Case on Saturday; and Coldplay, Echo and the Bunnymen and MGMT on Sunday.

It?s an impressive lineup, made even more impressive by the last-minute addition of Jay-Z: he replaced the Beastie Boys last week after that band had to cancel when one member, Adam Yauch, said he had to undergo treatment for cancer. But, as All Points West organizers and many other concert executives say, a good lineup alone does not guarantee success in New York.

?It?s one of the toughest markets to do a three-day festival,? said Paul Tollett, president of Goldenvoice, the Los Angeles-based promoter (also behind Coachella) that presents the festival with AEG Live, its corporate parent. ?When you do a show in the thick of a city, there?s inherently going to be more restrictions. That?s the trade-off of it being so close.?

Compared with the rural or otherwise sparsely populated areas where most other big events are held ? like Coachella, in Indio, Calif., or Bonnaroo, on a 700-acre farm in Tennessee ? New York poses major hurdles to any would-be promoter. Labor and equipment are significantly more expensive here; pressure from residents over noise and congestion can be strong; and the market is saturated with top talent 365 days a year.

Space itself is a scarce commodity. ?There?s no land, baby,? said Ron Delsener, the longtime rock promoter who is now chairman of the New York division of Live Nation. ?There?s not 3,000 acres. There?s tunnels and bridges and millions of people walking around here.?

Red tape also tends to get in the way, and at All Points West last year one particular problem led to a lot of bad publicity. Since the festival was held at a New Jersey state park, drinking was permitted only in a small area, and with a limit of five drinks a customer. That may sound fair, but for one number-crunching commenter on the music blog Brooklynvegan.com, it was intolerable: ?What if you got there at noon? One beer every two-plus hours. Yikes.?

Mr. Tollett acknowledged the beer issue and other problems, like the official ferries to the festival from Manhattan, which cost $30 round-trip on the day of the show and had long lines.

?We didn?t make it as fun as that show could be,? he said, and added that many kinks have been worked out.

Round-trip tickets for the ferry service offered by the festival have been cut by $5 ($20 in advance, or $25 the day of the show), but the festival still neglects to mention on its Web site that other, cheaper ferry operators are available. And the beer limit is now seven.

Bureaucratic problems have sunk many a local rock festival. In 2003 a two-day, $3 million camping event called Field Day was planned for the North Fork of Long Island, with acts including the Beastie Boys, Radiohead and Beck. But it fell apart after a last-minute battle with Suffolk County over permits, and it was relocated ? with an abridged lineup and low attendance ? to Giants Stadium. Other promoters took notice, and some canceled plans.

?Watching what they went through, and the politics, and the indeterminacy of the permitting process, caused us to pull out,? said Ashley Capps, one of the promoters behind Bonnaroo, who had been planning a satellite event on the Field Day site.

Despite the headache and high risk of putting on big festivals, many promoters simply can?t resist the challenge. Last year Madison Square Garden Entertainment bought 910 acres outside of Albany that it plans to use for a festival in 2010. Jim Glancy, a partner in The Bowery Presents, the operator of Terminal 5, the Bowery Ballroom and other spaces in New York and New Jersey, said that it was considering a festival venture, though he declined to elaborate.

Also this year, All Tomorrow?s Parties, a New York-area offshoot of the popular British festival, will return for a second year at Kutsher?s Country Resort in Monticello, N.Y., from Sept. 11 to 13, featuring the Flaming Lips, Sufjan Stevens, Animal Collective and other bands.

To draw crowds, a prominent festival depends on its atmosphere, concert executives say. That is especially true in New York, where many bands on a bill may well have booked other recent ? and cheaper, and more intimate ? shows on their own. MGMT, for example, played at Prospect Park in Brooklyn this month; Ms. Case played two nights at the Nokia Theater in Manhattan in April; and Coldplay toured New Jersey last fall and Connecticut this spring. Festival promoters complain that this pattern makes it difficult to book any truly noteworthy or unusual act.

Enter Jay-Z, who made a big splash at European festivals last summer but has never appeared at a similar event in the United States. As at Coachella last year, when Prince was a late addition to the lineup, Jay-Z?s presence created immediate excitement, causing a spike in ticket sales. Mr. Tollett said he learned of the Beastie Boys? cancellation shortly before Mr. Yauch made his announcement on July 20, and went to work immediately to secure a replacement.

?I started at Jay-Z,? Mr. Tollett said. ?Him being from New York, and being so solid, it was worth a try.? Jay-Z?s camp confirmed within two days, and the change was announced late on July 22.

One common festival element absolutely not available at All Points West: camping. Promoters say the problems that felled Field Day and other events have led to a general belief that a festival with overnight camping is simply not possible in the New York area. For large-scale events that try to appeal to a wide swath of the local audience, that might well be true. But a surprising number of festivals nearby have found success by sticking to smaller, more dedicated niches.

Last weekend in Bridgeport, Conn., the Gathering of the Vibes celebrated its 14th year, with acts including Buddy Guy, Levon Helm and Crosby, Stills & Nash. The festival began in 1996 after Grateful Dead fans were denied permission to use Central Park for a tribute to Jerry Garcia, who had died the previous summer; instead they went upstate and created an annual event based around the broader musical tastes of Deadheads. Moving to a different site to accommodate growing crowds, the Gathering had a daily audience of 15,000 last weekend, Ken Hays, the founder, said.

At All Points West the stakes are higher. It has a daily capacity of about 30,000, and last year the festival drew a total of slightly more than 75,000 people, losing money. While that is not unusual for a new festival, the concert industry is watching this weekend to see what kind of crowds All Points West draws ? and whether it will return for a third year.

None of the three shows this weekend have sold out in advance. And at this point last year Liberty State Park had already been booked for the second All Points West, but Mr. Tollett said last week that the park has not yet been secured for 2010.

Still, he added, he was confident that this weekend the beer would flow, the ferries would ferry, and the music would draw enough crowds to be a success.

?The first year everyone?s just learning their way,? Mr. Tollett said. ?It should be smoother this year. And a lot more fun.?

I thought that it was a very helpful article, especially for people who haven't been to JC before. I'm also of the opinion that his comments about NJ are all in jest and if not I don't care.

Unlike some, I noticed no impact last year when I didn't go to APW (although I may have been out of town). This year I'm looking forward to going and supporting a local event; although I'm very bummed that the Beastie Boys won't be playing.

One thing that the article didn't mention is that you can't go in and out of the festival, which makes me tend toward drinking and eating elsewhere first and then seeing the bigger acts. Other info including set times are on the All Points West web site.

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The New Festival Economics

New York Observer
By J. Gabriel Boylan
July 30, 200

And especially in the new music economy?where touring is the only real paying gig?these opportunities are starting to resonate with current popular performers and proven hitmakers who?ve left the recording studio but appeal to a broader age range of nostalgists.

Witness performances by ?80s psychedelic New Wave phenom Echo and the Bunnymen, and ?90s shoegazing pioneers My Bloody Valentine. After all, at these prices, you?d better be able to reel in the 35-to-45-year-olds.

For such bands, doing festival gigs allows them to test new material, create a market for their back catalog and figure out whether there?s another bite at the apple before taking on expensive tours themselves?or cutting an expensive studio album.

Mr. Tollett and his team started out thinking of Coachella as a local festival, but as festivals became more plausible gigs for big-draw performers, fans began traveling from far afield to attend, and Goldenvoice began looking east.

After an affiliation with the ill-fated Field Day Festival in 2003, Mr. Tollett knew it might work.

?I could just see by the sales, the sales were just phenomenal,? he said. ?And we got a call from Liberty State Park there was an opening to do something there. There hadn?t been anything there since September 11. And Radiohead had played there before September 11, and it was kind of legendary, so that seemed like a perfect fit.?

Big-Brand Music

Eventually Goldenvoice merged with AEG Live, and now All Points West has its share of corporate sponsors, too, including H&M, PlayStation, Major League Baseball, State Farm, Twix, Toyota and, of course, Anheuser Busch.

In addition to the long lines, pricey bottled water and disorganization of the late ?90s festivals, overbearing corporate sponsorship was a huge turnoff to fans.

The trick? To keep the sponsorships subtle enough not to annoy the fans and still collect from both.

One potential marketing disaster was the eleventh-hour pullout of the Beastie Boys last week (Adam Yauch is taking a break to treat cancer in his parotid gland, a salivary gland in the throat, and the band will miss not only APW, but Lollapalooza and headlining gigs at the Osheaga Fest in Montreal and the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco).

?I?ve never had a headliner cancel, and that was like, ?Oh, wow, I guess that could happen,?? said Mr. Tollett. ?I didn?t know what to do. Do you just run the show without your headliner? You don?t have to give refunds because it says subject to change, but the thing is, you?re trying to gain the trust of the fans, so we decided this year to just give refunds.?

The idea of using Jay-Z as a replacement came to Mr. Tollett at once: It both fulfilled the New York niche of this year?s festival and another of the promoter?s pet ambitions. Jay-Z has played a number of European festivals, including the U.K.?s O2 Wireless and Glastonbury, and Roskilde in Denmark, but this will be his first performance at a major U.S. fest, and Mr. Tollett wants to put more such acts?headlining in Europe but not here?front and center.

?I would like to see more bands like that who came up through the system. Jay-Z, the Killers, Kings of Leon all opened up festivals in Europe but not here. How come Europe has more faith in our bands than we do??

And it?s just possible that the European model of the big, hip, yet smoothly run festival you can count on finding in the same place each year?rather than the model set down by Lollapalooza in the 1990s?will take hold in the U.S. as well.

Mr. Tollett certainly hopes so.

?To me, a festival is just like one giant club, where you get to walk around, you don?t have to sit in a seat, you can go meet your friends and hang out with them,? he said. ?You?re there and you see the Statue of Liberty and all the buildings and the sky is so incredible at night.?


All Points West takes place this coming Friday through Sunday, from noon to 11:30 p.m., at Liberty State Park, Jersey City; single-day tickets, $89, three-day tickets, $239; apwfestival.com.

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Aahahhahah, CHUDS! The tanning bed radiation doesn't help probably. They are evolving into perfectly tanned, pouty beings with gills who adore A|X. I think we should get rid of the tolls on the bayonne bridge so they can come spend some money at the beer garden.

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I think he was being ironic about NYCers attitudes toward setting foot in NJ.

Also, he didn't say getting around JC is a nightmare. He said "finding your way." And that's true if you don't know your way around the canals, harbor inlets, rail yards and changes in elevation that make getting from point A to point B by following a straight line potentially impossible.

No wisecracks on Staten Island.

There's probably a lot of radiation or something over there turning them all into super-beings, or C.H.U.D.s.

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I think we ought to start cracking jokes about Staten Island. That's a "borough" NYC should be truly proud of. An area specifically designated to hold their garbage.

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Pretty sure that dude lives in Jersey City, and has written for that free magazine "New", the one about Jersey City.

Are the uncreative digs at the "mysterious land known as NJ" really necessary? Holy crap, does everything NY have to frown upon NJ? Downtown Jersey City is leaps and bounds above about 80% of NYC's outer boroughs. But this guy would never write anything bad about those ghetto boroughs because hey, "it's still NYC". Getting around Jersey City is a nightmare??? Um, I think it's a bit easier than getting around your beloved NYC, Joe Pompeo.

Unreal, unacceptable, and uncreative. Maybe it's time for NYC to pick on Connecticut. I'm so over these types of hack writers.

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This event took place last year and you still think the grounds are nicely manicured today. Can't be that bad....

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Same here, going to a pool party in the burbs. It's a shame that the nicely manicured grounds at the LSP are going to be mangled by this event.

Everyone would warm up to Jersey City and Hoboken if there were more cultural activities, etc. In Jersey City, one feels like one has to go to Manhattan to "live" versus in Brooklyn where there's a lot to do.

Be leaving town when that circus comes to town.

avoiding beergarden at all costs this weekend. my legwarmers are at the cleaners

You won't want any part of the light rail after the shows. You are better off walking home or walking to Grove Street for the PATH. Last year it took eons to get on the trains.

An APB on All Points West: Our guide to surviving?and maybe even enjoying?New Jersey

July 29, 2009
New York Press
By Joe Pompeo

The All Points West festival promises to be one of the year?s best rock events, but finding your way around (gulp) Jersey City can be a nightmare. New York Press is here to save your music weekend.

How to get there without being shafted.

The All Points West?s website has detailed instructions on getting to the festival, but don?t believe their ferry heresy! If you?re coming from the City, steer clear of the $15- $20 ferry ride from Battery Park Pier. Opt for the $1.75 PATH train at the World Trade Center. Ride for about three minutes to Jersey City, which is where you?ll get off to catch the (free!) Light Rail to the festival site?better than the roughly 20 minutes it would take you on the 33rd Street line, which stops in Hoboken. Going home, especially, you do not want to subject yourself to the drunken white-hat convention that is the Hoboken PATH station on Friday and Saturday nights.Trust us.

Made it without taking out a mortgage for a ferry ride. Now what?

So you?ve hauled ass all the way to this mysterious land called New Jersey, and My Bloody Valentine doesn?t even go on until 8:15.What are you supposed to do with yourself? Drink, probably.

Hit the newly opened Zeppelin Beer Hall (88 Liberty View Dr., near Grand St., 201- 721-8888, www.zeppelinhall.com ), which is right off a Light Rail stop en route to the concert grounds. It has an enormous beer garden where picnic tables, bratwurst and Weissbier abound. If you feel like a rooftop overlooking the Hudson, try the Iron Monkey (99 Greene St., 201-435-5756, www.ironmonkey.com ), which is two blocks from the Exchange Place PATH/Light Rail stop. Hungry? You can order rich-person food like $23 Chilean Sea Bass or recession grub like $2.50 hot dogs.

So what if I?m drunk, bored and still waiting for Vampire Weekend?

Perhaps the best-kept secret in town is Iris Records (114 Brunswick St., betw. 1st & 2nd Sts., 609 468-0885, www.recordriots.com ), about a five-minute walk from the Grove Street PATH. Housed in what was once a 1930s pharmacy, it?s the kind of record store where you have to knock to be let in.You?ll leave with your hands covered in grime, an original copy of Electric Warrior and five weird disco singles.

This summer, it?s only open on Fridays from 3 to 8, so plan your first day of the fest accordingly.There?s a consignment shop next door called Boomerangs (110 Brunswick St., 201-798-0300, very www.boomerangsjc.wordpress.com ) that also has used records, as well as all the vintage kitsch your Brooklyn apartment could desire.

This ?New Jersey? place is growing on me. What should I do after the show?

On the slim chance you feel compelled to hang around after the festival, head back downtown toward Grove Street and check out the nearby Lamp Post Bar & Grill (382 2nd St., between Monmouth & Brunswick, 201-222-1331, www.myspace.com/lamppost ).This is where you?re most likely to find people with tattoos singing along to Misfits songs. Disclaimer: the bar can be hit or miss, but there?s usually a better crowd on Fridays.

If they?re not there, they?ll probably be up the street at Lucky 7 (322 2nd St., at Coles St., 201-418-8585, www.lucky7tavern.com ).

Speaking of tattoos, maybe you should get one while you?re in town! Jersey City Tattoo Co. (253 Newark Ave., betw. Monmouth & Coles Sts., 201-360-0139, www.jerseycitytattoo.com ) would be the place. In fact, ?All Points West? might actually look pretty decent in a banner.

All Points West
July 31, Aug.1 and Aug. 2, Liberty State Park, www.apwfestival.com ; noon to 11:30 daily, $89 a day and up.

http://www.nypress.com/article-20136- ... b-on-all-points-west.html