Photo by Bao Nguyen

I’ve always approached music festivals with mixed emotions.  Almost invariably, sacrifices must be made – set times are usually short, sound quality can be sketchy and timetable clashes often mean that you will miss portions of your favorite acts.  With these considerations in mind, I attended the first day of the inaugural All Points West Music & Arts Festival at Liberty State Park in New Jersey on Friday.

Presented by West Coast concert promoters Goldenvoice - All Points West was destined to attract comparisons to the company’s Coachella Music & Arts Festival held annually in Indio, California.  Both festivals consist of a three-day program with bands playing multiple stages set against striking backdrops (the mountain ranges of the Coachella Valley in the case of Coachella and the Manhattan skyline & the Statue of Liberty for All Points West).  In recent years, Coachella has also made a name for itself by providing attendees with a people-friendly festival which attracted both important and high-profiles acts.  As an example – Kraftwerk, Portishead and Prince headlined Coachella’s main stage on the festival’s opening night this year.  Despite my stated misgivings in relation to festivals, the involvement of Goldenvoice raised expectations.

Although storm clouds loomed ominously over the venue and lightning could be seen to strike the Empire State Building on a number of occasions, a small shower cleared in time for Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear. Playing a beautiful set consisting of equal parts new material and songs taken from their acclaimed album Yellowhouse, their four-part harmonies swept across the festival grounds.  Brazilian all-girl-but-for-one-dude band CSS offered an energetic set but material from their new album Donkey did not attract a huge response from the crowd and entirely no response from Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine who could be seen watching from side-stage.

Playing before sundown must now be an unusual situation for electronic father figures Underworld.  Despite the presence of daylight and some minor problems with their inflatable on-stage props – Karl Hyde & Rick Smith provided a set including dance classics such as “Born Slippy” and “King of Snake” which made me wish I could be reaching for the lasers.

With respect to the other acts performing on the day – Friday was all about Radiohead who played the first of their two-night headlining sets.  Featuring an incredible light and visual display, the band offered a polished 25 song / two-plus hour set which featured a number of highlights including “Pyramid Song”, “Paranoid Android,” and “Just”.  It was my first time seeing Radiohead and it’s fair to say that I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest that it occurred in a festival environment.

Overall, All Points West did a lot to allay my fears in relation to festivals but it has a long way go before it is on par with Coachella – which offers a greater range of artists, a better selection of food and beverages and the option of camping for festival goers who are attending over the three days.

All points West continued on Saturday and Sunday with acts including Jack Johnson, Cat Power and Kings of Leon.