Oy Points West: What Would Perry Do?

Photograph by Jason Bergman

Furthering the theory that there are starting to be a few festivals too many, the inaugural All Points West whimpered its way through the past weekend, bumming out tens of thousands of concertgoers who hauled their asses to Jersey City, of all places. The three-day concert, put together by Coachella promoters Goldenvoice, was headlined on Friday and Saturday by Radiohead and on Sunday by Jack Johnson, who failed to draw the same sold-out crowd as Thom Yorke and co.

Ticketholders complained most about the alcohol situation: Lines were impossibly long and you were allotted only five beers before getting cut off. Friends reported that they had waited more than an hour in blazing midday heat just to get an over-21 wristband. And when you deprive festival-goers of beer, they turn apathetic about the performances, and the artists start picking up bad vibes. Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill dubbed All Points West a "depressed-ival," and noted a lack of enthusiasm from the crowd.

And, much as I enjoyed performances by Metric and Animal Collective and Kings of Leon and Radiohead, All Points West lacked the sense of advent you want in a rock festival. I was reminded of what Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell told Rolling Stone earlier this week about how he approaches organizing the annual event. "My opinion is that the lineup is the first thing that people look at," Farrell said. "With Lollapalooza, the quality it stands for makes people want to attend, but also the artists themselves. I care about the backstage as much as I care about the front of house and the front stage and I'm always thinking about how the artist can enjoy the festival as well as the audience."

When it comes to deciding who to book as headliners, Farrell has a pretty specific kind of artist in mind: "The prerequisites are, you need a group that has been around long enough to become great. These groups after fifteen or twenty years get amazing. Musicians get better with age. To me there's a window for these great groups where they can come and perform and bring production and still have the energy but now have the wisdom and the experience. When I look to book I'm looking for those types of groups, firstly because this way you're seeing the best in the world, and also because I want the audience when they go home to say to themselves, 'Wait a minute: THAT was a concert.'" Though we're still basking in the afterglow of triumphant performances by Rage Against The Machine and Radiohead and Kanye West and Wilco and Nine Inch Nails, All Points West is going to have to bring their game up a notch if they want to make it to All Points West 2009. -- JENNY ELISCU