JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — If you didn't mind the (near constant) rain, the resultant mud, the trench foot or the indescribable odor of 10,000 soaking-wet Tool fans, well, then the second All Points West festival was genuinely great.
Actually, it was pretty great regardless of those things, a testament to the organizers who assembled a lineup that managed to outshine the deluges that flooded New Jersey's Liberty State Park all weekend. The brainchild of Goldenvoice, the same folks who bring you Coachella, APW lived up to the pedigree, delivering a lineup heavy on indie (both new and old), hip-hop and buzz bands, and positively top-heavy with headliners — Jay-Z (who filled in last minute for the , Coldplay and Tool. It was so solid a schedule, full of so many can't miss acts, that you almost didn't mind trekking through calf-deep mud to get from one stage to the next.
it was Coldplay who closed out All Points West, with a set that managed to be both massive — they have, after all, sold something north of 50 million albums worldwide — and minimal, connecting with each member of the waterlogged masses who stuck around Sunday to see them perform (this is probably the secret to their success: Coldplay are very personable dudes).
Kicking off with a trio of tracks — "Life in Technicolor," "Violet Hill," the massive "Clocks" — Coldplay then got down to getting close to the crowd. Frontman Chris Martin saluted their dedication: "As four British people who grew up in the mud and the rain," he laughed, "we salute you for coming out to what can only be described as a mud Jacuzzi."
They got psychedelic ("Strawberry Swing"), trance-y ("God Put a Smile on Your Face") and goofy (Martin's sorta jig during "42"), and — much like Jay-Z — they paid tribute to both the Beastie Boys and Michael Jackson, the former with a ballady take on "Fight for Your Right (to Party)", the latter with a version of "Billie Jean," complete with Martin's Jacko-esque falsettos.
They closed All Points West with the somber, wobbly "The Scientist," as Martin promised the crowd that it would probably be a while until they heard from Coldplay again. We should be dry by then.
Source: MTV
Coldplay at All Points West festival, Liberty State Park, New Jersey (2nd August 2009):
Pictures by Jamd
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