Ever since my constant checks on APW's facebook page started at the beginning of the new year for any little news on the festival, I became worried that nothing was being revieled. Then after seeing the NY times article, I realized that I shouldn't have been suprised. With the recent news circling slowly like hawks in my head, I can't stop thinking about it. The fact that the planners are lazy pieces of shit that can't sign bands to play for three days is just bullshit. If you think of it, All Points West is one of the BIGGEST festivals in the NJ/NY area. Now besides for the tourist filled NYC, the summer is boring. NJ really let us music fans down by (maybe, there's still a chance) pulling the plug. I can't bare to hear how amazing Bamboozle i going to be (although it's a shame MGMT and girltalk are perfoming there) anymore. Face it, Bamboozle sucks. The shitty smell of the meadowlands mixed with hot ass concrete would be the first thing that drives me away. Let alone the bands there that have guys that look like girls sing about how they wanna hurt themselves. All Points West was the festival-to-be for NJ. I just can't see how this slipped away so fast. I know recently NJ had cut budgets for the arts in the state but APW was the most important event to keep. It was the highlight of the summer. My mind is filled with a bunch of "Well why can't they..." Why can't they [the planners] sign the bands fast enough? Why can't they get the name out enough? Then my mind suddenly clicked. If you look on the official Facebook pages of these festivals (like Bonnaroo and Coachella), they all have on average around 40-50,000 fans. Now if you wobble your way to All Points West: 9,900. Bonnaroo has 75,000+, Coachella has 70,000+ and Lollapalooza in Chicago has 55,000+. APW used to be 9,905 a few days ago. It is slowly decreasing now that it's almost been pulled. But the point is, these big name festivals has a ton of popularity. I know physically and socially APW isn't as big as Bonnaroo, but APW can definitely have more than 9,900 fans. The big thing that I see missing is the promotion for the festival. The bands are good, but they won't be seen if the festival's not promoted. As of a few billboards along the NJ highways, there's nothing! The promotions gotta be everywhere. If the promotion's good, then the outcome will be good, and the people will bounce back for the next year (also including that the acts are top-notch). I'm guessing the "overhaul" needed for APW will come someday and it will fix all of it's major issues. I see no difficulty in trying to sign bands. There are tons of touring acts in the summer. The Flaming Lips are starting a spring/summer tour. The Black Keys are starting a small spring/summer tour. My Morning Jacket, a popular headliner of past festivals is on a highly anticipated spring/summer tour. The list just keeps on going. I would love to see Liberty State Park to be filled again to capactiy plus more. NJ and NY need the festival. It's a must. It's simply a shame that it's unlikely to happen this year.
My Suggestions for APW 2010 ( these are just only a handful of bands touring through the season)
My Morning Jacket
The Flaming Lips
Pearl Jam
Kings of Leon
The Black Keys
The Dead Weather
Wolfmother
MGMT
Yeasayer
Animal Collective
Phoenix
The Avett Brothers
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Friendly Fires
The Hold Steady
Noah and The Whale
Of Montreal
Dirty Projectors
The Cribs
Blakroc
Dungen (even though they're not touring)
Beach House
GirlTalk
--Sean
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