I’ve seen Lykke Li a handful of times before  but each time is never like the last. Lykke Li drew in a very impressive crowd who were all excited to take in the sounds, energy and vision that is a Lykke Li on stage. LL stunned in a leather onesie under a flowing black batwing-like shawl.

LL’ sugary vocals over subdued keys, drums, clicks and sounds make for an interesting struggle between sweet and aggressive with dark and mysterious undertones. I don’t think I’ll grow tired of this delivery anytime soon.

I decided against trekking the muddy field to the mainstage for Echo in the Bunnymen but was just as enthused to finally catch Ghostland Observatory live. Animated Texas duo, Ghostland Observatory kicked off their laser spectacle of a show shortly after LL. It was truly a sight to see with pigtailed front-man Aaron Behrens jumping frantically in a cloud of light and smoke.  It was definitely not the kind of show I expected, a pleasant surprise. Highlights from the set included Sad Sad City and Heavy Heart.

MP3: Lykke Li – Breaking it Up or zShare
MP3: Ghostland Observatory – Midnight Voyage or zShare
MP3: Lykke Li – Knocked Up (Kings of Leon Cover) or zShare

La Roux at APW, 8.2.09

A few weeks ago it was announced that blog darling La Roux was nominated for a Mercury Prize alongside some of the best acts of today including Bat For Lashes, Glasvegas, Friendly Fires, and Florence and the Machine. But as we’ve all seen time and time again, it’s always hard to tell whether a new ‘It’ artist is for real or nothing but hype.

By now most music fans are familiar with dancefloor killers Bulletproof or In For the Kill but up until Sunday the question still remained in my mind: Can this fiery haired singer with a matching fiery attitude carry a decent live set?

After the perfect weather we experienced on Saturday, naturally Mother Nature decided it was time to pull another joke and put the festival in jeopardy with another storm yet again.  My initial plan for Sunday was to catch La Roux, Lykke Li, Ghostland Observatory and Echo and the Bunnymen — all dependant on the official word on if the show would still go on. By 3PM it was announced that all remaining sets would go on as planned with doors at 4PM, all earlier sets were unfortunately scrapped.

When I arrived at the Queen of the Valley tent, the crowd was already packed in for this new mystery artist called La Roux. Whether they were familiar or not, the overall reception from start to finish was impressively positive, not one pair of arms remained crossed during the set. My previous reluctancies were put to rest by La Roux’s strong vocal delivery and high-energy stage presence…it was really infectious.

The highlights from La Roux’s 50 minute setlist included Tigerlily, Colourless Colour, Fascination, and the closing crowd favorite Bulletproof. It’s unfortunate that so many people missed out on this prematurely strong performance by one of the internet’s most buzzed about artists but I feel very fortunate to have been one of the faces in the mud-covered crowd in a state of bliss.

MP3: La Roux – Growing Pains or zShare
MP3: La Roux – Tigerlily (B. Rich Remix) or zShare

Arctic Monkeys at APW, 8.1.09

Arctic Monkeys were essentially our headliners for the second day of APW; we had no desire to see Tool, I had seen The Ting Tings many times before, and (I’m not gonna lie) I had been looking forward to seeing Arctic Monkeys all summer. It had been a VERY long time since I’d seen them live and I was more than curious to see if and how their live shows have changed.

I would previously have said that Arctic Monkeys aren’t much to see live. While the playing was deft and A. Turn™’s vocals were always sharp, they just never really did very much, apart from drummer Matt Helders, in the way of emoting or moving. The Live at the Apollo dvd can now be considered a time capsule of what kind of a live band Arctic Monkeys used to be — engaging and exuberant, albeit slightly stiff– because they are now a band that people will and should want to see, not just to hear the songs they love live, but to see an incredible performan ce

Maybe they went to rock n roll charm school or maybe they are a few years older and considerably wiser with lots and lots of hair to hide behind, but Arctic Monkeys played a seriously rousing and passionate late afternoon set at All Points West to a huge crowd who sang and danced along to every tune. New tunes like Pretty Visitors, Cornerstone and Crying Lightning translated well in a festival setting while old favorites like View from the Afternoon (for which Alex asked the audience to ” cast your memories way back…”) and Fluorescent Adolescent (reworked with a lovely new middle section) set the crowd ablaze.

Someone shot some amazing footage of this set and put it on YouTube: I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (love A. Turn™’s shout-out to all the “LADIES!”), Fluorescent Adolescent, Cornerstone

Check back soon for our coverage of last night’s brilliant Arctic Monkeys gig at Highline Ballroom NYC.

MP3: Arctic Monkeys – Love Machine (Girls Aloud Cover) or zShare
MP3: Arctic Monkeys – When The Sun Goes Down (Justice Remix) or zShare

Crystal Castles at APW, 8.1.09

It’s not everyday that you get the opportunity to walk around the park and catch so many awesome bands but Day 2 of All Points West was one of those days with a line-up jampacked with bands we’ve been pining to see. At the top of that list for me was Crystal Castles and My Bloody Valentine as well as a little bit of Chairlift thrown in for good measure.

While walking around the mud eating chocolate ice cream cones (how’s that for a visual) we were drawn into lover’s lawn by Chairlift’s sleek cover of Snoop’s Sexual Eruption Sensual Seduction followed by one of my favorite tunes from Does You Inspire You Planet Health. We stayed for a few songs before taking a pleasant break on the grass to watch Neko Case‘s set on the Bullet stage before catching My Bloody Valentine.

My Bloody Valentine at APW, 8.1.09

Tool fans flooded to the main stage at this time so we found it wise to step aside to avoid getting stabbed by spiked accessories and enjoy from the sidelines with our purple earplugs in place. It’s a known fact that MBV is  infamous for being one of the loudest bands with a signature washed out vocal delivery but to be honest that’s pretty much all there was to it. We stayed for most of the set but once every song became discernable from the last we crossed them off of my concert  bucket list and went on merrily back to the Queen of the Valley stage for Crystal Castles.

Alice Glass and Ethan Kath of Crystal Castles made a lot of noise last April with their cancelled Dallas gig, but what’s entertainment without a bit of controversy? Alice Glass is electro-punk reigning princess and by now concertgoers know that you get what you get with a Crystal Castles gig: Ethan takes care of the music while Alice thrashes around the stage maniacally struggling with sound issues. It sounds like a disaster but somehow Crystal Castles wear it and make it work with ease. The tent was packed with sweaty kids dancing to their heart’s content, crowd surfing and begging for more. And that my friends was the end of Day 2 for Tastes Like Caramel.

MP3: Chairlift – Evident Utensil (Sinden Remix) or zShare
MP3: Bloc Party – Hunting for Witches (Crystal Castles Remix) or zShare

Cage the Elephant at APW, 8.1.09

The second day at APW arrived blissfully — fully rested and recharged from sunlight, we headed back out to Liberty State Park in the early afternoon to catch main stage acts, Cage the Elephant and The Cool Kids, and snag a great spot for Arctic Monkeys later that afternoon.

Cage the Elephant are only starting to make a splash here in the States. The Kentucky rock band have been huge in the UK over the past year and a half, with their tunes In One Ear and Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked reaching massive hit status.

The Cool Kids at APW, 8.1.09

Frontman, Matt Shultz even appeared on popular UK comedy-quiz show Nevermind the Buzzcocks. They commanded the huge stage during the 2:15 timeslot and Shultz brought his ferocious energy out into the crowd. Cage the Elephant are poised to bring southern indie rock back into favor in the US of A.

We had been genuinely looking forward to seeing The Cool Kids bring the old school hip-hop flavor to APW. Unfortunately their set was plagued by sound problems and it seemed as though the 2 emcees and their dj did not have enough presence to fully engage the crowd (who were all admittedly waiting for A. Turn™ and his Monkeys anyway). After 30 minutes, the set seemed to drag and came to a welcome end. There’s no denying Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish have charm and clever rhymes, they just would’ve been much more suited to a smaller, more intimate stage.

MP3: Cage the Elephant – Psycho Killer (Talking Heads Cover) or zShare
MP3: The Cool Kids – Pump up the Volume (Flosstradamus Remix) or zShare

]]> http://www.tlc-blog.com/2009/08/apw-day-2-cage-the-elephant-and-cool-kids/feed/ 0 http://www.tlc-blog.com/2009/08/all-points-west-day-1-jay-z/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=all-points-west-day-1-jay-z http://www.tlc-blog.com/2009/08/all-points-west-day-1-jay-z/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:07:21 +0000 anthoNYC http://tasteslikecaramel.wordpress.com/?p=2579 After the  announcement of Adam “MCA” Yauch’s unfortunate cancer diagnosis, I wondered who APW could pull in of that caliber. This question was quickly answered once Jay-Z was announced as the stand-in headliner for the Beastie Boys. I became very … Continue reading →]]>

Jay-Z at APW, 7.31.09

After the  announcement of Adam “MCA” Yauch’s unfortunate cancer diagnosis, I wondered who APW could pull in of that caliber. This question was quickly answered once Jay-Z was announced as the stand-in headliner for the Beastie Boys.

I became very nostalgic when coming to terms with the line-up change, thinking about that era in my life where hip-hop was such a key component. When Reasonable Doubt was on repeat on my Sony Walkman, providing insight to a kid in the suburbs with a life far from being hard knock.

Life as we know it has changed drastically since then but I feel one can never appreciate the present and the future without taking a look at the past. My anticipation for seeing Jay-Z live was surprisingly high yet cautious so as to not set myself up for a disappointment.

I’m not really sure where to begin my review of the show because from start to finish Jay-Z killed the set, catering to every person who has ever heard one of his songs. Special nods to Beastie Boys were embedded throughout the setlist including opening with a cover of No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn, as well as a tear jerking tribute to the life of the late great Michael Jackson.

The highlight moment of the night for me occurred when the lights dimmed and Jay-Z told the crowd ‘This may be too far back for some of you, here’s your education on Reasonable Doubt‘ followed by a run through of some of my all time favorite hip hop tunes. He pulled out all the stops, covering all his bases in one of the most epic encores I’ve experienced.

Jay-Z’s reach, influence and impact on music and culture is undeniable with fans of all ages and colors. This fact was evidenced by the middle aged white couple rocking out next to us and the group of Jamaican girls chanting song lyrics along with me to the left. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience that I am grateful to have been a part of. With the new Blueprint 3 tunes I welcome back the re-humbled Hova with open arms into my iPod — as long as he strays away from Linkin Park mashups, Coldplay, Kanye West and nonsense of the sort.

MP3: Jay-Z – Jockin’ Jay or zShare
MP3: Punjabi MC featuring Jay-Z – Beware of the Boys or zShare

Yeah Yeah Yeahs at APW, 7.31.09

We arrived at Liberty State Park on Friday around 4PM and headed straight to the Blue Comet main stage for the Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jay-Z trifecta of awesomeness. Upon arrival we were greeted with a torrential downpour, complete with lightning and mud.  It wasn’t an ideal situation, but we laughed through it all and made the best of it.

The last time I saw Vampire Weekend was in 2008 when they played with Chromeo at the 2008 mtvU Woodie Awards, a huge year for the band that helped birth a new wave of music fans via Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (I will admit that I liked that movie).  But alas, we did not have the security of Roseland Ballroom as protection from the undesirable weather conditions on Friday night.

Vampire Weekend at APW, 7.31.09

With lightning flashing across the sky it was unclear whether the show would go on, that was until Vampire Weekend took the stage. The band got soaked but were visibly happy to be there which in turn uplifted everyone’s rain soaked mood.  VW left the stage on a positive note by ultimately taming the storm and delivering the news that Friday ticket holders had a free pass to one of the two remaining dates of the All Points West Festival!

By 7:30 the rain clouds disappeared for Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ set and the park grounds turned into a muddy dancefloor with an enormous glittery eyeball centerpiece as the disco ball. Heads Will Roll kicked off the journey with seamless stops back and forth from rock-rave to intimate and emotional places such as an acoustic sing-along version of Maps.

Other highlights for me included the masterfully subdued Skeletons, Y Control, Date With the Night, Zero, and Honeybear. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that it took me almost 10 years into Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ career to finally see them live but all of that pent up adoration was 100% justified by the band’s incredible performance on opening night. It was a perfect crowd rouse for Jay-Z who followed shortly after. Needless to say, we’re anxiously looking forward to catching the YYYs kill another live set this weekend at Lollapalooza!

MP3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Honeybear or zShare
MP3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps (Slamer Remix) or zShare
MP3: Vampire Weekend – The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance (Miike Snow Remix) or zShare
MP3: Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (The Teenagers Remix) or zShare

Lykke Li at APW Day 3, 8.2.09

I almost let all of the speculation, negativity and rain prevent me from making it out to the last day of All Points West on Sunday. The festival gates didn’t open until 4PM when the sun peaked out which unfortunately meant bands scheduled before this time were skipped.

The main draws of the remaining gigs for me were La Roux, Lykke Li (always a great show) and Echo and the Bunnymen who I unfortunately decided against trekking through the mud/madness for.  Coldplay and MGMT were not on my agenda.

La Roux at APW Day 3, 8.2.09

I got to Liberty State Park just in time to catch La Roux and stayed in the Queen of the Valley tent for Lykke Li and Ghostland Observatory before heading back to home sweet Brooklyn.

I’m really glad I decided to be a trooper and close out the weekend on the final day of the 2nd Annual All Points West Festival in New Jersey. As a whole I was VERY pleased with the organization, amenities, sound, art installations and of course fantastic acts. Great job APW, you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Here’s to next year!

MP3: Lykke Li – Time Flies (The Disco Pusher Remix) or zShare

MP3: La Roux – Quicksand (Mad Decent Remix) or zShare

Crystal Castles at APW Day 2, 8.1.09

Checking in on Day 2 of All Points West. We saw many more acts today including: Arctic Monkeys, Crystal Castes, My Bloody Valentine, Cage the Elephant, The Cool Kids, Neko Case and Chairlift.

Luckily the day was beautiful and a lot of the mud solidified!  We’re realy impressed at how organized the festival is this year, perfect festival preparation for Lollapalooza next week!

Arctic Monkeys at APW Day 2, 8.1.09

As we did yesterday, I’m posting a few pics from the sets we saw today to hold you over until we do the big reveal. Hoping for another nice day tomorrow for La Roux, Lykke Li, Echo and the Bunnymen, Elbow, Gaslight Anthem, Mogwai, We Are Scientists, etc or it’s back to rockin’ the ponchos!

MP3: Crystal Castles – Vanished or zShare
MP3: My Bloody Valentine – When You Sleep or zShare

Yeah Yeah Yeahs at APW, 7.31.09

Jay-Z at APW, 7.31.09

I wish we had time to share our experience at of All Points West so far but alas theres only two of us and we must make time for sleep and afterpartying.

Enjoy a few pics of Friday’s fantastic sets we saw, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jay-Z and Vampire Weekend.

It was a wet, muddy, sweaty yet AMAZING and went above all of our expectations. Full coverage will be rolling out ASAP. Thanks for your patience. Please follow anthoNYC for Twitter updates from the festival.

MP3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Runaway or zShare