Quantcast
"As beautiful as [the site] is, it's very hard to get New Yorkers to cross that river.”
——Randy Phillips

AEG LIVE PREPARES TO PULL
THE PLUG ON ALL POINTS WEST

Phillips Cites Rampant Bridge-and-Tunnel Phobia as a Major Obstacle to Luring N.Y.
Fans to Scenic Noo Joizey
While Coachella hit a new level of success last weekend, another of AEG Live's flagship festivals—Jersey City’s All Points West—is on death row.

"We're probably going to kill it," top dog Randy Phillips told Reuters—and as usual, we take every word that comes out of Randy’s mouth as gospel. "As beautiful as [the site] is, it's very hard to get New Yorkers to cross that river. All Points West is an experiment that just didn't work."

The festival took place at Liberty State Park in 2008 and 2009, and many festivalgoers griped about the cost of and long lines for the ferry that transported New Yorkers to the site, noted RollingStone.com.

Last year's All Points West suffered two blows: the loss of headliners the Beastie Boys due to Adam Yauch's cancer treatment, and punishing rains that created massive mud pits and drove many attendees home, while keeping other potential audience members away.

But Jay-Z capably filled in for the Beasties, turning out a powerful headlining set RS called a "hard-rocking, non-stop blizzard of hits, punctuated by tributes to the Beastie Boys and Michael Jackson." The 2009 lineup also featured Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, Coldplay, Tool and the reunited My Bloody Valentine, but event organizers resorted to handing out free passes to those who purchased single-day tickets to encourage attendees to return for the later-weekend shows.

All Points West got off to a promising start two years ago behind a pair of headlining sets from Radiohead, a surefire draw, along with Kings of Leon, then breaking wide open, and reliable attraction Jack Johnson. In February, an AEG rep told the N.Y. Times the company was having trouble nailing down big-name headliners for summer 2010. What’s more, last year the fest reported attendance of 71.5k over its three days, a slight decrease from the 75k it drew in ’08.

By contrast, Coachella reports attendance of 225k for its 11th edition, with a bill topped by Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz. That breaks the fest's previous attendance record, which came when the reunited Rage Against the Machine rocked Coachella in 2007. Phillips said the 2010 gross is expected to top $20 million.

NEAR TRUTHS: SPRING BLOOMS
Here come the big guns. (3/28a)
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/28a)
CITY OF HOPE TAPS MARCIANO FOR TOP HONOR
This year's philanthropic model (3/28a)
TRUST IN THE TOP 20
Hip-hop is no longer hibernating. (3/28a)
UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS
Sir Lucian and Daniel are in harmony. (3/28a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
 Email

 First Name

 Last Name

 Company

 Country
CAPTCHA code
Captcha: (type the characters above)