All Points West Day 1 Recap & Photos

All Points West Day 1 was great…aside from the rain…and the result being of my ipod getting drenched and now not working. FUCK. (I live off it, I’m really fucking pissed).

Anyway, we got there early and caught a small bit of Heartless Bastards set…they were good! Right after that we caught Seasick Steve who was very entertaining and fun to watch. Gotta love some old fashion blues story tellin’. Fleet Foxes came on next and were magnificent. Soon it started to pour, and right when it did they just kicked into Ragged Wood, and the timing could not have been better. The National then played an epic set that worked a bit too well in the rain. Mr. November was the highlight of the whole night when Matt sang in the crowd. A powerful, raw performance that left me wanting more.

Vampire Weekend showed up when it was monsooning outside, allowing the crowd to dance in literal pools of mood. They played one new song that was pretty cool, along with White Sky and their already classic songs off their debut. Next, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs absolutely destroyed with a performance full of their best songs from each album. They threw in “Date With The Night” and “Turn Into” which I hoped for, but didn’t expect to hear! So that was a bonus!

Finally, Jay-Z came out and put on the best show that you could expect next to the Beastie Boys. His entrance was an appropriate cover of No Sleep Till Brooklyn, which got the crowd absolutely nuts. His set was full of familiar classics that got you moving even if you didn’t know much more than the chorus.

All and all, weather and ipod death aside, one of the best concert going events of my life. And, it was only day 1.

Best photos that I took below:

Seasick Steve