Live in Liberty State Park Jersey City, NJ
With my ticket acquired at the very last minute firmly in hand, some friends and I positioned ourselves on the crowded downtown train. I then strolled through the World Trade Center and on to a massive line to await special ferries to take us to Liberty State Park. It was a surreal scene as we sailed off of the NY shore, around the Statue of Liberty and down past the side of the stage as the music swelled to greet us.
A mass of metal, lights and electricity topped a green field. Waves of wind blown bodies swayed in anticipation while the Miss Liberty continued to stand watch in the background.
As we were corralled through the gate into the park, the security guards made damned sure that we entered with nothing, including water. This brings me to a very sore point. The policy of only allowing patrons to drink water that is sold for $3.00 per 20-ounce bottle is a crime to say the least. To say the most, it is a potential health risk. Concerts, in general generate heat. This being an outdoor summer event, a couple of hours were spent under the hot rays of the sun to add to that heat. Heat causes dehydration and dehydration causes illness or worse. Many of the over-cooked bodies, including my own, simply could not afford to keep buying the much-needed water. This is a practice that must be put to an end. With the exorbitant cost of going to a show these days, free water is the very least they could do for us. But anyway, back to the show.
Beta Band’s set consisted mostly of a Euro-atmosphere and attitude that was a bit rough around the edges. Though their in-between song rants about the CIA trying to run them out of the country, Radiohead not sharing their luxuries and such were amusing.
Kid Koala’s hip-hop meets bebop meets Saturday morning cartoon sound was an eye-opener for me. I had never really thought of a DJ as being very musical, but his manipulation of three tables melded into an impressive array of tonal accuracy and rhythmic precision.
Then came Radiohead like a group of alien mad scientists exorcizing their demons while teetering on the brink of revelation. Full color action through puffs of smoke filled the stage. Flashing on large screens off to each side of the stage were black and white composite images delivered by a multitude of cleverly placed cameras. This made for two completely dissimilar yet equally powerful visual experiences.
Leaving the show, we realized that Radiohead had come out for yet another encore. Though a bit disapointed to miss the last song, it was still a pleasant way to end the night. We cheered as we passed the stage. Soon the music drifted into silence as we passed Miss Liberty again and headed back to NYC lulled by the hum of the ferry.
