All Points West Festival – Friday

Of course Saturday had unbeatable weather, but at least the Sunday crowd felt the downpour we all felt on Friday.The first thing anyone will remember about Friday at All Points West, the music festival located in the backyard of New York and New Jersey, is the mud. The afternoon rain soaked the festival grounds, and by night when the skies had cleared, the festival-goers' constant churning of the ground turned the usually grassy fields of Liberty State Park into a swamp. The second thing anyone will remember about Friday is that despite mother nature's bad mood, no one really seemed to care. The music went on as planned, and once everyone decided to embrace the weather, the festival hit its stride.Many decided to set up camp at the Blue Comet stage, the main stage where those who came to see their favorite indie bands jam were delighted to sets from The National, Vampire Weekend and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The National's guitarist joked that "this looks like England," and those of us standing in the rain couldn't disagree. The biggest news to come from All Points West in the weeks leading up to the festival was that Friday's headliner, the Beastie Boys, had to drop-out due to Adam Yauch's health. In a last minute save, the festival brought in Jay-Z for his first major US festival appearance. His first? What have we been waiting for?Jay-Z got heat from Oasis last year when he was scheduled to headline England's Glastonbury festival because they felt he was a rapper at a rock concert. Last night, Jay-Z proved he is more than just a rapper, and more than deserved of a headlining spot– with his full live band behind him, you could call him what you want, but a superstar would be the only fitting term. Jay had the island going nuts for an hour and a half set that could have gone on for hours more without a single complaint from the audience.The views of the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty from Liberty State Park are unbeatable, and the ferry ride back to Manhattan only magnifies the beauty of the city's landscape. A perfect ending to a perfect day, weather be damned. (Nicholas Berger)The National Yeah Yeah Yeahs Jay-Z