Friday 26th August
Generally, I don’t like being negative about pop culture. I write this blog, for free, every day, because I adore popular culture. I love cinema. I love music. I love TV. I love literature. In many ways, I have defined my whole life by it. Sometimes, however, things go so badly wrong that it is impossible to be positive (shout out to Don’t Look Up). Regrettably, The Strokes at All Points East was one of those occasions…
Forgive me. I’m getting ahead of myself. The rest of the festival was wonderful it must be said. Plenty of bars and toilets. Easy to move around. Good infrastructure. And until The Strokes at least great music. Be Your Own Pet kicks things off and they deliver a high-energy set on one of the two Main Stages. For a band that wrote most of their songs as teenagers, they retain their juvenile charm and tracks like ‘Becky’ and ‘Bicycle Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle’ sound great in the East London sunshine.
The Walkmen play their one great song with aplomb and probably loads of other songs that nobody much cares about. Good luck to them. Angel Olsen is a performer I knew nothing about going in, and I only really mention her here to point out that even though we were stood right at the back for her performance, the sound is crisp and high quality throughout. Her music isn’t really my thing but nobody can deny her ethereal voice and ‘All Mirrors’ sounds great with the backdrop of swirling strings and atmospheric backing vocals. So far, so good.
We spend all of Amyl and the Sniffers huddled under a tree as there is a downpour and we are all too old to be wandering around in wet clothes but the weather improves in time for New York heroes Yeah Yeah Yeahs and iconic frontwoman Karen O doesn’t disappoint as she emerges from the stage wearing what can only be described as a black tent. She looks and sounds great. New track ‘Spitting Off the Edge of the World’ makes for a low-key start but the crowd are up for it and the band go from strength to strength. ‘Zero’ is an early highlight but it is the pounding drum intro to ‘Gold Lion’ that really kicks things off. The band have attracted a huge crowd by this point and the feeling of unity is palpable. ‘Y Control’ is similarly well received but it is ‘Maps’ that provides the best moment of the set, and as it turns out, the best moment of the festival itself. While the band have written countless great songs, it is ‘Maps’ that will always define them. It sounds massive here. A true anthem. My wife misses it as she’s in the toilet. Typical. In contrast to that moment of exquisite elegance, the band choose to go out with a bang rather than a melancholy daydream. ‘Heads Will Roll’ has everyone dancing. With the dead. As it were. ‘Date With the Night’ closes things out and confirms that this set is everything it promised and more. An iconic band who are still at the top of their game.
Allow me to indulge myself for a moment. The Strokes are one of my favourite bands of all time. Since their debut album dropped in 2001, they have soundtracked every poker night, every drunken evening, every car journey and everything in between ever since. They were the backdrop to the 2020 lockdown for me as their excellent sixth record The New Abnormal dropped just as everyone was shut up in their homes. Needless to say, I was fucking excited for this gig. And I’m deeply sorry to say, that it was a fucking disappointment. I wouldn’t normally use such blunt language. On this occasion, it is merited.
Let’s just jump right into it. The sound quality for The Strokes at All Points East 2023 was an absolute shambles. It was clear from the opening 20 seconds of ‘What Ever Happened?’ (coincidentally my favourite Strokes song) that something was very wrong. We were stood fairly close to the stage, much closer than we were for Angel Olsen earlier in the day, and yet the sound was distant and tinny. It appeared that some speakers weren’t even turned on. The ones that were operational were not turned up loud enough. Despite mass booing and crowd-wide chants of ‘Turn it up!’, the situation never really improved. The most devastating thing is that from what we could hear of the band, they sounded great. They played an electric, career-spanning set that nobody could hear. What a fucking tragedy. Normally, I would go through the set track-by-track and attempt to offer some kind of analysis. Here, there is really no point. Nobody could hear anything. The whole set was a shambles. Now, let’s never ever speak of it again.
Agreed that strokes was gutting cos I thought the set was pretty ace but the sound was a joke. My only criticism of this is that it defo did not start with be your own pet. Hot wax was one of the highlights of the festival and julie were awesome! Be your own pet were halfway through the day! Time to get up earlier old bean!!! Xxx
We were travelling up from Doncaster on the day so and then from my mate’s house in Limehouse otherwise we might have got in a little earlier. Next time!
My issue was the barriers NOW this festival charge so punters who want to go il the front have to pay wtf it’s a shambles music has become a cesspit for greed not only was this crap there was so much space people could have filled up and it was not safe and against health a safety people were jamming up so close to just get a view and this could have been avoided if the barriers were not there. This festival like Hyde park summer festivals is a divide in classes it’s a festival keep it real bring back old skool vibes
This is the same every year at all points east. The council have mandated they can’t go above certain decibels after 9pm because of local residents complaining, so each and every year every act is great except for the headliner.
I can’t even really complain because I knew what to expect.
If you stand closer to the centre of the stage and not on the wings it tends to be better. But honestly it’s better to just avoid all points east.
From the opening song all we could hear was the lyrics being sung by the crowd. My son and I quickly made haste to the back where the sound was much better and we had space for a good dance. I’m glad we did because the strokes are my son’s favourite band and he left a very happy lad. I personally loved high school who were on earlier in the day
Story repeats itself, last time The Strokes played All Points East, around 3 years ago, the sound was shit, speakers were off and the crowd chanted “Turn it up”. EXACTLY THE SAME STORY. Learn from mistakes do not attend APE, they are noise restricted.
I was also at All Points East. Going again today. I noiced the boos but didn’t notice the sound problem too much. (I was standing about 200 yards up to the left hand side of the stage). If anything I founding the lighting on the band (not the effects) a bit dingey.
For me, however, Amyl and the Sniffers and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were the performances of the day (in spite of the heavens opening). Plenty though got soaked whike I hid under my umbrella).
I agree completely with RobScenes comments on the Strokes. The organisation for the festival was great with good stewarding, short queues and decent food and drinks service. I was so looking forward to hearing one of my favourite bands after having travelled up from Bristol with my extended family. But the sound was terrible – you couldn’t hear the vocals at all. Even when Julian Casablancas was talking to the audience you couldn’t hear him. Luckily those around us all knew the lyrics so we had a singalong. Surely the band must have been aware of the sound problem but they didn’t acknowledge it. I loved the day at the festival but, what should’ve been the climax was a big disappointment. Feels to me that the band should recognise the sound issues and make a statement on it – maybe agree to come back and play another gig at the end of their tour?
Really dumb to suggest the walkman had only one song.
The Strokes suffered terrible sound a few years ago at All Points East. At least it allowed me to make my trains!
It’s a shame you can’t be everywhere at these festivals, I had the best time ocer at the Radio 6 stage. Had to be dragged away to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who were superb. I defy anyone to name a better frontwoman currently on tour.