On Saturday I went to the All Points West festival in Liberty State Park, NJ. Arriving slightly buzzed from a bar in Hoboken, I was eagerly anticipating the line-up of some of my favorite bands/artists. The day shaped up to be one of impressive musical performances, but underwhelming event organization.

Liberty State Park is HUGE. The walk from the train station alone was almost half an hour. This is no mean feat, but in 85ºF heat it definitely leaves you feeling a little parched and irritable. Upon reaching the entrance, there was a ridiculous line which seemed totally unnecessary. Unfortunately this would be the first of many.

Simply put, the event organizers hadn’t allowed for the sheer numbers of people in this place.

Beer - this was a joke. To get a beer you had to queue up for 30 minutes to show ID and get a wristband. Once you had your wristband and purple cross marked on your hand, you then had to join another crowd, almost like cattle, to be let through a gate into the ‘beer pen’ - this was the only place you were allowed to drink alcohol, it was cramped and ridiculous. Another queue then lead you to the bar, where you were only allowed to purchase two beers and a total of FIVE for the whole event…

I understand keeping alcohol abuse at a minimum creates a safe event for all, but come on! Surely if you limit the number of beers people can have, you at least can give them easy access to it?

On the plus side - the location was stunning. It was the most amazing place I have ever seen live music. As night descended, Manhattan’s lights illuminated a majestic backdrop of stars, a half-moon, and Lady Liberty. Very impressive. Radiohead’s set was incredible, the trippy visuals seemed to compete with the glow from Manhattan. They played most of their new album IN RAINBOWS, and a selection of classics. Thankfully this awe-inspiring performance combined with the amazing scenery helped to alleviate the bad feelings from the day of queuing. My message to the organizers: double your amenities and widen the entrance, or reduce the number of peaceful music lovers substantially.

What a great show. Amp Fiddler was in town, playing for a small although very enthusiastic crowd of soul fans at the Middle East, Mass Ave. Cambridge. He sounded so much better live, much more energy, and the backing singers supporting him had incredible voices.

For those of you who don’t know him - he is Detroit born soul/funk/electronica artist best known for playing in George Clinton’s Parliament and Funkadelic groups back in the 70’s and 80’s.

I felt sorry for them to play such a small and sparsely populated venue, but in a selfish way it was good for me because I was able to get very close to the stage, and the intimate space definitely provided a greater atmosphere.

Ok so that was weird. I was sat in TGI Friday’s having a beer (it was raining and it was joined to my hotel) - and all of a sudden Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters came over and sat at the adjacent table. A couple of people buzzed around, including a photographer. She proceeded to take some snaps with me kind of sitting in the whole scene. I got talking to the publicist (or whatever) and she was really cool. I was able to go and sit with the man himself and get a photo, and we chatted a little bit about his music etc. Really nice guy. He told me to come and say hello when he is playing in Boston in summer. Ok, you got it Mr. Thornton.

So, everyone has those ‘things to do before they die’ moments. Some people want to go round the world, swim with dolphins, watch the sunrise in the desert etc. I swam with Dolphins, that was great. But seeing Stevie Wonder live? That was simply magic.

For the first time in my life, I was totally starstruck. For as long as I can remember I always wanted to see him live. Living in England made this very difficult, I mean this was his first US tour in ten years, nevermind anywhere else. Stevie played all his greatest songs, and even had his daughter Aisha up on stage with him. She’s a great singer.

Stevie concentrated on a lot of material from arguably one of his best albums, Innervisions. My favourite track, Golden Lady was performed with the same level of soul as he did thirty years ago, and then the transition into Ribbon in the Sky was beautiful.

Stevie Wonder announced his first US tour for 12 years on Friday, and needless to say we had booked the tickets minutes later. We’re going to see him in Boston on 20 September. Very very excited. The venue is the same place I saw Steely Dan, it is pretty small so we are sure to get a good view of the man himself.

Last night I went to the Lizard Lounge, just a couple of blocks away from my apartment. As you step off the street, down some tiny winding stairs you enter an underground music lair which reminded me a lot of social clubs from back home. Red velvety drapes and old furniture give the place a sense of no-nonsense simplicity and the warm atmosphere almost countered the freezing a/c.

I saw the Vinyl Skyway, and it is always a pleasure to sit down to a band you have never heard of and find yourself really getting into the music. They are veterans of the Boston scene, and bloody nice blokes. (I spoke to Dave the pianist afterwards.) You can read about them on their myspace page.

I had no idea these guys were playing in Boston when I was over there. I’ve wanted to see them live since I was a kid, so I was pretty excited. The venue was fantastic, open air and the weather was perfect. The performace didn’t dissapoint, there was a great band supporting Donald and Walter as they belted out some of their classics.