The New York Optimist
August 2008
A Lovely Stroll through The Park
A Story about the All Points West Concert at
Liberty State Park
Featuring Radiohead and Underworld  
By Jason Chase

I met up with a few friends Friday around four thirty in front of the Century 21
Department store in downtown Manhattan we were headed for the path train to
Jersey City to transfer to the light rail in route to Liberty State Park
to see my favorite band live in concert Radiohead!!
A cold gray sky hovered above the skyscrapers and a bone chilling rain started. to
fall  as I approached my friends who were standing in front of the department
store.
We were all dressed in summer attire shorts and rock and roll t –shirts ready to go
crazy amidst the crowd of fans at the concert but the rain seemed to put us into a
disappointed
And slightly gloomy mood, my friend Steven an actor writer and filmmaker was
Optimistic and stated loud and clear that the rain would not stop us from having a
good time at the show we all smiled and agreed but secretly I dreaded trudging
through grass and mud while being eaten by oversized New Jersey Mosquito’s.
When we arrived in Jersey City the rain had stopped though the clouds were still
gray
And we hopped on the light rail that would take us on a short trip above ground to
our destination. As the light rail weaved and turned through the industrial
landscape there was an excited anticipation in the crowd of people on the train
headed to see the concerts at Liberty State Park.  Then the light cracked through
the gloom and the sun blasted through the windows of the above ground shuttle
train and the excitement started to build. With a sigh of relief we sprung from the
train and began our long walk from the station to the park. There had to be over a
hundred people walking together as the Manhattan skyline appeared to our left and
the bright sunny blue sky served as a beacon
And a sign that this was going to turn out to be a great night.  The first music that
we could hear as we entered the park was a dance based funky groove that
started my pulse beating and began raising the energy one decibel higher
With each step I took, you could see in the distance architectural teepees with
lighting glowing from the inside and art installations positioned through out the
park.
Since the rain didn’t last long the grounds were relatively dry
And our throats were parched when we made it to the stage areas  A beverage
tent was set up and we entered to purchase some nice cold beers
The staff for the beer tent ran a purple marker over my hand and attached a green
wrist band with five little tags to outline the maximum amount of beers allowed.
The area was fenced off with no visual access to the stage I thought about
complaining and referencing a certain communistic approach that the concert
handlers were taking but decided to enjoy the beer and goof around with my
friends on all the colorful personality’s that were drinking down their beers and
getting ready for the show.
When we made it to the stage area Underworld was the first band up.
I had heard of them but was not familiar with their music. But when Lead singer
and Rick Smith started pumping their electronic dance based set the crowds went
wild and everybody danced. Then Radiohead the band everybody was there to see
took the stage after  Underworld and closed the show with a set

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that included songs from their best albums, Street Spirit, Just, You and
Whose Army, and some new material.The sound was crystal clean and the
light show was incredible as usual with Radiohead
Concerts. The crowd was enthusiastic and we were treated to an encore
that satisfied
All. Thom Yorke if you read this Ai just would like to say that we here at
The New York Optimist Love you and Look forward to seeing you in
concert again soon