But before we get to the bands I'd like to tip my hat to APW for solving the alcohol conundrum. Since the venue took place in a government park-that meant no booze. The parties involved compromised and Dirty Jerz allowed every APW attendee a 5 beer max. Sounds whack, but it actually worked out well. We were given wristbands with 5 stubs to indicate how many beers we had left to chug.

As per the music, we started off with Chromeo-who put on a great show. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and David, aka the Canadian Jew, kept insisting that it was too early in the morning to be speaking, let alone performing. They ripped through every great song, but for whatever reason the crowd lacked proper enthusiasm. No one knew the words to any song and audience dancing was neither here nor there. I guess everyone was still on beer number ONE. Still, I loved it-it was a great set to kick off the day. After that I ventured back to the beer garden to chug my second and third babies. (The beer garden was a closed off area where you were allowed to drink your beer.) That's right, you couldn't take it out of the pen, or anywhere near any of the stages.

On to The Virgins. I was most excited for these dudes. Matt Pinfield, rock veteran and old school MTV VJ introduced the band as the future of his radio station 101.9 RXP. I wouldn't call their show the most thrilling of the bunch-maybe they were too sober OOPZ NO COKAYN BRNCH? Regardless, their music is pretty darn good and on the closing track "Rich Girls," they even jammed for a bit before the intro, which was unexpected.

We scurried over to Animal Collective after that, which you could hear from a half a mile away. I love bands that you listen to all the time and surprise you when you see them live. It was as if I'd never heard a beat. They were seriously intoxicated and presented a great segue into the darker hours of the day. We stayed at the main stage to watch Kings Of Leon. Again, another band I listen to all the time, but had never seen live. They weren't as surprising or as innovative as Animal Collective (then again, who the fuck is?), but they were solid. They played all the hits, some even twice if I'm not mistaken.

One thing led to another and I got dragged to the bullet stage to hear The Roots. It was hard to focus knowing that Radiohead was going to take the stage in about half an hour. After a dope rendition of "You Got Me" we fled The Roots, housed some BBQ and headed back to the main stage to stake a spot for Thom Yorke and Co.

The lights, the mood, the voice-everything about Radiohead was mesmerizing. I missed Friday's show, but on the second night of APW, they were partial to the newest album, but snuck in some classics like "Kid A," "Everything In It's Right Place" and "The Bends." It's hard to say anything bad about the set, though as expected, you could barely move. I would liked to have been closer. Oh well, next time.

Bands I missed while being locked up in the beer garden: Metric, Sia, The Felice Brothers and The Black Angels. -TML