And now to address a little rumor. As we tweeted yesterday, our friends over at BlackBook think that Jay-Z is making an appearance at tonight’s big Diesel party at Webster Hall before he headlines All Points West tomorrow night. (For those you playing along at home, Jay-Z took over for the Beastie Boys following their tour cancellation.) As far as we knew, The Roots, Passion Pit, Noisettes, The Clipse, and Cobra Starship were the only acts on the bill.
We emailed our friends at Cornerstone (who are promoting the event) about the exciting rumor, and they told us this: “There are a few big special guests but I don’t have any more info than that.” When we pressed farther, asking if anyone not on the set list would be performing tonight, we were told that there would be unannounced artists.
So it’s not totally outside of the realm of possibility. But just for the sake of arguing, we’re going to debunk (most of) Foster’s points.
1. Diesel Show Precedent– Foster points to last October’s Diesel xXx annivesary party — you know, the one that brought M.I.A. out of retirement — but we think the comparison is apple and oranges. That was an international event (with other parties happening in Beijing, Dubai, Athens, Amsterdam, Milan, Zurich, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Oslo, Helsinki, London, and São Paulo). It had a crazy circus theme and an even crazier venue (Pier 3 at the Brooklyn waterfront). This is but a planned stop on the DIESEL:U:MUSIC TOUR.
2. The Pre-Festival Secret Show Factor: Fine. We’ll give him this one — mostly because it cracked us up to see Jay-Z, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and The Pixies referenced in the same paragraph. Side note: Did anyone at APW read this before they booked him to headline?
3. Jay-Z’s Drop-In Habit: Yes, Jay-Z loves to drop in. But he also likes to make cameos that generate buzz-worthy performances (Kanye, Eminem). We’re not sure there’s anyone on the current lineup who would tempt him to spend two nights away from B.
4. Jay-Z Hearts The Roots: See above. Yeah, yeah. He loves them. He has recorded with them. He has gone to their live shows. He has also played with them before. Why do it again tonight?
5. Because we heard it was going to happen: OK. But would you wager money on it? Also: We didn’t know Lykke Li was going to be there. How exciting!