So, whilst in Minehead, I also attended the ATP festival that just happened to be going on at the time. It was really good. For anyone that doesn’t know, it’s held at Butlins, so straight away, it’s better than any other festival, as you get a shower, a bed, a telly and dinner. There’s no need to trudge across a muddy site in the middle of the night, looking for a toilet that isn’t piled a foot high with other people’s shit. You can wash, you can lounge about on a bed, drinking yourself into oblivion, with your own stereo for entertainment. It’s like being at home, only you live right next to a bunch of venues that have a load of good bands playing. Basically, right, other festivals are a bit shit. Shut up hippy, they are.
ATP is also special because the festival organisers only select half of the bands. The other half are selected by the curators, in this case, The Breeders. So you’re going to be watching a load of their favourite bands, for better or for worse. The curators also select the programming for one of the two channels of ATP TV that is playing throughout the festival, for those that either don’t want to see any of the bands, or those that have gone so mental on drugs that they can’t leave the chalet, for fear of birds. I, myself, woke up on Saturday morning, opened the curtains and saw two slightly confused looking ducks staring back at me.
See? I wasn’t just making that up to be funny.
Possibly due to these uncertain, troubled economic times we currently find ourselves living in, there weren’t as many bands as previous years. I figure they’ve been forced to strip down the operation a bit and book less acts in order to cover their costs better. There was only about 40 bands playing this year. However, this did allow for some clever manipulation of the line-up, which in turn allowed me to see almost every single band playing. Quite a feat, I thought, seeing as in previous years, I’ve just taken loads of drugs and sat around in my chalet regretting not going to see more bands. However, spurred on by the presence of the racist ashtray, I went out a bit more.
Here’s what I saw and heard with my head:
Friday: Day 1
The Holloys - They were, to be honest, a bit boring. Two drummers, two bassists and one annoying guitarist who clearly felt swamped by the rhythm section. He wasn’t even the singer, as far as I could tell. I watched probably two songs all the way through and gave up. As my friend said, “what’s the fucking point in having two drummers and two bass players if you’re just going to play the same thing?” Indeed.
Giant Sand - Giant Sand were all country twang and bluesy, Tom Waits-lite growling. Not awful, but I could picture them providing the soundtrack to a kids version of Blue Velvet. Which, now I’ve thought about it, might be the most disturbing film of all time. 3 songs was enough for me.
The Bronx - Fucking rubbish. Dull, generic punk by numbers. It was a bit like they’d bought an album of old hardcore songs and very slightly rewritten each one. Which is basically how music works, really. But, nonetheless, they were shit. The worst thing about their set was the sudden appearance of a pint, which meant I couldn’t leave the venue they were playing in, which in turn meant I had to watch about 7 of their songs. Fucking awful.
Throwing Muses - I’ve never really been a big fan of Throwing Muses, but I think they’re alright. The Pavilion stage, which is basically a big tent, with shops and stuff in it, is totally the wrong sort of environment for this sort of music, which should have been played on one of the other stages. The sound was awful and no one was really getting into it. A real shame.
Yann Tiersen - Not the worst band I’ve ever heard. Some of the worst singers, though.
Bon Iver - A lot of people tell me that Bon Iver is great and that I should give his music a chance. I find him really boring and this definitely was the theme when he was playing. It was miserable and totally wrong for a festival like this.
Buffalo Killers - A bunch of fat beardy men that really, really, need to rock out a bit if they hope to ever be even a little bit interesting. They were all very good at what they were doing, but there didn’t seem to even be the feintest hint of passion about them. I’m willing to buy them a distortion pedal if they’re willing to get in touch. Could have been excellent.
Pit-er-Pat - There’s not really much to say about Pit-er-Pat. I gave up on them after two songs, both of which were really dull, shouty electro-indie, which sound like an even shitter version of Bis and was completely out of time. I don’t want to hear them ever again.
Mr Lif - Mr Lif was a real surprise highlight for me. I like a bit of Hip Hop and that’s exactly what he was. With his repeatedly name-checked friend Payton Lock, they ploughed through an upbeat, fun set of tracks that, whilst occasionally veered a little too far into conscious hip hop for my liking, was still a blast. There really needs to be a lot more hip hop at ATP, and less maudlin beardy country rock.
J-Zone - This was just a DJ set, but J-Zone played some great old-school hip hop and electro and really got the last of the late-night crowd buzzing. His quality was cemented when he played “some Redman for the hardcore heads up in here”. Happy faces.
Saturday: Day 2
The Whispertown 2000 - Fairly pleasant folky stuff on offer here. However, the voices were just a bit too high pitched for me at that time of day to really want to hear anymore than two songs. One of my friends stayed to watch their set on the grounds of them having a “sexy Mexican singer” and really enjoyed them.
Blood Red Shoes - Another surprise for me here. I’d not heard much of them before I saw them and thought they were actually pretty good. They were a bit like the Ting Tings, only not really, really shit and actually had some good songs. I fucking hate the Ting Tings. Even typing their name is a little bit offensive to me. The shit heads. Anyway. Blood Red Shoes. Yes, pretty good. And not just because they’re from where I live and the girl is quite attractive.
Th’ Faith Healers - Really boring new-wave band that probably should have given up long ago. One of my friends remarked that he had been to watch them almost exactly 20 years ago. They should have stopped then. I’m guessing it was the same set, which was thoroughly uninspiring.
CSS - I fucking hate them, based on what little I’ve seen of them on the telly and that, but fuck me, they were actually really entertaining live. They were pretty much one of the only bands all weekend that actually appeared to be enjoying themselves. It was a bit like watching a really good band have the stage invaded by a precocious five year old, giddy on pop, doing a bit of singing with a microphone she’d petulantly stolen from someone. I still don’t like their music much, but they’re fun and I hate that.
Wire - Really boring old guys doing nothing much that goes anywhere. I went somewhere. I went away.
I didn’t bother with either Teenage Fanclub or Shellac on the Saturday, because I can’t stand either of them. Well, I say I can’t stand them, but that’s not true. I just find their music so boring and generic that I just couldn’t force myself to see them. Back on with Saturday, then.
The Breeders - The headliners, who were strangely on at about 8pm on Saturday. Probably to allow them to do other things or see some of the bands they’d picked. They were pretty good, dealing out (HA, see what I did there?) a perfunctory performance that was neither brilliant nor shit. I quite enjoyed them. They played Cannonball, it was good, then a dinosaur came, the end.
Tricky - I’ve tried really hard to like Tricky but, let’s be honest here, he’s basically shit and a big thieving loser. All of his good hooks were nicked from other bands doing similarly boring trip-hop bullshit, and he’s an ugly man. I watched precisely one and a half songs and wished I hadn’t bothered. He’s always struck me as one of those guys that would sit cross-legged on his merchandise stall at the back of the stage, to give the fans a chance to meet him, so he could tell them all about how awesome he is. Which is odd, really, as that’s precisely what he did at ATP.
Zach Hill - I was really looking forward to this guy, as I quite like the stuff he does in Hella, and his solo stuff on myspace is awesome. However, on this night, he basically bashed his drums for an hour, turning the set into a slightly wanky, fucked up drum-jazz workout. It was surprisingly good for someone who was basically just having a bit of a practice. I wish I could drum like him.
The Frogs - Didn’t know what to expect from these guys at all. They were a bit shit. Too many costumes, not enough interesting music.
Mariachi El Bronx - Yes, it’s The Bronx (see above) playing exactly the same songs, but in a mariachi style. I didn’t bother.
Styrofoam - I didn’t get a chance to check them out, but I could feel their bass through the floor while waiting for Zach Hill. I really wish I’d had more time to go and see them for a bit.
Holy Fuck - I’ll be honest, this was the band I was going to see. I’ve missed them a couple of times before and really kicked myself for it. They were beyond excellent, though I may have been chemically biased, and funked us all into a happy, sweaty oblivion. The absolute highlight of Saturday’s line up, as you almost certainly would have expected.
Sunday: Day 3
Times New Viking - I absolutely loved these guys the first time I saw them, at ATP last year. They’re quite simply one of the most fun live bands you could ever see and there’s a good buzz building up around them. See them now before they, like, totally sell out. Their sound could have done with being a bit louder, though.
Heartless Bastards - Another band that I had no expectations for, which ended up surprising me. Their set was a little samey and once again lost in the wash of the Pavilion’s awful sound, but they were pleasant enough.
Dianogah - 2 bass players again, but this time playing different things. Not really enough going on here to keep my attention for more than two songs, sadly. Another band that could have done with getting a bit more excited.
The Soft Pack - I didn’t bother, because their bio in the free program made them sound awful.
Melt Banana - Absolutely fucking amazing. I’d been wanting to see them for ages and ages and they delivered by the truckload. Frenetic, buzzsaw avantgarde hardcore joy, delivered at top speed and volume. Would have thought that after 18 years in the biz, they’d have learned a bit more English by now, though. Go and get their albums. Now.
Deerhunter - I didn’t exactly see them, but I heard them. They were alright, I guess.
Kimya Dawson - Seeing as I went to the festival with the intention of having fun, I skipped Kimya Dawson.
Gang of Four - Hoary old new-wavers that still sound as funky as they did twenty-odd years ago. I’d seen them before and they’d played a tighter set, but they were still incredibly good. One of my friends was there solely to see them and he did not look at all disappointed. It was the first time he’d seen them and there was a visible glow of joy about him after they’d finished.
Shellac - I gave in on the last day and finally watched Shellac, who were really dull and boring. They do this HILARIOUS thing at the end of their set where the drummer, yeah, is still drumming, and, like, they take away his drums, and like, carry him off the stage because he’s totally like Animal out of the Muppets and shit, right? Every fucking time they play, in fact.
Foals - I wanted to hate them, but I really enjoyed them. Another band that seemed to be having a great time on stage and they delivered a big sound that really lifted the crowd. Very, very good.
Supersuckers - I really enjoyed them. I think I was the only one of my little group that did. Hard, heavy stomping bluesy rock, with a facade of country hick about them. Fucking good fun. If I could rename them, I’d call them MotorRedneck. Because I’m really funny.
Distortion Felix - Basically, the Breeders with penises. Or peni. Whatever, they were men doing stuff like the Breeders. I quite enjoyed them, but they were a bit droney in places.
X - Seminal punk rockers that I just couldn’t be arsed with. They were probably excellent.
tUnE-YaRdS - Now, this wasn’t fair. I was expecting this to be the most pretentious wank I’d ever seen, but it was actually really good. tUnE-YaRdS is basically a woman that could be a bit mental, a few drums, a ukelele and some sort of looping device. She hits a few drums, loops it, then plays over it. And it’s really, really good. She had quite clearly, and even remarked on the fact, never played a gig that had gone so well and she really turned the crowd in her favour. Sadly, my girlfriend got a massive splitting headache out of the blue during the set, so I missed the last couple of songs. However, I can honestly say that you must go and see tUnE-YaRdS live if you get the chance. It’s really quite a performance.
I missed Madlib and J Rocc’s set, unfortunately, which would have been the last show of the night, but I was tired, drunk, hungover… all the main ones, you know. I felt like I had pretty much won ATP. Having seen so many bands was quite an achievement, I thought.
Right then, go and click all of those myspace links up there. Listen to some new music. Be a better person.
