As the dust settles over the tiny seaside town of Minehead, TLOBF’s two Rich’s have recovered enough to bring to you, dear reader, an account of the wonderful ATP v The Fans event.
When the original idea for this festival was aired, if seemed as if everyone’s dreams had come true. A chance to pick and mix your own festival. Brilliant. Of course, as the realities of this all dawn on the voters and the organisers it was, perhaps, an idea too far. The line up was great, but scheduling was always going to be a nightmare and the extended sets just meant that you got to see a lot less bands.
As a site upgrade from the WWII Camp at Camber, the facilities were really impressive. The chalets were nice and the presence of a full shower a welcome addition. Stuff like Pizza Hut and Burger King are always nice at 2am, even if the the Pavilion Stage was set in their surroundings. Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy mentioning that this was the first time they’d ever played in a food court. Anyway… enough idle banter, let’s get on with it…
Words: Richard Hughes
Photos: Richard Thane
Friday 18th May
The Thermals, Centre Stage
A perfect way to start the festival, a blast of three chord punk rock charged with political bite. A chance to blow the cobwebs from your head after the five hour drive down. True to their records, The Thermals were short, sharp and tight with sweat dripping off Hutch Harris as he hollered his way through their well received and impressive set.
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, Pavilion Stage
Suffered from poor sound initially but a move down the front from your intrepid reporter yielded a better experience. YLT crafted a whirlwind mix of rhythmic droning with swathes of feedback drenched guitars, playing the highlights from their most recent record (even if they couldn’t remember when it was released). They still confound listeners with their twist from their more laid back songs through to the ear damaging walls of noise that would make even Sonic Youth blush.
Mogwai
Mogwai, Pavilion Stage
Fantastic. Easy as that. Their set perfectly complement their location in the Pavilion. As the sun was setting the stage took on a bit of a glow as the crowd was mesmerised by the wall of sound created by Stuart Murdoch and crew. They played a set with material from the entire back catalogue, from Young Team to Mr. Beast and it was like experiencing a journey through swarves of beautifully realised soundscapes of music. Ending with the amazing Glasgow Mega Snake from their most recent album, the entire court was bathed in an amazing aura of noise. Nothing wrong with the sound for these guys.
Tall Firs, Reds Stage
Well, the come down had to begin somewhere and these guys delivered. A disappointing and generic alt-rock experience and very College Radio friendly. For a group who rarely play live, they didn’t look like they enjoyed doing so when they finally manage to get together. Uninvolving and unmoving.
Akron/Family w/ audience members
Akron/Family, Centre Stage
Another disappointment of the weekend. Having really enjoyed their last two records, I was underwhelmed by them live where they came across as being a bit too cool and removed, the sound was boring and rhythmically lulling. The only excitement came from their last song when members of the crowd were invited onstage to play general instruments of percussion and created a rather rousing and impressive finale.
Youthmovies, Centre Stage
Ok, so by this time the tiredness of driving down and my intake of copious amounts of lager made this set a little fragmented. But, through the haze, hints of impressive guitars and post-rock tendancies flooded my ears. Certainly one of the most interesting British acts of recent times, next time I’ll remember to take it easy before their show starts.
