Is anyone else excited about the MELVINS and MIKE PATTON curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival in December?

Melvins i enjoy, Patton not so much. no doubt the curating will be pretty solid though.

Kiss

"HOW ARE Y'ALL FEEELIN', ALL TAHMAAAARRRROOOZ PAAAAAARRTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH*coughcoughcough*.. YEAH!"

There's actually probably a good chance Tool will show up.

Or one of them making noise.

to answer the original question: FUCK YEAH.

absolutely perfect choice of curators.

I'd like to go to this. Must win lottery soon.

NoMeansNo has a chance perhaps...although late 2007 will be Hanson Brothers touring, so who knows. (And Hanson Brothers wouldn't cut it for ATP for obv. reasons... insert "art vs. rock" nausexcelciorgh here)

sorry, late 2008

Let's all go!

pleasepleaseplease exhume the body (or at least the trachea) of Henri Chopin.

Borhen And Der Club Of Gore announced!

holy shit

Flat Earth Society would be rad

Minehead is gonna be pretty fucking cold at that time of year; it was cold enough when I got there for ATP last month. But if I had the money, and I hadn't seen the Melvins twice already in the last couple of years, I'd be there.

Dream act to play? Flipper. They totally killed when I saw them supporting the Melvins 18 months ago.

I would consider going to this if Ennio Morricone was added to the bill. Also, Flat Earth Society. Some non-Ipecac people would be nice too, but I can't see it happening.

there will be non-ipecac people. there aren't THAT many bands on ipecac. but the ones closest to home will naturally be the easiest and fastest to confirm.

flat earth society would indeed be amazing. morricone too, but less likely.

re: cold. at NBC 2006, the december seaside weather was unseasonably mild. T-shirt conditions all weekend. seriously.

not only that, but the water slides at minehead are incredible.

Was that the Thurston one? It was pishing with rain all weekend, wasn't it?

Flipper played at that one. They were great.

I'm just concerned I'm gonna be holding my breath for Throbbing Gristle, and then it's just gonna be Northern State. I already have tickets :/

but, hey, waterslides!

I have spent two weekends there armed with swimsuit and towels and have stood outside the pool going "woah, awesome waterslides" before my common sense goes "nah, fuck it" and directs me to a pub.

I seriously think this could be the real opportunity for Bjork at ATP. Pack the bill with Ipecac bands who are happy to share equipement/cheap, blow the budget on a single big artist.

I might try and go to this.

I went on the waterslides at the Thurston one! And yes it did rain quite a lot.

I am going and booking early with the discount but am trying to work out how big a chalet to get.

I might even go on the waterslides this time.

Neil Hamburger should be playing Butlins at a non-ATP weekend.

hmmm...I don't remember it raining at the thurston one. I know it was warm though. or maybe I was just too drunk to feel the cold.

It wasn't horrendous or anything but I recall thinking about going down to the beach at one point and the seafront was like stepping into a walk-in fridge, but windy. It was fun though. Also gnarly OTM!

From European festival I'm more excited on this years ZXZW, with Sun Ra Arkestra, Watain, Pelican and 200 more acts. It's Cheaper and broader
http://www.last.fm/event/361621

I was kinda hoping for a venue change. The goopy carpet and savoury/unsavoury stench around the main stage are obnoxious. Would a Centre Parcs have the performance space? The one at Longleat has a pretty big club, actually. And a tittycam.

Centre Parcs ATP would rule!

Actually I like the site where ATP is based now. Just because of the goopy carpet and savoury/unsavoury stench around the main stage.

All they really need to do is remove that bloody hot-dog stand from the main stage. Pre-smoking ban it was just about bearable but now ARG!

I much prefer the venue at Camber - although was the air con broken this year or something? That upstairs room was toooooo hot!

I don't even remember a hot dog stand!

There's no hot dog stand by the main stage, but there is one at the secondary stage/upstairs venue (Centre Stage, I think?). It stank, yes, but the dogs were good, seriously.

That *was* the main stage at the first one before they invented the pavilion stage.

That explains it, then.

Torche and Black Heart Procession announced! Yay!

and Kill Me Tomorrow, whoever they might be.

I saw Kill Me Tomorrow open up for the Blood Brothers in 2004, if that gives you any idea who they are.

Melt-Banana?

The Feeling?
Anti Nowhere League?

Kill Me Tomorrow is great! I'm glad to see they are still around!

thought process in the last 20 seconds: "this has gotta be a revived nickalicious thread...oh it's a recent whiney thread...same diff"

Kill Me Tomorrow, whoever they might be.

http://www.killmetomorrow.com/press/VillageVoice(April52004)_TGATP_Rev/index.html

One of the shortest and most static (and best) tracks has somebody babbling about tossing macaroni and ravioli out the window.

about time for an update on the lineup so far, vast chunks of which are making me giddy:

FANTôMAS PERFORMING THE DIRECTOR'S CUT »
FARMERS MARKET »
ISIS »
NEIL HAMBURGER »
BERNARD PARMEGIANI »
BUTTHOLE SURFERS »
J.G. THIRLWELL'S MANOREXIA »
BOHREN UND DER CLUB OF GORE »
KILL ME TOMORROW »
THE DIRTBOMBS »
BIG BUSINESS »
ZU »
THE LOCUST »
TORCHE »
MELVINS »
SQUAREPUSHER »
THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION »
DäLEK »
MASTODON »
THE DAMNED »
WHITE NOISE »
SOULSAVERS FEATURING MARK LANEGAN »
STOCKHAUSEN'S KONTAKTE W/ STEINBERG/WINANT/WOLF »
MADLOVE »
BOSS HOG »
DOUBLE NEGATIVE »
RAHZEL »
TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS »
TWEAK BIRD »
OS MUTANTES »
MEAT PUPPETS »
JOE LALLY (FUGAZI) »
MUGISON »
MONOTONIX »
TARAF DE HAIDOUKS »

Yeah, it's pretty great. To be honest, if this had been ATP New York I might have flown out for it.

plus:
KOOL KEITH + KUTMASTA KURT »
PORN »
FENNESZ »
VOCAL SAMPLING »
LABEQUE SISTERS »

I have no idea how i'm going to decide what to see. I can pretty much file 100% of these bands somewhere between "passionately love" and "can appreciate"

Yeah, it's pretty great. To be honest, if this had been ATP New York I might have flown out for it.

To be fair, I think they're about equal lineups. I understand ATP New York was definitely more nostalgic, but I'd still take that lineup before this one. Just barely, though.

was going to go to this but I'll be on holiday :(

my friend who pretty much only listens to late 80s and 90s grunge and metal (and not even good stuff, e.g. he doesn't listen to the Melvins) is going to this just because he loves Patton. Would be good if it actually got him in to some awesome shit.

Some fingers-crossed speculations based on the bands these guys like and the power of ATP: Merzbow, Throbbing Gristle, Flipper, Ivo Papasov, Naked City, DKT/MC5, Lustmord...

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, May 30, 2008 1:25 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha, none of this happened.

really surprised by the lack of merzbow and lustmord. still, it's not quite the final lineup yet...

would have seriously loved to have seen papasov or naked city though.

xp I find it weird how you can 'love patton' yet not find yourself exploring awesome shit, considering how many far-flung and disparate bases he touches upon.

worked for me... 'disco volante' permanently shattered the 100% metal/grunge outlook of my teenage years - suddenly anything was possible. directly or indirectly, it's been responsible for virtually all of my adventures in music since.

yeah, I don't know if I would have ever got into avant shit without Disco Volante as an entry point!

25th November 2008
MELVINS 1983 JOIN LINEUP / IMPORTANT INFO + STAGE TIMES

The final band to join the festival lineup are MELVINS 1983, which will feature Buzz and Dale of Melvins along with original drummer Mike Dillard performing their early punk influenced material.

With that announcement done, here is some important info and the stage times for the festival.

Please note: This year we have made the decision not to use the large pavilion stage. Many of the acts that we booked for this event that would have been suitable size wise for the Pavilion, are too loud for that stage. Instead to ensure the best possible show, we have invited Fantomas, Melvins, Mastodon and Butthole Surfers, Squarepusher and Teenage Jesus to play twice. We have also reduced the festival capacity by 1400 down to 4400 people to ensure that everyone who attends will get to see these bands play at least once.

Four of these bands (Melvins, Fantomas, Mastodon, Butthole Surfers) will be playing on both Saturday and Sunday and should you be unable to see a show by any of these four on the Saturday, you will receive a wristband and get priority entry on the second show.

They are set out as double bills so we will clear the room at certain points so that new people can come in. See below for info.

Here are the stages times:

Friday 5th December

Stage 1 - Centre Stage

4.45pm-5.30pm - MELVINS 1983
6.00pm-6.45pm - BIG BUSINESS
7.15pm-8.15pm - THE DIRTBOMBS
8.45pm-9.45pm - THE LOCUST
10.15pm-11.15pm - ISIS
11.45pm-12.45am - MEAT PUPPETS
1.15am-2.45am - OS MUTANTES

Stage 2 - Reds

4.30pm-5.15pm - KILL ME TOMORROW
6.00pm-6.45pm - TWEAK BIRD
7.00pm-7.45pm - MADLOVE
8.30pm-9.30pm - TORCHE
10.00pm-11.00pm - ZU
11.30pm-12.30am - WHITE NOISE
1.00am-2.00am - PORN

Saturday 6th December

Stage 1 - Centre Stage

3.15pm-4.00pm - JUNIOR BROWN
4.30pm-5.30pm - MASTODON
6.15pm-7.15pm - MELVINS
- ROOM CLEARED -
8.15pm-9.15pm - BUTTHOLE SURFERS
10.00pm-11.00pm - FANTOMAS
11.30pm-12.15am - NEIL HAMBURGER
12.30am-1.15am - RAHZEL
1.45am-2.45am - SQUAREPUSHER

Stage 2 - Reds

3.00pm-3.45pm - VOCAL SAMPLING
4.15pm-5.15pm - MUGISON
6.00pm-6.45pm - FENNESZ
7.30pm-8.30pm - J.G. THIRLWELL's MANOREXIA
9.00pm-9.30pm - TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS
10.00pm-11.00pm - TARAF DE HAIDOUKS
11.30pm-12.30am - MARTINA TOPLEY BIRD
1.00am-1.30am - TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS
2.00am-3.00am - SOULSAVERS FEAT. MARK LANEGAN

Stage 3 - Crazy Horse

5.30pm-6.15pm - KONTAKTE
11.00pm-12.00am - LABEQUE SISTERS

Sunday 7th December

Stage 1 - Centre Stage

1.45pm-2.30pm - JAMES BLOOD ULMER
3.00pm-3.45pm - LEILA
- ROOM CLEARED -
4.30pm-5.30pm - BUTTHOLE SURFERS
6.15pm-7.15pm - FANTOMAS
- ROOM CLEARED -
8.15pm-9.15pm - MASTODON
10.00pm-11.00pm - MELVINS
11.30pm-12.30am - THE DAMNED
12.45am-1.30am - KOOL KEITH + KUTMASTA KURT
2.00am-3.30am - SQUAREPUSHER

Stage 2 - Reds

1.30pm-2.15pm - BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE
2.45pm-3.30pm - JOE LALLY
4.15pm-5.15pm - FARMERS MARKET
6.00pm-6.45pm - MONOTONIX
8.00pm-9.00pm - DALEK
9.45pm-10.45pm - BLACK HEART PROCESSION
11.15pm-12.00am - GHOSTIGITAL
12.30am-1.15am - BOSS HOG
1.45am-2.30am - DOUBLE NEGATIVE

Stage 3 - Crazy Horse

2.00pm-3.00pm - BERNARD PARMEGIANI

lol @ Bernard Parmegiani in the Crazy Horse

What's happened to that stage upstairs?

Centre Stage is the stage upstairs, I think. Pavilion is the big open space with the weird plastic roof. Didn't they not use this for the first ATP at Minehead, and then realised it was stupid trying to make everyone queue to get into the big room upstairs. Reducing the capacity will help a bit, I guess.

Is this gonna be a clusterfuck?

Yeah - you're right! That's good because the Pavilion stage is terrible, not that I'm going unfortunately... I went to two last year and it was a bit ATP overload.

xp Let's hope so!

You guys think I'll have any trouble if I want to just go ahead and get a wristband and see the Sunday Melv/Fantomas/Butthole/Mastodon sets instead of queuing for Saturday?

because I don't wanna miss Fennesz and Teenage Jesus!

Yeah not sure how it works - I've only been to the Thurston ATP, which was the first one at this venue, and the queues were fucked but I didn't get a wristband at any point. I don't know if it's a case of having to get in the queue on Saturday and only being able to get a Sunday wristband if it fills up while you're queueing... I've confused myself now. Wouldn't have expected Teenage Jesus to be *that* popular given they're doing two sets but I have scant measure of these things

WTF I've been to two ATP's at minehead and neither has had this wristband system. There have sometimes been short queues to get up to the centre stage, but if you leave 15 mins to get up there in time it's fine. I've never missed anything from standing in queues. However both times I've been the Pavilion stage has been open, which may affect things significantly.

I really do hope they hold it at Camber again sometime...such a better venue imo - last year was so amazing!

Melvins and Big Business totally fucking slayed here in the states last week - saw 'em in Chicago. Youse guys are lucky. I'm guessing the Teenage Jesus sets are going to be mighty special. The Mark Lanegan with Soulsavers sounds outta sight too. Y'all are double lucky to have an ATP in an indoor venue - when they breeze through Chicago they tend to be attached to an outdoor festival along with all of the headaches that go with outdoor sound.

Does anyone have the Fantomas/Melvins DVD that's out - is it worth the bread?

Portishead had wristbands, but only for their sets - you could choose when you got there which night you wanted to see them. There was a Joanna Newsome set I missed at Dirty Three because the room was full, don't know if you could get in later nor not. She played again the next day, I think.

1400 is like a 25% reduction in ticket sales capacity.

Anyway, depending on how this thing goes (not that I'm going, so I'll be relying on internet-people) will probably help me make my mind up on ATP vs Primavera next year.

there were wristbands in effect for stooges and sonic youth at the first minehead fest.

I for one am glad that fantomas/melvins etc are playing twice...babysitting duties (we're taking the wee one) meant that me or the lady would be missing at least one major band we wanted to see.

if you're at all a fan of fantomas or melvins, then the DVD is well worth it. great performance, awesome sound (if a little lacking in trevor). it's cheap too, as it happens.

camber has its depressing lo-fi charm, but minehead has the awesome pool and waterslides. no contest.

Definitely seemed they were on form for that show that got recorded for the DVD, fans-only dealie I'd have to say though. There again I never really sit down and watch live DVDs (or most DVDs tbh) so don't take it from me

yeah, I think all live DVDs are pretty much by definition fans-only affairs.

The fact that British people love Squarepusher enough to warrant two sets is kind of funny.

Not that I don't love me some squarepusher

He needs two because during one of them I can guarantee that the sound engineer will bollocks his set up prompting him to get completely enraged, snarl at everyone in the crowd and then play some furiously impressive slap bass before storming off in a huff.

I didn't know he had a sideline as a Jaco Pastorius tribute act.

Not seen him play live then?

Wasn't high on my 'to do' list.

really want to go to this

As a Thanksgiving present, here's a two disc ATP Nightmare 2008 warmup mix that I made, featuring the choicest tracks from all 46 acts!

ATP Nightmare Before Christmas 2008 _disc 1_.zip - 110.28MB

ATP Nightmare Before Christmas 2008 _disc 2_.zip - 112.41MB

bless you sir.

these comps are much appreciated whiney, but sadly the disc 2 zip isn't working for me. any chance of a re-up?

will do

try this:

ATP Nightmare Before Christmas 2008 _disc 2_.zip - 112.41MB

poifect. thanks! I shall burn and crank these today.

did everyone enjoy themselves?

I didn't go, but I did see Boss Hog play in London last night, as a consequence of them appearing at ATP, and it was great.

What I wrote elsewhere:

Melvins1983 kick this thing off and it's like you were there. I'd forgotten how much fun this era of Melvins was, and how influential they turned out to be on so many other bands, but that turned out to be a bit of a running theme... Big Business follow and play a very, very short set because their guitarist wasn't allowed in the country and only had time to teach Paul O'Leary about 5 songs. They rock mightily though, and I really need to get out and see them do their thing properly. Dirtbombs are next up, but it's really kind of dull - like Saul Williams was trying to be Sleeper or something so I wander into Reds to see Madlove who are, unbelievably, worse. Trevor Dunn may well have been in Mr Bungle, but this sounds like Avril Lavigne trying to update mid-80s Heart by listing to Paramore. Thankfully, Torche turn up and annihilate anything else I saw all weekend. FUN FUN FUN and even Juan is on stage. I'm not sure whether he's back properly or not, as Os Mutantes ruined the chance I had to ask Steve Brooks. You need them in your life, seriously. ISIS, by comparison, are a bit flat and noodly. By any other standards it would have been a great ISIS show, but immediately after Torche it's all just a bit... overly complicated. (Consensus appears to be I should have stayed in Reds for Zu.) White Noise are a band I never thought I'd see and they don't disappoint... me. They pretty much disappoint everybody else though, especially anyone who isn't a Radiophonic Workshop fan. They open with something that sounds like a demo of the theme to Nationwide, and close with something that could soundtrack a CArl Sagan show. Inbetween there is a broken down version of the Doctor Who theme that sounds liek Underworld. THIS IS NO BAD THING. I was going to watch Porn but 10 minutes into the set they still appear to be tuning up, so wander upstairs for Os Mutantes. Hmm. I can see why they have a reputation, but the songs don't stay still for long enough and sound like Sir Thumbsaloft pretending to like psych rather than actually being psych. After 10 minutes I realise it's for the middle of the afternoon, lying on the fake grass at the Pavillion Stage and not 1am on Centre Stage, so bid them farewell.

Junior Brown opens Saturday, with his hybrid guitar that lets him switch between 6 string and lap steel while still singing. He does a pile of straight country numbers about the usual suspects like drunk driving ("I see a police car behind lit up like a Christmas tree, and when those party lights come on I know the party's over for me") and sleeping with exes ("...because you're wanted by the police, and my wife thinks you're dead") then moves into exploring the link between country acts and early rock 'n' roll, culminating in a BLISTERING version of Apache. Hank, eat yer heart out. Mastodon suffer a lot from being a guitarist down, making the somgs sound a little incoherent, but fuck me they're awesome. Ditto the Melvins, who I have realised you HAVE TO WATCH SOBER. Ish. Manorexia is th elatest JG Thirlwell project, and it doesn't really grip the sparse crowd. A string quartet with a xylophone player, it meanders nicely enough for me but I wouldn't pay to see it. Bizarrely, Jim has aged into Julian Rhind-Tutt, WHO IS YOUNGER THAN HIM. Answers on a postcard... Not so Teenage Jesus, who are pretty much all looking their age. Thurston sets everything up, and they blast through the songs like it was yesterday. I think they're great, as do the few other souls watching, but I'm not convinced that's the point, I don't think Lydia wants us to like them. This is confirmed, pretty much in the second set later the same night, which ends abruptly during Orphans as Lydia marches everyone offstage because of something that has annoyed her. Oh well. Taraf de Haiduks are "the world's best gypsy band", although I'm not sure I could, should or would ever listen to enough gypsy music to confirm that's the case. It's a very good laugh, certainly, but after half an hour I want something else, so try the Labeque Sisters. Two classical pianists on grands may not sound like typical ATP fare, but myself and the hundred or so others watching thoroughly enjoy it. A very unexpected highlight. You know what? Neil Hamburger makes a whole lot more sense at midnight than the middle of the afternoon, which was the last time I saw him. I actually end up enjoying him and awful lot, although from the bit of Martina Topley-Bird I caught before the second Teenage Jesus set I would have liked to have seen all of her as well. All I got was Mirror In The Bathroom (which had someone who looked like Dave Wakelin playing guitar) and Black Steel, but earlier in the set she had done versions of Army Dreamers and Golden Brown. I'll have to catch her next time she plays round here. A review of Saturday is not complete before I reiterate that CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD was rushed upstairs for Fantomas on the Saturday as I was going through the same doorway to the gypsies. The reasons why I am sure it was him are many, but 1) the same "if I have one more nosejob I'll look like Jodie Marsh" nose, 2) EYES AND TEETH, LUVVIE, EYES AND TEETH, 3) plain white shirt and evening suit trousers, 4) masses of security ushering him about and 5) A BBC PASS ROUND HIS NECK. If it wasn't him, he has a double PRETENDING TO BE HIM, which must be one of the worst jobs imaginable.

Sunday lunch is rushed to get back for Vocal Sampling, a Cuban acapella group who... fuck it, here's a video of them a couple of years ago.

Not life changing or anything, but amazing fun. Before the Butthole Surfers we see Gibby talking to a fan outside, who has come over from Istanbul just for this and is trying to tempt the band over there to play. "We'd love to. There's the food... and the potential for mass consumption of opiates..." - yes, back off the wagon and back with an early line up. The show might feature more of the REM influenced material than expected, but they don't look a day over 1987. And the exciting thing is, they fit right in with the sound of everything else, they don't sound at all out of place. Well done world, it only took 20 years to catch up. Right, I'm going to come out and say it. Fantomas suck big time. Patton is, to paraphrase Charlie Brooker, a man wanking to the sound of himself wanking. He starts by asking the crowd who they have liked, then lists his own acts (every name shot with a "fuck you" glance to Buzz) despite the fact the majority of them were very poorly attended. He then spends the set making noises justifying his own presence on stage, while the rest of the band do the job in hand perfectly competently (despite Trevor Dunn being barely able to stand up). I leave after about 20 minutes and a mn tries to tell me they are amazing, that Patton is a genius because he shrieks sometimes, and that the secret is to know the records intimately before you see Fantomas because then it will "start to make sense". AYE, RIGHT. Dalek is not Kool Keith. Or Rahzel. We know this, because he tells us. "I'm the other brown guy about this weekend. Think of me as the fat one if it helps you tell us apart." What he is, however, is 1) the loudest act all weekend and 2) AWESOME. Buy his records and listen to them at extreme volume. Is it horrocore? Possibly, but to me it sounds ike early Muslimgauze. No matter, check it out. Black Heart Procession have morphed at some point into a slowcore lounge act from their previous incarnation and have swapped beards at some point. This means Tobias now looks like Josh T Mael and Pall looks like a cross between Matt Berry and Steve Hogarth. They only do one song off The Spell and the title track off Amore del Tropico, with everying else culled off releases before 3. They are bluddy great, natch. "We have lots of merchandise for sale... we just didn't bring it with us." Good job, chaps. We catch the last half hour of the last Melvins set due to stage over-run upstairs and it's just as good as the first one, incorporating a bizarro cover of My Generation somewhere in the middle. STILL GREAT. The Damned then show us PUNK ROCK SPIRIT by taking longer to set up than any other band all weekend (yes, even a ten-piece gypsy band). This, despite not checking the drumkit, which is bigger than anybody's - even Mastodon's, or the bands with two drummers. So, they are now super-late which means I see very little. Just as well, as the organ sounds more like the one which rises from the floor in Blackpool Tower, and given we're in Butlins makes the whole thing look like a tribute act the staff have put on. We know we're in Butlins because Sensible keeps shouting "I'm free!" until Vanian reminds him that's not the catchphrase for "Hi-de-Hi!". "This is from our new album" is all the prompt I need to head into Reds for Boss Hog. The years have been very, very kind to them, not least because Christina doesn't look a day older than the last time I saw them, but also because in hindsight the missing link between Pussy Galore and JSBX turns out to be a very, very good idea. They're like a lurch band that swings instead. They play I Dig You and it's time to go home, happy.

Heh, longest summary I've read thus far. Seriously couldn't disagree with you more about the Dirtbombs, though. Thought they were totally on it. I saw Fantomas the other day to you but IMO they were good and Patton, whose band I never really thought it was anyway, was polite as far as I can remember. Are you sure there was something up w/ Teenage Jesus? They only had 25 minutes and I thought they got through that.

Other stuff I saw: Zu (great and actually had people moshing!), Double Negative (awesome vicious hardcore, something like 15 songs from 1.45-2.05 am, people inc me going off), Meat Puppets (fave thing of the weekend, played a lifetime of air guitar), Kool Keith (saw him once before, he sucked hugely, this didn't and was great), Squarepusher twice (mostly w/ a live band which bugged a lot of people but I was cool with it. Played basically the same set each time tho), Monotonix (probably only need to see them once but it was pretty winning court jestery), Bohren & Der Club Of Gore (really cool) and the drummer from Torche playing with some guitarist who I couldn't really see at a house party which got shut down at 5am. All in all, good times

Speaking of long summaries:

With some crafty darting around, I managed to see a little bit of all 46 bands! Here they are, ranked in order of awesomeness:

1. Zu
Blistering Roman prog-jazz. Super-sweaty and intense. Even people who had heard them before were caught a little off guard. A+ will rock again.

2. Taraf De Haidouks
After a weekend of downers and heaviness and mean-muggin metal dudes, these dudes brought out super-peppy, lightning quick gypsy dance band stuff. They're older dudes who usually play town halls, jazz festivals and WOMAD and stuff, so I wonder if they ever had confronted so much moshing and crowd-surfing. Everyone was psyched and then they played OUTSIDE!

3. Stockhausen's Kontakte (Steinberg/Winant/Wolf)
It sounded just like the recording. I would love to see the score. It was like watching three people perform the impossible. I was shocked to see so many people in there for it and so few for Labeque but someone explained to me that Stockhausen is very trendy in the UK right now because Autchre and Bjork have been singing his praises. Go figure.

4. Torche
Super amped crowd. everyone was singing along, but since you cant understand their lyrics, we all just made it up.

5. Os Mutantes
Amazing energy that they kept up until 3 am.

6. Monotonix
They did their usual antics--hanging from the rafters, marching the crowd outside-- and the club almost shut down. They blocked off the exits and security made everyone stay inside until they figured everything out. The owner(?) of that stage was screaming about shutting the place down for the night

7. Bernard Parmegiani
Six speakers. everyone lying on the floor, octogenarian genius meticulously pushing the faders up and down on the mixing board in the center of the room. Heavenly.

8. Vocal Sampling
They made me not hate "Hotel California." 6 dudes, all voices, no instruments. Even the security guards were getting super into it.

9. Fantomas
People didn't know how to dance to this, very well done recreations of the album

10. Dalek
They have a new lineup with three extra guys on stage making shoegaze noise. Very heavy. Someone apparantly asked Dalek if he was Rahzel over the weekend, which he was rightfully pissed off about.

11. Rahzel
Even if dude has no new songs in 10 years, and is doing a lot of the same set from 5 years ago (doing "Iron Man," Wu-Tang songs, etc), his stage presence is undeniable. Don't miss him when he comes to your town.

12. Butthole Surfers
Without the major label sheen, their 90s stuff sounded like their 80s stuff.

13. Melvins
Hardest working band in show business. Same set they did in NYC, plus a cover of "Okie From Muskogee."

14. Bohren And Der Club Of Gore
No idea this band would be so loud. The stage was almost pitch black. They brought their own lights!

15. James Blood Ulmer
Super intimate and intense.

16. Fennesz
Amazing stuff, would be ranked higher if there was something to look at.

17. Porn
They were truly awful when I saw them in New York, but it was impossible to pull myself away on Friday. Members included Dale and Coady from the Melvins, Tim Moss, Trevor Dunn, Thurston Moore, and the dude with the face tattoo from Mastodon. The sum of its parts in a very crushing, intense way. Thurston added an extra layer of noise that was perfect. And the subatomic lows were ridic.

18. Junior Brown
19. Squarepusher
20. Kool Keith + Kutmaster Kurt

21. Neil Hamburger
So good that Fantomas, Rahzel and Black Heart all impersonated him in their sets (Rahzel's was the funniest tho)

22. Big Business

23. Double Negative
Closed with a cover of "Straight Edge"

24. The Dirtbombs
I hate this band on record, but it was actually kind of refreshing to see a normal rock band, and they killed it.

25. Teenage Jesus And The Jerks
Not as good or caustic as they were in NYC, but excellent nonetheless

26. Tweak Bird
Dudes were clearly pumped just to be invited and gave it their all.

27. Meat Puppets

28. Labeque Sisters
Very intense performance on two pianos to the smallest crowd over the entire weeend. They were kind of screwed over by unfortunate booking time (10pm and up against Taraf De Haidouks AND Fantomas). They play concert halls to 30,000 people and had to play in a bar where four dickheads were having a very lound conversation over them. I felt really bad because they put on an excellent, fevered show that would have been nice as maybe a quiet noontime coffee watch-n-sip on Sunday.

29. The Locust
30. Isis
31. Soulsavers ft. Mark Lanegan

32. The Damned
I wish these dudes could have just played their first album, but the newer stuff was catchy enough

33. Farmers Market
34. Melvins 1983

35. Boss Hog
It was really obvious that the only member of this band who had touched an instrument in 7 years was Jon Spencer. Still pretty fun in an aging hipster way

36. Ghostigital
Insufferable records, but kinetic live show. His nine year old son (Kaktus!) was playing trumpet. Wish I could have stayed longer.

37. Kill Me Tomorrow
Not bad considering the lineup is completely different and they should probably be calling the band something else.

38. JG Thirwell's Manorexia
Industrial duder brought along a string section. Was nice, but everyone pretty much talked over it so I couldn't get the subtleties

39. Joe Lally
Great drummer,really boring songs

40. Mastodon
I have yet to see this band play any show that doesn't sound like a boombox in a subway tunnel. Just excrutiating trying to pick out songs with these jokers. When the Melvins came out to cover "The Bit" with them at the very end, you could actually hear the song because there was finally someone was on stage who knows how to get a guitar tone.

41. White Noise
Old dudes fumble with new toys. Still his homemade whatever you call it was pretty cool.

42. Black Heat Procession
The stage presence of a bag of sandwiches.

43. Mugison
I will never understand what Patton sees in this guy.

44. Martina Topley Bird
Her voice is a force of nature, but her quirkiness verges on Bonnarroo territory, not just because the drummer was playing handdrums.

45. Leila
Sound problems the entire time. She had a shitload of gear and I don't think anyone could figure out what exactly was fucking up. All her guests looked confused and annoyed and terrified and clearly couldn't hear what was going on, so just guessed how the songs went.

Not ranked: Madlove (I know some of these dudes so I may be biased)

35. Boss Hog
It was really obvious that the only member of this band who had touched an instrument in 7 years was Jon Spencer. Still pretty fun in an aging hipster way

x-post Aw, Mencap, I almost went to that house party, but I needed some sleep. I really wanted to get into it for Double Negative but I was so spent and busted up at that point, I just couldn't get the energy together to mosh. My feet were like sandbags towards the end of Sunday.

Does anyone know what happened in the last 45 minutes of Squarepusher? I had to call it quits somewhere in the middle. I really dig the live band setup. I couldnt figure out for the life of my how they were making all those sound!

And holy shit UK people love Squarepusher! Two packed shows... I wonder if dude could even sell out Bowery Ballroom in the states.

Also, I have never smelled so many farts in one weekend. Why was everyone farting?

http://www.drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4135964

^^^haha this is you in the first para Whiney amirite? Dude who wrote this mentioned it to me laaaate on Sunday night, he was basically awed

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh my god, YES, I def had that conversation with that dude. He had a posse of like 8 friends all clowning around and getting super giddy and loopy. They were all super duper nice people! I gave one of them my email address and they haven't written me yet.

I was with them for large chunks of time but not right then

Hey folks. Look out for the Special Surprise Film Screening at the ATP Cinema on Saturday night at 11:15pm!

Does anyone know what this was?

Yeah, it was a documentary about ATP with loads of footage of old festivals, interviews with punters etc. Can't say I was really that siked to see it

That wasn't a surprise, they scheduled it like 9 times in the program.

Oh I'll have to pass then... I only started looking at that earlier this evening. I had no intention of visiting the cinema at any point, that much I know

i really wanted to get up early and see Lawrence Of Arabia on the big screen but i was bussssted