All Tomorrow's Parties

This was my first ever ATP; admittedly I arrived with some preconceptions. I can’t say I was disappointed, but indifferent is probably the right word. As an experience, it was really quite pleasant; cream teas and the odd beer or two with musically inclined friends, what’s not to like? My only real gripe is the lack of line up…there really was not enough variety or just acts in general. But I did take away some great things from the weekend; I discovered a few hidden gems, I saw Pavement and watched the most amazing sunset of my life.



Pavement has shaped the musical tastes of many of my peers and their lingering influence is clearly prominent in today’s scene. As a band they are important and they are loved; they are one of the most revered and most copied bands of the 90s. Their music is honest. Never pretentious or glamorous they just wrote clever, indie rock in an unassuming, original way and of course, on the day, they were, quite predictably, awesome. They played every song I wanted them to play, bar Muscle Rock, in fact, within the first thirty minutes they had pretty much banged out my dream set. Their jangly anthems swam with sporadic guitars, zany vocals and general light-heartedness, as we all knew they would, and ultimately Pavement left their carefree onlookers beaming. RAD!



Despite the fact that Camera Obscura has been making music for over a decade, the band has always seemed to elude me. I have some of their stuff on my iPod, but it just never really occurred to me that listening to it may actually make my life a little better. I caught the last two songs of their set; I’ve been listening to them ever since…my life is a little better.

Bradford Cox’s set as solo incarnation Atlas Sound was also one of the highlights of the weekend. People complained of poor sound; I must have found a little pocket where he just sounded brilliant. Bradford is an unusual talent; his ambient songs are tinged with nostalgia and melancholy. On the night, it was in fact his birthday; the audience sang Happy Birthday; he did a cover of Pavement’s We Dance: everyone was happy, everybody danced. It was a moving and encompassing set; and one I feel glad to have watched.

Minimalist, shrill, folk-rock 70s punk band The Raincoats played an endearing repertoire of eccentric, twee melodies on Sunday night. They were the last band I saw and in all honesty I think they were my favourite band of the weekend. There was something comforting about them; they were happy and upbeat; they engaged with their audience and, as it happens, they just made me feel all warm and tingly. They ended their set with a cover of The Kink’s Lola and it was a good way to conclude a great musical adventure.