Today, part two of our ongoing (belated) coverage of the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival, which was held in upstate New York this past weekend. Today, Ian discusses the events of Saturday, September 20th. He has provided all applicable photographs, and I have scourged the Internet far and wide to bring you these recordings from throughout the day. I even listened to some of it live on Saturday. Speaking of which, If anyone comes across A Silver Mt. Zion’s set, I’ve been looking for it. They sounded beautiful! Take it away, Ian…
…When I first saw the schedule posted for Saturday’s festivities at Kutsher’s back in July, I could hardly contain myself. I was way more excited about the choices made by All Tomorrow’s Parties for the day which they curated than I was for the day curated by My Bloody Valentine. I mean, I was super-excited to see MBV and Mercury Rev, but I had low expectations for most of the other bands. Saturday, however, was when I thought the greatest performances of the weekend would occur. I was right.
Upon catching roughly six hours of sleep, Jon and I awoke to a glistening Catskills breeze and a bright sunny morning. We jumped in the car (still with the spare tire on the back-right wheel) and headed down to a garage where he could purchase a new tire. Then we stopped at a diner to fuel ourselves for the day.
We arrived at Kutsher’s around 1:15pm. The first act we wanted to see on Saturday was Apse. Their set wasn’t to begin for another hour, and I was not thrilled with the option provided by Stage 2 (Alexander Tucker), so we decided to check out the Criterion Collection movie room. They were screening the Gimme Shelter, which I had never seen [What! Are you crazy! What the fuck! – Ed.]. We stayed for the last 15 minutes , enough to see the climactic stabbing death. It was announced that next there would be a screening of 1991: The Year That Punk Broke, complete with a special Q&A with the director. I had seen the film when I was in college (thanks to Ilya, who probably still jerks off to a VHS copy of it), but I didn’t realize it was never released on DVD. We stayed for the first half hour of the screening, then left to catch Apse. Their strangely hodge-podge, genre-spanning sound turned was actually quite boring. After a couple numbers we left to see one of my favorite acts of the weekend, Growing.
Though I’ve seen them a number of times before, I was more impressed by Growing’s ATP set than any other I’ve witnessed. I was completely into it. Their droning, noisy compositions never fail to induce a state of bliss. Furthermore, their new album, All The Way, might be their best effort yet. A quick aside — there is a really cool Vice article about Kevin from Growing taking DMT and being interviewed while Joe makes eggs and cleans their house. It’s quite a read. [Listen to Growing perform their ATP set]
After Growing’s roughly 35 minute set, we decided to skip the Drones and waited near stage 2 for Wooden Shjips. Their whirring, fuzzy jams were okay. It wasn’t as crazy and psychedelic as I’d hoped. Nothing could keep my interest except for their cover of Neil Young’s “Vampire Blues.” Oh yeah, the lead singer/guitarist from Wooden Shjips totally looks like a cross between Charlie Manson and the guy from Devil’s Reject/House of 1000 Corpses [You mean Sid Haig? Really? Or do you just mean Rob Zombie? – Ed.]. [Listen to Wooden Shjips perform their ATP set] | [Watch footage of Wooden Shjips]
At Sage 1 we caught part of Fuck Buttons set. Luckily for us, they were delayed at the start and we were able to catch two songs, both from their amazing Street Horrrsing LP. They screamed, Aphex Twin Come To Daddy-style, into what looked like an old Sony kid’s stereo, which was followed by some cool twiddling on keyboards and computers. The second track involved Andy dancing and bouncing while making animal noises through a heavily-delayed microphone. Ben was banging away on a tom during that time. They were incredibly loud and incredibly good. I cannot wait to see them again. We then left to head back over to stage 2 to catch the Krautrock legends Harmonia.
I saw Efrim Menuck of Silver Mt. Zion/Godspeed fame on the way and we exchanged awkward glances. I think I bumped into him five times on Saturday before I finally gathered my nerves and told him how much I was looking forward to his set that evening. Of course Jon managed to awkwardly drop the “G†word, which caused Efrim to walk away [Jesus, have some tact, guy. – Ed.]
Harmonia was awesome. For those who are unaware, the group includes Michael Rother, Rodedlius, and Harmonia is Michael Rother (Neu!), Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster) and Dieter Moebius (Cluster). Their first track was a weird, New Age-sounding track. Thankfully, their second song included some classic Neu!-inspired guitar licks, which definitely brought a big smile to my face. They finished their set with a great medley of glitchy droney stuff. [Listen to Harmonia perform their ATP set] | [Watch footage of Harmonia]
For me, the most anticipated act of the weekend was OM. I was very much looking forward to their set because of their new drummer, Emil Amos, who is in Grails and the Holy Sons. Unlike many of the band’s fans, I was not saddened by the loss of Chris Haikus, because I was never awed by his drumming. I knew Amos would bring much more to OM. My theory was proven by their amazing performance. Two tracks, forty minutes, so good. I could’ve listened to them play for hours. Within the first minute of “Flight of the Eagle,†Amos snapped a drum stick in two pieces and broke off a chunk of one of his crash cymbals. Throughout the 20-plus minute song, I could tell that sections had been added post-Haikus, which featured intriguing new grooves. The second song was “Pilgrimmage,†which sounded quite different–at least on drums–then the album version. There were more interesting fills throughout the entire live performance, as was bassist Al Cisneros, who bobbed his head to the beat of the each song. [Listen to OM perform their ATP set]
After their set I caught up with both Amos and Cisneros, and was able to ask each a few questions. Emil responded to my accolades with a series of fist-bumps, and humbly thanked me for expressing how much I enjoyed his drumming. He said Chris had left the band because he was not into it anymore, and that now playing with Al is different because there is much more freedom to move within each song. Chris, it turns out is a much more rigid drummer than Emil. I also made sure to mention to Emil that the new Grails record slays, and that I was looking forward to seeing his other band play again. I walked to the merch table, and the first thing Al told me was that he was very thankful for me being so into their set. He said that he saw me digging it and it really helped his performance. Apparently people have told him that he just looks at the ceiling, but he really actually feeds off the crowd in his performances. I asked him about their new album (which is slated for a September 2009 release, recording at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini is schedule for March of ’09), about downloading tracks (“Fuck yes,” he said, he just wants people to hear his stuff) and about Shrinebuilder, which is his new metal supergroup with Scott Kelly from Neurosis, Scott “Wino†Weinrich from St. Vitus/Spirit Caravan, and Dale Crover from Melvins on drums. He said it was incredibly cool to look over and see Wino and Crover and Kelly jamming. Expect that band to record and release an EP or an LP in the near future. [Watch footage of Om]
I stopped off for some grub, then caught a bit of Polvo’s set. Although I’d just seen them perform in July, the band sounded much tighter after a few months of touring. Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski might have been the most formidable one-two guitar punch of the weekend. I spotted them around Kutsher’s a few times throughout the weekend, but never found anything of interest to talk to them about.
I skipped Low and Les Savy Fav. [Listen to Low perform their ATP set]
I caught two-thirds of A Silver Mt. Zion’s set on Stage 2, but like Polvo before them, I’d just seen the band live a few months ago. I couldn’t get into their set, but the performance of “Black Waters Blowed / Engine Broke Blues” was great, and the a cappella round that closed “God Bless Our Dead Marines” was stunning. The band’s vocals in general sounded much better live than on record. I’m also glad Efrim didn’t turn around and walk off-stage the moment he noticed Jon in the crowd.
At this point, the night turned from great to unfucking-believably-amazingly-awesome. Shellac and Lightning Bolt. Even though I have seen Shellac three times and Lighting Bolt once (at an absolutely insane all-night Halloween party in Providence a few years ago), I could not contain my sheer excitement for both band’s sets. Shellac plowed through “My Black Ass†and “Spoke†and “Prayer to God.†I even had a Q&A question answered: The absurd design on Steve Albini’s shirt compelled me to ask, “What is the band’s stance on unicorns?” Bob Weston’s answer: “Not extinct.”
During Polvo’s set, I had walked around the floor knowing full well that Lightning Bolt sets up there. I recognized their equipment, and positioned myself during the last two Shellac songs right in front of their gear. They had this awesome concave mirror setup so that everyone could see them and that they could see the crowd. They played all new tracks, and the body contact near the front was insane. I was kicked and pushed and stepped on and sweated on and loved every second of it. I could only handle a half-hour, but I was just glad that had I made it that far. Jon managed to survive the entire set, and caught Stuart from Mogwai on the edge of the center ring, along with Tim Harrington from Les Savy Fav. [Listen to Lightning Bolt perform their ATP set]
What a fucking night, and there was still one more to go.
