And now the conclusion of our three-day coverage of this past weekend’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in upstate New York. My dear friend Ian has been kind enough to contribute his words, photos and even some video footage to help spread the joy felt by those who attended the event, and inform those of us who couldn’t make it just how jealous we should be. Thank you Ian, you’re practically a full-fledged blogger now! So, here’s Ian’s Day 3 review:
I woke up so sore the morning after what proved to be a violent Lightning Bolt set, and finally made use of the pool and jacuzzi at my aunt’s condo. Jon and I grabbed some food at another diner and headed to Kutsher’s. We arrived about an hour before the first act we wanted to catch, which was scheduled for 3pm. Upon entering, we stopped at the merchandise area. Throughout the weekend, there was a rather unorthodox approach to merchandise selling. Basically, each band rotated, with some setting up to peddle their wares on the day the played and some not. I picked up an awesome Fuck Buttons shirt and the Glider MBV shirt. It looked like both MBV and Dinosaur Jr. had reprinted some old tour t shirts from back in the day, which were quite awesome. [At this point I think it’s important to note that Ian wanted to submit a photograph of his shirts, as if readers will be really excited to see a photograph of a shirt. Ha! – Ed.]
The first act of the day for Jon and I was Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins. He began his solo set roughly 20 minutes late, like every band on Sunday. He played interesting guitar melodies over sampled drums and other keyboard sounds, while a projected video montage played behind him. Not bad, but not exciting enough to keep me entertained for his full set.
We headed over to see the Lilys, who I was lukewarm about seeing. I really like the neo-psychedelic, garage-rock revival sounds of their earlier albums, like 1994’s Eccsame The Photon Band, but I had more than an inkling that they would not be performing many (if any) songs from that era. Their last three or four albums have all been filled with Kinks-rip off songs. Unfortunately, that is what they chose to play live.
After the Lilys finished their set, there was a nice break where we sat outside around the pond. It was nice to finally be able chill out and daydream. The constant barrage of music made necessary a few moments of silence to help one re-adjust to the natural world. Even sitting in silence, relaxing in the cool Catskills’ air, surrounded by awesome people, added to the greatness of the weekend.
Refreshed, Jon and I returned to watch Mercury Rev on Stage 1. They were probably the most surprising band I saw all weekend. So awesome. To be honest, it was only in the last two weeks that I’d officially fallen in love with their album Deserter’s Songs. Needless to say, I was happy that they chose to play “Holes” and “The Funny Bird.” Both tunes sounded brilliant, and were aided by an incredible rhythm section and Jonathan Donahue’s vibrant stage presence and unbridled energy. In fact, the liveliness of their set was as high as Shellac’s the night before. Several tracks from their new LP, Snowflake Midnight were performed, and sounded better than on the record. The highlight of their set was “The Dark is Rising,†the lead track from All Is Rising. 45 minutes was not nearly enough for the band, and I look forward to seeing them again real soon.
After Mercury Rev was Yo La Tengo. I’ve seen Yo La Tengo once previously, and they play the New York area a zillion times a year, so I was really not that into seeing them. They opened with a nearly ten-minute-long instrumental which sounded like it was probably on their new soundtrack compilation album. They played “Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1),†which was the song of theirs I most wanted to see live. As soon as it ended I left and raced to Stage 2 for …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. The last time I saw that band was in March of 2002, when they opened for another little-known Texan band, Explosions In The Sky. To put things in perspective, that show cost $5. This weekend’s festival cost forty-five times that amount.
I only stayed for 2 …Trail Of Dead songs, both of which were off their most-recent album, Worlds Apart. They sounded decent, but I was a disappointed when I saw their setlist, which included only two old songs, both of which were to be played at the end of their set. Instead, trudged back over to Stage 1 so I could grab a great spot for Mogwai.
I had not seen Mogwai since 2004, when Evan and I went to the Curiousa Festival on Randall’s Island. That night, his friend’s car broke down and we were literally the last people to leave the event. We had to taxi it all the way back to Jersey at five in the morning. My God, that sucked. Anyway, I was again disappointed by the band’s choosing to perform only two old songs: “Like Herod†and “Mogwai Fear Satan.†They played maybe five songs from their new album (which is sadly mediocre), and one song from Happy Songs For Happy People. To that point, they were the loudest band of the weekend. I wondered if Sunday’s line-up was an attempt to progress from softest to loudest…
After Mogwai was Dinosaur Jr. To be honest, I was not that into them before I saw them, but man, seeing them live was great. J. Mascis played through 3 giant Marshall heads with six 4×12 cabs, which he then ran through a fender bassman and some multi-effects unit. Their set was filled with recognizable tunes. Throughout the day, there were people handing out free ear plugs in anticipation of My Bloody Valentine’s ear-blistering set. As someone who earlier in the weekend called ear plugs both “wuss plugs†and “ear tampons,†I was surprised that I opted for them during Dinosaur Jr.’s set. Frankly, the ear plugs they were giving out were the most comfortable I’d ever worn (they were not made of foam) and the sound was not altered by wearing them. The ear-piercing high-end tones were cut, that was all. At the conclusion of the band’s set, the audience was asked to leave the room so that My Bloody Valentine could prepare for their set.
After about 20 minutes people were allowed to re-enter the room. I had chosen to skip Brian Jonestown Massacre in order to get a proper view of My Bloody Valentine, and I was still almost 30 feet from the stage. Kevin Shields’ gear graced the right-hand side of the stage (here’s a handy guide to My Bloody Valentine’s gear). I counted 8 amp heads, 13 speakers, countless effects pedals on the floor and a bunch more rack-mounted effects. Belinda Butcher had 2 Marshall amplifiers setup on the left-hand side of the stage. The sheer display of equipment was like nothing I had ever seen before. As many of you might have heard already, the band spent $300,000 on equipment for this tour.
The band took the stage 45 minutes after they were originally scheduled to play. Within the first 30 seconds of the first song I was glad I chose to wear the earplugs. They were mind-blowingly loud. There were times where it was so loud, even with the earplugs it was impossible to hear the lead keyboard samples over Shields’ guitar. In addition, the drums were mic’d horribly, making what should have sounded like thunderous beats sound like goofy dancehall beats. It was all low-end, and you could feel it in your lower intestines for the duration of their set. I think if a single band could ever make a listener literally shit their pants, it would be My Bloody Valentine.
One would probably have to stand a mile from the stage to hear everything properly. “Only Shallow” was great live, as was “Slow.” There were two moments where the drummer was out of sync with the sampled drum line and had to stop and restart in order to get back in time with the song, but other than that the show went off without a hitch. The songs from “Isn’t Anything†were easier to discern than those from “Loveless,†mostly because there were less samples involved. “Soon” was probably the highlight of the night. It was one of the only songs where you could actually hear everything being played. The pinnacle of their performance, of course, was the twenty-minute version of “You Made Me Realiseâ€, complete with the infamous “Holocaust” section. Without hyperbole, it was the loudest thing ever. I could see the ceiling’s light fixtures shaking. I swore I could see the soundwaves causing the speakers to shake. It felt like being blistered with a thousand decibels of sound. It was like no other musical experience I have ever experienced. The whole show has made me revisit the band’s albums and helped me to appreciate it in new ways. Since Sunday I have been listening to them almost non-stop. Also, if any of you are planning to see the band soon, the earplugs don’t work. My ears were ringing for a solid two days following the event. Count me as one of the fans hoping they record some new tracks and continue as a functioning band.
Still reeling from My Bloody Valentine’s set, Jon and I left Kutsher’s. I’m hoping to return next September with a larger group of friends for ATP 2009. How could they top this year? My guess would be an attempt at convincing Pavement to reunite, but even that wouldn’t be as magical. Maybe if Unwound reformed…The point is, this was the best live music event of my entire life, and I urge all of you reading this to begin saving up for next year’s installment.
The end!
