Don't look back

Well, I'm back, after what now seems like a terribly short 3-day weekend at Kutshers Country Club. I can honestly say that the first ATP NY has been a successful one. If you were lucky to have been there I'm sure you'd agree. But incase you weren't, here are a few reviews of the amazing bands and artists I was priviliged to see.

(pictures aren't particularly great, but they give an idea)


Day 1 - Friday:

Arrived at Kutshers, it was pretty dark out but I don't think it was late. If I had to guess I'd say I got there around 9:20pm because comedien Joe Derosa was just finishing up. Afterwards Maria Bamford performed, and dear GOD she was hilarious. I was actually looking forward to her because I find female comediens especially funny, and she definitely proved that. After her was Eugene Mirman, who was equally as hysterical. Seriously, when I wasn't laughing I was smiling so much it hurt. Patton Oswalt was last, and as funny as he was I was a little underwhelmed. Still great, just didn't stand up to Bamford or Mirman, personally.

Kutshers looks like it's straight out of the 70's/80's. Everything from the elvis cut-out in front to the yellow-stained glass chandeliers in the quaint stage 2. Just about every other comedien/band had to mention how eerie the hotel was and how it strangely resembled the hotel in The Shining, or at least gave a similar vibe. As creepy as it was I still really liked how cozy everything felt. Unlike other festivals/concerts I've been to I never felt chlostrophobic or rushed, there was always enough room to move and enough space to dance. The two stages were pretty great, Stage 1, or the Stardust Ballroom is the bigger of the two, while Stage 2 was much smaller and compact. But both served their purpose well. While I didn't actually stay the night at Kutshers it was aparant through the chatter of the passing hipsters that the night activities going on were particularly exciting, so hopefully next year I can get myself a room at the hopefully-haunted hotel.

Didn't do much on day 1 other than see the comediens and got a feel for the club. Definitely wanted to get some sleep for day 2.

Day 2 - Saturday:

Saturday was marvelous. Amazing. And fantastic. I could go on, so I will. The first show (Fuck Buttons) was at 4:45pm and there wasn't anything else I was die-die-dying to see right away, so I just hung out in the hotel room and ordered pizza. Then finally I headed over to Kutshers at around... let's say 4? Caught the last bit of The Drones, who were great from what little I got to see/hear. Female bassist? Yes please. After they finished I seriously went deaf for a little while, but that soon passed. I got closer to the stage as my Fuck Buttons were up next.

Fuck Buttons - What can I say? I've been dying to see them perform ever since I first heard and fell in love with 'Bright Tomorrow', and they exceeded every expectation. Their hypnotic, energized, ravaging tunes got people dancing, which meant I wasn't the only one. I was somewhat close to the enormous right speaker so I got full blast of the pounding bass and drums, and trust me when I say I felt every second of it.



They started with 'Sweet Love for Planet Earth', their electric, droning opera, followed by a much shorter version of the tribal chant 'Ribs Out', but after THAT came something unexpected (at least I'm pretty positive it came after Ribs). A new track, instead of the same ol' same ol' Street Horrrsing set list. No idea on a title, but it was incredible, and possibly the most energetic of the tracks spilled in their forty-five minutes.


A second yet-to-be-named song was also played later on, and my memory is confusing it with the first new song so I don't know if I can describe it right now. Just like their album every song blended into the next seemlessly and with ease, this is one band that most definitely sounds as good live as they do in your stereo. If you're a fan of Fuck Buttons I suggest you find out when they're playing closest to you and GO SEE THEM! Seriously, it's impossible to not be happy when you hear them. Even if you aren't too familiar with them I'd suggest seeing them live as well, they're just an all-around great show and it's fascinating watching Andy Hung fiddle around with various electronic equipment then jump into a dancing frenzy while Benjamin John Power bangs on a drum and chants into a little toy microphone. They are a very sexy duo.

After Buttons I hung out in the lobbies for a while, just trying to recover a bit of my hearing before venturing into another venue. As my head cleared I headed over to stage 2 to check out Harmonia. I didn't know much about them, and I still don't, but they were enjoyable. I pretty much stayed in the back and just relaxed (as plent of others around me were doing), enjoying the romantic electronic tunes. It was the next band that I was particularly pumped for.

Om - Classified as "stoner rock" and "doom metal" (how do you not love that?) do not do this band justice. They're like if heavy metal combined with tibetan monks to create one ultra-band. I've heard their work before, but I didn't realize how much I'd absolutely adore it live, I'm not even joking, Al Cisneros' heavy bass and thick, growing vocals bore into me while drummer Emil Amos pounded killer beats. They started with 'Flight of the Eagle' which is a personal favourite, and continued on with each song forming from the one before it. Truly an underrated band that deserves a hell of alot more attention.

After Om I decided to take a break and head back to the hotel where I ordered pizza and got a strawberry (assholes gave me vanilla) milkshake. Watched some shitty SciFi original movies, there was a preview for some "snakes gone wild" movie with Tara Reid in which she utters something along the lines of "These aren't terrorists, they're snakes!" which ALMOST made me want to stick around and check it out, but I'm getting off topic. After I ate I went back to Kutshers so I could catch Lightning Bolt. When I got to stage 1 Shellac were still performing. The lead vocalist spread his arms like a bird and mentioned that he was flying, other than that I wasn't particularly impressed. After they finished I had no idea that Lightning Bolt were not performing on stage, so I was a little worried when the stagehands cleared everything off.

Lightning Bolt - They appeard on the floor to the right of the stage, I didn't even know it was them, for the longest time I thought some other band hijacked the room and the crowd. From where I was I could barely see any of the bandmates, only every now and then I caught a glimpse of the masked drummer and a sneaky piece of guitar. Lightning Bolt are a great band, I can listen to them any day of the week, but I wished things were a bit clearer. But they were fun, loud, impulsive, loud, and flat-out killer. I couldn't imagine what the people closest to the speakers were hearing, if it was that loud from where I was then they must all be fucking deaf. At one point the drummer (Brian Chippendale) pulled a mask out of a bag and placed it ontop of a big speaker. I swear it looked like Dick Van Dyke.

And that was that for Saturday. I took it pretty easy and just checked out what was most interesting to me, so I didn't get to catch many artists I was less familiar with. I know that if they have anywhere NEAR as killer a lineup in 2009 I will never not be in one of the venues.

Day 3 - Sunday:

It's the big day. Everything today was leading down to the grand finale that I don't think AAAAAAAAANYONE on the premesis missed, and for good reason, but more on that later. I woke up much earlier sunday than saturday; the first show I needed to see (Le Volume Courbe) was on at around 1pm so even though I was up and had a breakfast of THREE danishes I hustled and got over to Stage 2 to wait patiently for the sweetest songbird. Unfortunately I got there plenty earlier than I had thought so I decided to go wait outside on some white-washed patio furniture, then long behold Andy Hung of Fuck Buttons comes strolling by and I talked him over. He was very very sweet and was wearing the same shirt from when he performed the day after (a sign of hard partying perhaps?). We talked a bit and got a kind of candid picture of us two that looks like he just told me my hands were made of candy. Not really a great picture of me, but Andy looks fantastic. I definitely hope I'll run into him and the other Button some other time and see if he remembers me.

Le Volume Courbe - If you happen to really enjoy pure, simple, beautiful vocals then you have to acquaint yourself with Charlotte Marionneau and her band Le Volume Courbe (The Volume Curve).

This is another band that works just as well live as it does on record; her voice accompanied by fluid and on occassions romping guitar, drums, violins, slide whistle, bells, and melodica all work cohesively to create a lovely song. Although most of the tracks were pretty short you are already in a state of happiness and admiration to notice they end just as soon as they started. Of course I got the most enjoyment out of my two personal faves and was happy to sing (quietly) along. 'I Killed my Best Friend' started and I couldn't help but utter the biggest smile and move my feet ever so slightly.

'Freight Train' came as the ending track, and as she announced so I desperately wanted to ask for more. But they played, and I loved it, and it got most of the people in the room moving. Unfortunately I don't think she/they drew much of a crowd (though I couldn't tell because I made sure to get a somewhat close standing spot) which is unfortunate because Charlotte has such an undeniably fantastic voice that it shouldn't be ignored. But that didn't stop me from enjoying every second of it.

Incase I haven't mentioned (and I haven't), every band on sunday was hand chosen by My Bloody Valentine, so they were basically handed a seal of approval by one of the most influential bands to date.

After Le Volume Courbe finished up I clapped as loud as I could, it was well deserved, definitely in my top performances of the weekend and a great start to the day. Afterwards I hung out in the back and waited for the next band to start setting up, which didn't take long. Wounded Knees were up next, and although I was pretty much hearing them for the first time I greatly enjoyed them. They hit a kind of loud that wasn't particularly loud at all, loud enough to feel it, but just loud enough to hear every chord and verse. However it was who was standing just a few feet away from me that caught my attention. "Holy crap it's Charlotte" I thought. And it was! She was very short and very thin, kind of gangly. I was thinking of ways to ask her if I could get a picture with her and I figured I'd ask the guy standing next to her, but as it turns out the guy standing next to her was KEVIN SHIELDS. I panicked a little in my mind, I HAD to get a picture with them, if I didn't I'd regret it later, but I didn't want to bother them in the middle of a show or draw attention. So I waited it out until Wounded Knees were near end and then I awkwardly went up to them and asked for a picture, showed my camera, and desperately looked for somebody to take it. Charlotte took it at first and waved her hand for me and Kevin to get closer but I informed her I really wanted her to be in it too so I looked around for somebody until finally a VERY NICE MAN who was standing with Mr. Shields took the picture. I said thank you about a million times, several times totally slurred in awe, and walked back to my standing spot just a few feet away. Again, NOT a great picture of me, I'm all slouchy and nervous and NOT smiling, but Charlotte and Kevin look grand.

After the band ended I stumbled out in a moment of shock and decided to go and get some foods. Instead of leaving the premesis I went to the outdoor "food court" and got a veggie burger (for whatever reason I felt a regular burger might fill me up too much). Oh, almost forgot, I bought a bbbbbbbbbbbbbbeautiful Fuck Buttons shirt beforehand, it's grey with Fuck Buttons written vertically in big blue block letters. Just thought I'd mention it. So I ate, made a few phone calls to see how everything was going back home, and proceeded back to stage 2's lobby and waited for Gemma Hayes.

Gemma Hayes - Perhaps one of the more curious additions to the ATP NY lineup, Gemma Hayes is a Mercury Music Prize nominee and folksey songstress. When I say "curious" I'm just trying to get across how different she was compared to the weekends furious noise-rock. But it was enjoyable to take a break and chill out to something new, especially from such an amazing singer. She was smiley as fuck too, and kept a constant connection with the audience which was definitely a requited love. There was a good mixture of slow, dreamy, heart-ache songs and fast-paced, strum till you die guitar anthems, both of which were backed perfectly by a fantastic band.

After Gemma I had planned on taking a break until a few acts on Stage 1 were to come on. Buuuuuuuuuuut I got bored and went back to stage 2 where Spectrum was performing. I forgot that I knew 'How You Satisfy Me' and totally grooved (shutup) out of control. They were pretty great, really really liked them. I couldn't say a bad thing about Spectrum really.

Up next was Yo La Tengo in stage 1, who came close a few times to shattering my ear drums. For a band I'd never taken the time to discover myself I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed them, especially Georgia Hubley's beautiful vocal/piano work in 'I Feel Like Going Home' that had to have been heart-wrenching for everyone in the audience. Through a mist of rapid noise 'Home' was my personal favourite. Great job YLT.

I hung around in stage 1 for Mogwai whom I was originally going to miss in order to get some grub, but after a reccomendation from Andy Hung (Fuck Buttons) and since I already had something earlier I decided to stay.

Mogwai - Innnnttteeeennnsssseeeeeeee. Though Mogwai were another band I hadn't had much knowledge of I was instantly smitten when they started. I can't really think of what to say other than they roared and rampaged, pummeling us with blistering guitar riffs. Everything about them fit so perfectly, and for those who would dismiss them for not hearing any lyrics in their set I say their songs speak loudly. They were also one of the loudest that weekend, by far. Unfortunately Mogwai's resident drummer Martin Bulloch suffered heart problems throughout the set due to his pacemaker and the band will be taking a hiatus on their tour with Fuck Buttons. So let's wish Martin all of our best wishes.

Up next was Brian Jonestown Massacre in stage 2, a personal fave I didn't plan on missing. They didn't dissapoint one bit, they were fun, loud, and just great to hear live. The 'Who' performance was my highlight for sure, but everything surrounding it was equally incredible. However towards the end of their set people silently drifted out of Stage 2 to Stage 1 where the weekends big finale was setting up. So I followed, I didn't want to end up in the way way back by the doors after all.

So I found my original spot where I watched Mogwai but decided to move over to the left a bit (maybe more than a bit) where there were less people. The view wasn't spectacular but you don't go to a concert to see. I settled down and sat against the wall until you-know-who were ready to perform, unfortunately that wasn't for a while. While they were supposed to perform at 12am turned out to be something like 1pm I think, I dunno, I wasn't really keeping track of time at this point seeing as it was the very last show.







Some guy below me turned out to be a heckler, and along with a few others scattered in the crowd shouted for the bandmates to "get off of the toilet", etc. I didn't really mind, it was totally rude, but I wasn't about to tell him to stop, especially since their was plenty of booze and smoke to drive some people into going mad.

Anyways, we watched as stagehands paced around on the stage, checking guitars, mic's, moving around pedals and whatnot. I couldn't wait, every time I saw people move in and out of some curtained entrance-way on the far side of the room I said "here they are" with a sigh of relief, except... it wasn't them. Every now and then I guess other people thought the same because the audience would clap and roar at various intervals then disperse into laughter, moans, yells, etc. We waited and waited, until...


Finally! They emerge! The crowd explodes, and My Bloody Valentine appear on stage!

For whatever reason I always imagined the band to dress in all white while performing, but instead they were in all black. Fucking amazing? Yes, and that's only their clothes.

My Bloody Valentine - How do you describe one of the most influential bands of all time? Great? Spectacular? Wonderful? Interesting? The appropriate word(s) just doesn't come to mind, MBV are some other force of nature that reckons to destroy ours, some kind of mixture of beauty and punishment that leaves you hungry and not quite whole. Maybe I'm sounding like I'm exaggerating but after (and pretty much all through out) their set you feel an immesurable state of euphoria like nothing you've ever felt before. If I had never seen them live and read this I'd probably think I was just some obsessive fan, but it truly takes one live show to see and hear what I mean.


The entire room vibrated and shook as they moved from one incredible song to the next. I bobbed my head, even danced a little to certain tracks I recognized right off the bat, all the while the stage and room flooded with pink and purple light that pulsated over and over. Of course there were other colours involved, but how can you not see Loveless's fuzzy pink album cover amidst those lights?

And it only got better.

The ear plugs that were handed out (pictured way above) did seemingly no help, and for being the only time I wore them I couldn't be sure if they were doing their job. Every now and then I'd take them out to see if there was a difference, if there was it was very subtle.

The bands signature famous end track 'You Made Me Realise' was of course the hit of the party. We all knew it was coming and even though I enjoyed each song more than the one before it was the finisher that I truly awaited. Normally I'm pretty calm at concerts, I just really soak it all in instead of romping around, but in this instance I really couldn't control myself anymore. For being my favourite MBV track I had to make sure to enjoy every second of it, so I moved and shook and banged as it raged on.

Incase you didn't already know, there is an interlude in the song that is pretty much a wall of noise for a good while, but nothing compares to it live, where the interlude that is just seconds now becomes a 17 minute noise bombardment. I've never experienced anything like this, and I'd do alot to experience it again. At times it felt like certain pitches were going to keep growing until my ears bled, at other times I felt a little weak, but throughout the whole beautiful, almost-religious attack I smiled. I just couldn't stop smiling, and writhing, and standing on my toes. I'd go so far as to say it was orgasmic.

Once the interlude was finished (it felt much longer than it actually was) they continued with 'Realise' and I jumped and flailed with those around me until it finally ceased and Kevin, Bilinda, Debbie and Colm waved and left the stage, the aftershock of their incredible efforts still blissfully pouring from the giant speakers. They were gone, and the audience applauded and chanted. I waited until the speakers couldn't make anymore noise, hoping for an encore (I'm sure I wasn't the only one). But how could you follow something like that? How could any other band hope to accomplish such a following like My Bloody Valentine? If you get the chance to see them perform, do NOT miss that opportunity, you will not be dissapointed. Although they didn't unveil any new songs I'm more excited than ever for their new album that has been a long time in the making.

Cheers to you My Bloody Valentine, and cheers to you ATP.

2 days until ATP NY

This is driving me crazy, I just want to go already!

Incase you haven't already been informed by countless music blogs, My Bloody Valentine have gotten back together after sixteen years of nothing. After a big announcement that they were teaming up with All Tomorrow's Parties (among other announced events) to currate a three-day concert filled with the nosiest of noise-rock, MBV have announced a short tour in North America. So hopefully everyone can get their fill before they go back in hiding again.

Of course, there's always that album they're working on to look forward to, but who can compare a CD to the loudest band in the world? I'm hoping when I see them on the twenty-first that I won't need earplugs, it's not like I'll be crammed up against the speakers or anything, I plan on staying a little ways away from the stage, and by a little? I mean alot. Yeah, maybe going deaf to My Bloody Valentine wouldn't be SUCH a bad thing, I mean there are few bands I would let demolish one of my senses, but I still want to be able to hear their new stuff when it surfaces.

But MBV aren't the only band I'm desperately dying to see. Fuck Buttons, Om, Lightning Bolt, Le Volume Courbe, Autolux, and Brian Jonestown Massacre (among others) are some great additions that I will not miss.

There may still be some tickets up for grabs, so if any of this is turning you on I suggest shelling out the bucks to get a chance to see one of the most influential bands, and bands that will undoubtedly become influential, in action.

If there was ever an EP to hunt down, it would be ‘Water Curses’. New York-based Animal Collective have proven once again that their sound can rival just about anything, including the very aquatic/submerged sound that echoes throughout their latest release. It may be a bit more pop than what some fans might be used to (two tracks in particular are from the Wavelab Studio sessions that prodcued ‘Strawberry Jam’) but there are still plenty of unorthodox noises and screams that we’ve become so acustomed to, not to mention an adorable bollywood-esque chirp strung through the title track that is both surprising and welcoming.

Animal Collective have really made their own organic mark on music-even if not everybody recognizes it immediately-and nobody does what they do as good as…they do.
‘Water Curses’ is an EP that I personally think can stand up against just about any full-length album AC have pumped out in years past. Sure it’s only got four tracks, but by the time the disc stops you’ll be convinced it was one long-ass submarine ride that lulled you into a state of conciousness that only small animals experience. It’s relaxing, no doubt, as long as soaring airplanes and lots and lots of bubbling don’t annoy you, but Animal Collective haven’t forgotten to squeeze in some jumping hooks that’ll make you smile as you realize what other songs of theirs inspired them. ‘Street Flash’ in particular is a personal favourite of mine, if mostly for the distant screaching in the background followed by some heart-wrenching AAAAALLLLIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEEEE's that remind you that “Animal Collective scream in some of their songs, and it turns you on”, well at least it gets me pretty hard.

The water theme is pretty aparent, there’s no doubting that, but it works well. While one song might end with a babble from some abandoned stream another song will be filled with the echoing of a submarine off-course, so you definitely experience alot, even if you’re not sure what exactly you were experiencing in the first place.
This isn’t an album for everybody, but neither is Animal Collective a band for everybody, their sound is distinct and different from alot of what’s out there now, and they’ve definitley kept that with ‘Water Curses’. However if you’re a fan then definitely keep on the lookout for this four-track wonder.

Imagine the emotionally-charged ballads of ‘Feels’ combined with the twisted pop anthems of ‘Strawberry Jam’ and you get ‘Water Curses’, a preview to what will undoubtedly be another acclaimed album by Animal Collective.