All Tomorrow’s Parties may be one of the most unique and wondrous festivals you will ever have the privilege to attend. With it now passing a decade in existence the success of the event goes without saying.
This weekend sees the festival curated by The Simpsons creator, Matt Groening, who has put together a wide variety of different acts and other entertainment to keep us occupied all weekend.
The most bizarre thing about ATP is its location within a Butlins holiday camp, but these surroundings more than suit a festival. Chalets provide the comfort and cleanliness a tent never could and while all the regular Butlins entertainment is not valid, bowling, swimming and cinema are all welcome additions to a festival environment.
A short jaunt from the festival gates and you’re at the seaside. This would act as more of a delight on that sunny day we sadly never got this weekend. Still, delicious ice cream, seaside fish ‘n’ chips and arcades are all pleasant additions to the weekend.
On top of that there is the sheer delightful novelty of being able to travel part of the way to the festival via steam train.
After settling into your chalet and having a cooked meal, you’re just in time to dash up to the main arena and a quick jump up the stairs, to the ultra dark Centre Stage, to catch the end of the wonderfully atmospheric bliss of Broadcast.
Cold Cave quickly follow and treat us to a more upbeat electronic affair, blasting us with deliciously dark electronic gems.
It’s Friday evening and not even dark in the main Pavilion before many people’s act of weekend take the stage and Iggy & the Stooges don’t let down. That raw power of the original releases may have quelled, but the energy Iggy expels onstage is phenomenal, as the 63 year old singer springs around the stage longer and more exuberantly than people half his age would manage.
Old favourites ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ and ‘1969’ are present as ATP enjoys it’s most rowdy moment of the weekend.
A late night set from the excellent noise rock aficionados Liars rounds off the evening superbly as they showcase their superb new album ‘Sisterworld’ to a far travelled and now sleep fighting audience.
Everyone is wide awake and buzzing to go by Saturday and sight of Matt Groening signing posters at the merch stand has caught many a person’s attention. However, it is the Pavilion which forms the first port of call for today’s musical adventures.
Atalanta’s indie rock wonders Deerhunter are keen to impress early in the day. The band’s frontman probably the festival’s biggest fan boy, Bradford Cox, sings the praises of the mouth-watering line-up ahead between sweetly executed tracks, including single ‘Nothing Ever Happened’.
For many just the sight of Zooey Deschanel would leave them in a mystical daze, but her combination with M. Ward in She & Him shows a more adorable side to the singer/actress. The duo glides through a delightful set of country-tinged pop, including the wonderfully catchy ‘Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?’
Next up is the African blues of the mesmorising blind duo of Amadou & Mariam whose endearing personalities only emphasise the huge spectacle that is their music.
A late night trip to Centre Stage sees you catch the dream filled beauty that is a Panda Bear set. The Animal Collective’s ‘pop’ link delivers a sleepy set of beautiful soundscapes, lulling the entire audience into a hazy world of wonder.
Then it’s off to Butlins country themed club location Crazy Horse for a dance or a wander to find a chalet party, who knows, you may bump into The XX.
After a Sunday filled with Butlins and seaside delights soon comes to time to hit the stages again. Daniel Johnston provides the perfect start to the day’s musical offerings, as the lo-fi cult hero delivers his quiveringly beautiful heart-felt lyrics to an adoring audience.
There’s a bit of a wait until the next act but it’s more than worth it. It is questionable that you will find anyone as wonderful as Joanna Newsom in the world of music today let alone in this line-up, and this festival crowd clearly agree, as he queues for Centre Stage stems way past the Pavilion.
The Californian singer-songwriter does not let down, whether singing, playing the piano, plucking or even tuning her harp she does not sway from the enchanting.
After a jaunt over to the under used Reds venue to catch a rare set from The Raincoats, then drifting off to the electronic bliss of The XX at Centre Stage before CocoRosie end the festival on a kooky alternative pop high.
Then it’s off to more parties or back to the chalets for 3am for Evil Dead 2 on the Groening curated ATP TV.
Matt Groening has curated one of the most memorable and varied ATP line-ups seen, but the sheer childhood glee of the location makes for the ideal festival. Belle & Sebastian are curating the Bowlie 2 ATP in December if you’ve not yet got your chalet booked get on it right away.
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