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10 out of 10
HEALTH - A great way to kick start your weekend! Los Angeles based noise quartet leaped out of the blocks, head first into a cacophony of ring modulation, off- beat blasts of noise and occasional melodic vocals, all set to pounding drum lines. From the sound of it, their new album is gonna be special, so watch out this autumn.
ANDREW WK. - Hard House Beats, King Ralph piano, idiots in silly costumes, it can only be Andrew WK. The party metal legend delivered on every level, a triumph in modern musical performance. Even though the Andrew WK band were absent, he still got the party started in style, with all of his classic hits.
DEVO- Sorry scenesters and bandwagon jumpers, I fucking hate this band .They try to sound like a shit kraftwerk but actually sound like gimmick laden pub rock. On a side note: if you brought a devo hat for £20 you are a moron and should consult your nearest euthanasia clinic. This band was also not helped by the piss weak sound on the pavilion stage.
LIAM FINN - I was surprised when, what I thought to be another bland, toy indie songster turned out to be a very well textured feast of looping and drumming over said loops. Nicely melodic without sounding lame. Good work Liam.
ANTIPOP CONSORTIUM - To me, this band represent what is lacking in 99% of modern hip hop, intelligent musicianship in the form of killer 4-way live programming, underpinning alternatively phrased rhymes.
JESU- Birmingham's finest, Justin K. Broderick produced a typically enthralling performance, sadly minus the drum work of Ted Parsons, They sailed through classics as 'Silver' Leaving the crowd staring at their shoes in awe.
ELECTRIC WIZARD- At last, the riffs have arrived! The south west stoner legends really rocked the party. The crowd responded in turn with fists in the air and semi violent altercations as the more 'true' members of the audience jostled for position in front of the hot bird with the upside down cross necklace, though I admit I was one of the aforementioned jostlers.
FUCK BUTTONS - for the first time in what seems like years we got some new material from the ATP records darlings. Having seen this band about ten times, always playing the same set , it was like a breath of fresh air running through centre stage forcing you to remember just how good they are. The new material is not dissimilar to the debut record however it seems richer sounding, more textured and layered but still underlain with slammin' minimalist beats.
LORDS - A not-so-delicate mix of blues, folk, maths and power rock. I am a big fan of Lord's records and they don't disappoint in the live arena and were deservedly embraced by the capacity crowd in reds, or the 'Gonga Memorial Stage' as it is known in certain circles.
QUI -Fresh from the heart attacks, collapsed lungs and strokes incurred during last years tour , Qui are back with a vengeance pounding out new and old material in typical style. I couldn't help thinking though that David yow was saving himself for his two Jesus Lizard performances later in the weekend.
HARVEY MILK - Athens Georgia's metal veterans produced an expected high volume, balls out performance. I am not a fan of the bluesy aspects to this band , but they always make up for it with lengthy sections of down tuned power sludge which soon gets everyone's fists in the air once more.
ERRORS - Arguably the best performance to that point, the Scottish alternative electro poppers brought a different party aspect to the proceedings. They seemed to have become more accomplished performers since I last saw them, utilising the lighting rig better than any other band also. The combination of which had the whole room bopping like a Saturday night in the Balearics, though sadly minus the chavs and pissed up slappers .
MARNIE STERN - The smoking hot NYC twiddle rocker delivered her own brand of high intensity guitar technique and vocal chirping. Disappointingly her usual tour drummer, the legendary Zach Hill, was not present and when replaced by any other drummer, no matter how accomplished, his absence is very noticeable.
SLEEP - The loudest thing I think I have ever witnessed, they seemed to make all the other bands seem frail by comparison. Armed with a wall of amps and weapons grade riffage they completely destroyed the festival, a truly seminal reformation and performance. Raise your fists (and doobs) to the sky, Sleep are back!
GRAILS - Produced a typically atmospheric performance, playing the lion share of their latest record, the fantastic 'Doomsdayers Holiday', let down by a disappointing set time, and they were on far too early on Sunday afternoon.
!!! - On at a disappointing 6.45 pm, !!! did bring their typical style of party vibes to the proceedings , for an apparent break from the recording studio. The crowd were rocking in places, however I suspect that a later set time, once the booze starts flowing would have produced more legendary results.
PARTS & LABOUR - Again struggled to replicate the greatness of their records in a live setting, not helped by the pathetic sound of the pavilion , their low end sounded weak and treble tones too wishy washy. The smoking hot guitarist, the high point in my view and she is very hot and very smoking, she could be the future first Mrs Goodenough if she plays her cards right.
THE JUSUS LIZARD - The veteran grunge/alt punkers produced a high energy performance that rolled back the years. Now distinctly middle aged and witnessed by their wives and kids at the side of the stage, this was, for me a glimpse of what I should have been listening to in the early nineties. Mad props to the old geezers!
Overall the festival was amazing, the best one in at least 2 years, maybe my favourite since the Mars Volta one. Long live ATP!!
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