Miscellaneous - Camber Sands, 25/2/2005...27/2/2005

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 11 / 2 / 2005

intro

The latest All Tomorrow's Parties Festival was headlined by seminal post rockers Slint playing their first gig in over a decade. Ben Howarth watches them play a delightful show, and also enjoys sets from the Melvins, Mum and Mogwai

After last year’s '“Director’s Cuts' festivals – when the various curators, the likes of Stephen Malkmus, Mogwai and Shellac, took a day of the festival each – All Tomorrow's Parties director Barry Hogan was not alone in wondering where the festival could possibly go next. All Tomorrow’s Parties has been successful since its inception half a decade ago on two fronts. Firstly, it provides a receptive audience for underground ‘heroes’ who may not be in a financial or creative position to tour the UK regularly and secondly, it gives a large audience with which talented bands can establish themselves. No band benefitted more from All Tomorrow's Parties than …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, whose entire UK career was built around an intense set at the first festival. They are now a major label act. The festival promotes a variety of styles, but it will always be associated with post-rock (no bad thing). Bringing the fathers of the post-rock genre out of retirement was the only way to top last year’s festivals. Indeed, all the tickets – at £120 a person – sold out before any other bands appeared on the bill. The festival’s success was always primarily going to be about Slint’s performance. The question is now, how can they top Slint? The pressure Slint must have felt is not unlike the pressure Arsenal felt at the start of this season after being labelled the Invincibles. Playing the best football the club has ever seen, with the world’s best player (and probably the coolest man alive) up front, Arsenal bottled it. I still can’t get over it. If Slint, who I spent £120 pounds and skipped an Economics Of Politics seminar to see let me down too, life would not have been worth living. Slint did not bottle it. Sure, they looked nervous. It took an age to get ready for each song, the members barely looked at each other, and made precious few comments to the audience. But they (to borrow a phrase from Metallica’s James Hetfield) "kicked maximum ass." On the 'Spiderland' album, most of the music is quiet and slow burning. The occasional bursts of noise add to the dynamics, but the appeal is the coiled tension of the quiet, seemingly simple music. It was a real surprise to find that, live, Slint really rock. Their background in post-hardcore shone through, and they produced some of the most precise, but affecting, live rock I have ever heard. They even played some dancable jazz rock, with a dazzling David Pajo guitar solo the key element. The songs on 'Spiderland', the holy grail for underground music fans, received a rapturous reception. It was fantastic to hear them live, but this was no ‘memory lane’ show.  I sincerely hope Slint’s reunion is permanent, because this concert was a delight. So, the main act didn’t disappoint. But what of new talent? I have to confess that I had encountered precious few of the billed acts prior to the festival. But, rather than be pessimistic, I took this as an opportunity to discover new music. Bad Wizard were the buzz of the weekend. I missed their set, but heard whispers that it was incredible. So good, in fact, that they played again at the end of the festival. This time I was right at the front, and left impressed. This wasn’t art, it was good time rock ‘n’ roll, but the band had flair and personality. Hair rock isn’t usually my thing, but Bad Wizard are not the Datsuns or The Bellrays. They are the real deal! My other real "find" of the weekend was the brilliant Brightblack. They were one dimensional, but what a dimension! Loping country rock, augmented by varied "rural" percussion and a truly astounding drummer, with male/female vocal harmonies. It was a bit like hearing Damien Jurado duetting with Cat Power, a lovely experience. Of the other ‘new’ bands, White Magic was very good, with some lovely guitar interplay and also nice piano, but occasionally sounding a bit too much like Cat Power for comfort. Rednails were playing their first show outside of Louisville, and whilst not wholly original, they had a good sound and some good songs; look out for them. Pearls And Brass could really play the blues, but were a tad too generic. The Naysayer provided some of the weekend’s best stage banter, and also some of the most original songwriting. Sean Garrison and the Five Finger Discount were the best entertainers all weekend, and played some seriously good country rock ‘n’ roll. Miighty Flashlight played to a disappointingly small crowd, but played beautifully. There were also some better established bands. Matmos played just before Slint, meaning that many of their crowd were waiting for Slint and were not true Matmos fans, but at times their set was good. They produced some innovative yet highly listenable electronica, all compelling beats and pulsing bass. But, sadly, there was too much ambling, searching for the golden moment when their sound clicked, and the set grew tiring. Mum also played electronica, but with constructed songs, they didn’t stumble like Matmos. When the trumpets and guitars were in full flow, Mum’s music was truly beautiful, and by using live instruments they connected well with the audience. Former headliners Mogwai, low down the bill, were never going to steal the show, but they played a decent set, with their usual dynamic prowess and understated melodies. Deerhoof are a great band, but failed to quite connect with the large crowd and fill the hall Like Matmos, when the ideas worked, they were, however, pleasing. Sons And Daughters were late additions to the bill. I’d heard them many times before but it took a few songs, for some reason, for my head to get to grips with their sound. Once I loosened up, however, I found them very enjoyable. They haven’t got perfect songs yet, but it is clear from their onstage energy and imagination that they will produce great music soon. It was always going to be Slint’s show, but one band gave them a run for their money. For twenty years, the Melvins have been the kings of sludgy, noisy, raw rock and roll. This band rock harder than any band I’ve seen, riffs bashing the brain into submission until you can’t help yourself. Each song was vital, and I didn’t want the set to end. The Melvins may not quite have the status of, say, Sonic Youth but they are truly everything you could possibly want in a heavy rock band. All Tomorrow's Parties were criticised for having a small bill (25 acts). But when two of the acts are Slint and the Melvins, and the rest are new and exciting, I can’t complain. The other advantage is there is time for a proper soundcheck (ie. There is good sound for all acts) and a decent set time (about an hour each). I found the event more satisfying than an overpacked mainstream festival bill. If only it hadn’t been a nightmare to get home in the snow (don’t ask!)...

Picture Gallery:-