So this weekend, I headed off to All Tomorrow’s Parties in Minehead, curated by The Breeders. And I had a lovely time.

It’s not exactly that I’m getting old, but the prospect of heading off to another Reading or similar festival really doesn’t appeal any more. Maybe it’s the camping in dust and filth, the constantly circling fourteen year olds piefaced on cheap cider, or perhaps it’s the toilets. I have a Schroedinger’s cat relationship when it comes to portaloos – I don’t know if what’s inside is dead or alive, but I’m damned if I’m going to find out.

At any rate, when my good friend and occasional accomplice Matthew Sheret suggested we go for the weekend, I jumped at the chance. For those of you unaware of ATP, it’s a festival with a difference. This year The Breeders curated the event and picked all the bands that appeared. They also popped up at literature readings, knitting sessions and collaborated with other bands. The organisers and bands all stay in the same accommodation as the fans, giving the whole thing a real community feel. In the unlikely event you get bored with the music, there’s plenty of bars, mini-golf and even a cinema to keep you amused.

Waiting for The Bronx to take the stage.

Any festival where you can pop back to your chalet between bands for pizza and Eurovision gets a definite thumbs up in my book. There’s no advertising on site either, as far as I could tell, and the atmosphere is fantastic. The bands aren’t as high profile as other festivals (CSS and Foals probably being the biggest popular draws this year), but it does mean you get to check out a lot of new bands. And boy, did I!

Shellac, the house band, have played over a hundred ATP  events and put ona  fantastic show. All weekend people were telling me how good they were, and I’m glad I listened. Matthew described Deerhunter as “the future of rock and roll”, and he might be onto something. The Bronx, who I’d seen in 2002 and were absolutely dire then have come on immeasurably. Their mariachi band side project were a delight as well.

The very enjoyable Bon Iver.

On top of the new bands, Teenage Fanclub pulled out a set of perfect pop sensibilities that couldn’t help but leave you smiling. CSS probably got the largest crowd of the weekend, and as I passed Foals (on the way to watch the excellent Anvil) there were quite a few people there. Gang of Four had more energy than I think anyone expected, and even smashed the living daylights out of a microwave, in a form of violent percussion. All in all, a top weekend of music.

CSS take the main stage by force. With balloons!

It was interesting to see how much the landscape had changed with intra-festival communication these days as well. With the advent of Twitter and to a lesser extent Audioboo over the past year, people were updating with pictures, audio and text as performances were going on, all via the #atp hashtag. I find it quite exciting you can get those updates there and then, in essence live blogging the whole shebang. There’s an argument to the alternative that suggests people are recording the moment rather than being part of it, but I don’t see why you can’t do both.

So, next year I’ll be back. A lovely way to spend the weekend with great new music and new people. Whether it’s an impromptu Animal Collective dance party at four in the morning or enjoying cheese and crackers after Bon Iver, it’s a fantastic thing to be part of.

Here’s some lovely media for you!

CSS – Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above (a live snippet from ATP)

Blood Red Shoes – It’s Getting Boring By The Sea (another live snippet from ATP)

And lastly, lots of lovely photos I took.