All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival
Minehead Butlin’s
19th May, 2007

View: lurching off the mini-golf course

ATP is the ultimate indie-rock festival, with assorted musical goodies and plentiful beards haunting its gull-ridden plastic carcass. Basking in bizarre Butlins splendour this time around were Mogwai, darkly shimmering and making their inspirations, Slint, look a little pallid by comparison. Steve Albini’s Shellac made the scuzziest rock noise and Wilco ran them close, triumphantly on form as Jeff Tweedy played guitar with a BK cheeseburger, while Bat For Lashes brought a Björk-cum-PJ Harvey unearthliness to the afternoon. Other highlights included three eccentric Daniel Johnston sets (adding his groovy warble to finish off Yo La Tengo’s fine performance), The Go! Team’s 70s surf theme-meets-Sonic Youth rap heaven, and the cinematically-assisted Japanese pop genius Cornelius, putting on a very Japanese, very cool show. Finally, Built To Spill’s ragged Neil Young triple guitar attack brought warming delight to the ears – a comfortingly crackly shelter from the giant seagulls and crashing waves outside.

Reviewed by David Harvey
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