Minehead was once more beseiged by 20- and 30-somethings with uncouth beards and tight-fitting jeans for what is reportedly the last May ATP for the forseeable future. Curators Animal Collective eschewed the use of the traditional "head-lining" Pavillion stage, wisely opting to allocate all acts to the heightened atmosphere and superior sonics of the Centre and Reds stages, with a smattering of acts also on Crazy Horse.
The first night's lineup was fairly sparse but interesting all the same. Sleepy Doug Shaw A.K.A Highlife opened proceedings on Centre stage with an intriguing if somewhat hit-and-miss solo set of looped acoustic guitars and sparing use of electronc sounds and other instruments. Black Dice followed with what proved to be one of the sets of the weekend. Standing through one hour of the Brooklynite's dirty, shape-shifting barrage of electronic noise as it shakes you from head to toe is something of an endurance test, but there's a masochistic nature to what they do which makes the ear-bleeding pain oh-so compelling.
Unfortunately Grouper's set over on Crazy Horse proved to be an endurance test of a less favourable variety. Despite the concurrent release of her two quite excellent AIA records, Liz Harris chose to perform a tape-collage entitled Rolling Gate. Some 20 minutes in, and it was quite evident that this was going nowhere; we left to catch the end of Lee Scratch Perry's set and returned 15 minutes later, only to find that the progress made could've been measured in the musical equivalent of Angstroms. Bitterly disappointing.
Speaking of Lee Scratch Perry, the dub-reggae legend arrived fashionably late, but looking resplendent in gold-trimmed hat and various other bling. His set was undeniably good fun, and the holler of "Lee Scratch Perry! Say Lee Scratch Perry!" remained embedded in the memory for the rest of the weekend.
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