Vincent Gallo's All Tomorrow's Parties
The festival took place at the Pontin's Holiday Camp at Camber Sands, East Sussex from Friday 21st until Sunday 23rd April.The line-up (with artist links) is worth checking out here. To say I was excited prior to attending would be somewhat of a vast understatement. I sincerely knew it would live up to my high, high, expectations. And it did. If you don't know anything about the festival please have a look at the site for more info. Admittedly a little obsessed with Gallo it was great to bump into him around the site and see him getting a hot dog. I'm not going to write a love letter here but if you're interested go to this site which has got all his photos, articles and interviews etc.
There were five of us (T,Yorkshireman,BB and schmuck) in our chalet. The chalets were great and, of course, reminded the 5 of us of Hi-de-Hi, the BBC TV show of our childhood. There are two channels on the TV, one programmed by ATP and one programmed by the curator. Gallo's choices ranged from Bruce Brown documentaries (on surfing and body-building) to Italian neo-realism to Coppola's The Conversation. The reception on this channel meant that it was unwatchable, however. The ATP channel had Lost In Translation, Brass Eye, and a Kubrick day on Saturday where, perhaps obviously, all of his films were shown all day. The packs given at the commencement of the festival were great with info on all the artists and detachable cards with the line-up on for each day.
BB and schmuck were responsible for rations for the weekend. Yorkshireman, a true Yorkshireman in every sense of the word, wasn't the only one gobsmacked at the £300 spent on food, the majority of which was made up of Sainsbury's Taste The Difference range. Cured meats, cheeses, fine wines, Morrocan lamb, salmon, olives, all perfectly acceptable for festival food I think(!!!)...
I think the first act was Nikolai Haas, who has played drums for Gallo in NYC. Will pointed out his humongous hands which were far from a barrier to his dexterous playing. His songs were gorgeous and mellow and although he was nervous (it was his first ever solo gig) his voice was delicate and tender.
The Japanese female Improv duo Afrirampo were magnetic, charming, funny and yet far from a novelty act. They're destined to rise above their current fanbase (which includes Thurston Moore, who asked them to support Sonic Youth on a recent tour). I only caught the tail-end of their set but I saw them, immaculately dressed in their red macs watching many of the other acts over the weekend and getting some crazy passport photos.
Gallo's performance is perhaps best summed up by this review. He played with Sean Lennon and Yuka Honda. It was really hot in the smaller venue and although Gallo wasn't the main draw for everyone there, he could have easily have filled the big auditorium upstairs. Explained towards the end of the set by Lennon, Gallo had just bought a Neumann microphone, which was so sensitive that it couldn't pick Gallo up without picking up everyone on stage at the same time, This caused massive feedback problems, which were only solved by making Gallo so quiet as to be inaudible. The reviewer comments,
Buck 65, who I'll be seeing next Sunday in Birmingham, was great. I saw him in October at the Custard Factory with his 'bag of tricks' containing books of poems and records and tapes etc. At Camber, after praising Vincent for being a renegade and true artist, he quoted Vincent's character in Buffalo 66 at the end of one of his tracks: 'I didn't have a girlfriend at school because there was no one I liked, no one I liked. Girls stink...'
Was strange to see James Chance who looks his age but still struts his James Brown moves. His band were equally aging but they still had the showmanship and the chops required. PJ Harvey, playing solo electric guitar, went down deservedly well. She said she was nervous but her nerves didn't show themselves. Her songs came through and there was overlying feeling that she was something the British should revere as a very rare artist. Ted Curson, whose 'Tears for Dolphy' features on Gallo's Brown Bunny Soundtrack, was a star attraction. He lives and works in Europe, which shames and shows up the US. How depressing that this elder statesman of one the greatest artforms has to leave his country in order to make a living.
The highlight for me was probably Prefuse 73 on the Sunday night. His One-Word Extinguisher album and his Savath and Savalas albums meant that no clue was available to what his live show would be like. His (at the time) forthcoming album was to be featuring Ghostface, El-P, Masta Killa, GZA, Aesop Rock and Beans. Would there be backing tracks from them? Would they guest? He didn't need them. His 5-piece band included a powerhouse live drummer and bassist and the set flowed from piece to piece without a pause for breath (a cliche for sure but the room was a hot sweatbox with little fresh air present).
Although everyone competed, the only real challenge to Prefuse 73, surprisingly, was Peaches. In her first song she stage-dived and crowd-surfed, and I was there thinking, 'Well, where can you go from here?'. My pre-conceived notion of her being somewhat of a novelty act was shot to pieces. She (prepare yourself for the usage of a word I have never used in my lifetime up until now) rocked. She was in your face and it must have been like seeing Madonna in NYC in the mid-80s. As entertainment it thrilled. As music, it was innovative. Her rhymes were fresh but the beats were minimalist and maximalist at the same time. Berlin, where she has been living and recording over the past few years, has clearly influenced her a lot. Serious music critics have no need to discuss the sociological impact of her sexuality. Her music makes further peripheral discussion futile and unnecessary. Awesome...
Gigs, Vincent Gallo, Prefuse 73, Peaches, PJ Harvey, Lennon, Afrirampo
There were five of us (T,Yorkshireman,BB and schmuck) in our chalet. The chalets were great and, of course, reminded the 5 of us of Hi-de-Hi, the BBC TV show of our childhood. There are two channels on the TV, one programmed by ATP and one programmed by the curator. Gallo's choices ranged from Bruce Brown documentaries (on surfing and body-building) to Italian neo-realism to Coppola's The Conversation. The reception on this channel meant that it was unwatchable, however. The ATP channel had Lost In Translation, Brass Eye, and a Kubrick day on Saturday where, perhaps obviously, all of his films were shown all day. The packs given at the commencement of the festival were great with info on all the artists and detachable cards with the line-up on for each day.
BB and schmuck were responsible for rations for the weekend. Yorkshireman, a true Yorkshireman in every sense of the word, wasn't the only one gobsmacked at the £300 spent on food, the majority of which was made up of Sainsbury's Taste The Difference range. Cured meats, cheeses, fine wines, Morrocan lamb, salmon, olives, all perfectly acceptable for festival food I think(!!!)...
I think the first act was Nikolai Haas, who has played drums for Gallo in NYC. Will pointed out his humongous hands which were far from a barrier to his dexterous playing. His songs were gorgeous and mellow and although he was nervous (it was his first ever solo gig) his voice was delicate and tender.
The Japanese female Improv duo Afrirampo were magnetic, charming, funny and yet far from a novelty act. They're destined to rise above their current fanbase (which includes Thurston Moore, who asked them to support Sonic Youth on a recent tour). I only caught the tail-end of their set but I saw them, immaculately dressed in their red macs watching many of the other acts over the weekend and getting some crazy passport photos.
Gallo's performance is perhaps best summed up by this review. He played with Sean Lennon and Yuka Honda. It was really hot in the smaller venue and although Gallo wasn't the main draw for everyone there, he could have easily have filled the big auditorium upstairs. Explained towards the end of the set by Lennon, Gallo had just bought a Neumann microphone, which was so sensitive that it couldn't pick Gallo up without picking up everyone on stage at the same time, This caused massive feedback problems, which were only solved by making Gallo so quiet as to be inaudible. The reviewer comments,
Songs are often drowned out by the irritable audience, whose cries of 'Cheer Up'Gallo wouldn't be who he is without his vast knowledge of, well, a lot of things, and his constant endeavour for perfection, reflected in this sense by his purchase of the microphone, his stubborn refusal to turn it off, and his resulting evident disappointment with the show and mainly its sound. So, in one sense, it was great that he fucked up to get a true sense of the guy, but obviously not that great...
are killing Vincent Gallo on the inside, well, maybe. Yet, the truly great tunes
shine through- Gallo's understated 'Honey Bunny' silences the raucous crowd, and
commands the attention he deserves, while Lennon, delivers a simple, yet
exceptional solo track. And as the set finishes, I look around the now
sparsely-populated venue and wish people had treated the gig with patience,
instead of disregard.
Buck 65, who I'll be seeing next Sunday in Birmingham, was great. I saw him in October at the Custard Factory with his 'bag of tricks' containing books of poems and records and tapes etc. At Camber, after praising Vincent for being a renegade and true artist, he quoted Vincent's character in Buffalo 66 at the end of one of his tracks: 'I didn't have a girlfriend at school because there was no one I liked, no one I liked. Girls stink...'
Was strange to see James Chance who looks his age but still struts his James Brown moves. His band were equally aging but they still had the showmanship and the chops required. PJ Harvey, playing solo electric guitar, went down deservedly well. She said she was nervous but her nerves didn't show themselves. Her songs came through and there was overlying feeling that she was something the British should revere as a very rare artist. Ted Curson, whose 'Tears for Dolphy' features on Gallo's Brown Bunny Soundtrack, was a star attraction. He lives and works in Europe, which shames and shows up the US. How depressing that this elder statesman of one the greatest artforms has to leave his country in order to make a living.
The highlight for me was probably Prefuse 73 on the Sunday night. His One-Word Extinguisher album and his Savath and Savalas albums meant that no clue was available to what his live show would be like. His (at the time) forthcoming album was to be featuring Ghostface, El-P, Masta Killa, GZA, Aesop Rock and Beans. Would there be backing tracks from them? Would they guest? He didn't need them. His 5-piece band included a powerhouse live drummer and bassist and the set flowed from piece to piece without a pause for breath (a cliche for sure but the room was a hot sweatbox with little fresh air present).
Although everyone competed, the only real challenge to Prefuse 73, surprisingly, was Peaches. In her first song she stage-dived and crowd-surfed, and I was there thinking, 'Well, where can you go from here?'. My pre-conceived notion of her being somewhat of a novelty act was shot to pieces. She (prepare yourself for the usage of a word I have never used in my lifetime up until now) rocked. She was in your face and it must have been like seeing Madonna in NYC in the mid-80s. As entertainment it thrilled. As music, it was innovative. Her rhymes were fresh but the beats were minimalist and maximalist at the same time. Berlin, where she has been living and recording over the past few years, has clearly influenced her a lot. Serious music critics have no need to discuss the sociological impact of her sexuality. Her music makes further peripheral discussion futile and unnecessary. Awesome...
Gigs, Vincent Gallo, Prefuse 73, Peaches, PJ Harvey, Lennon, Afrirampo
posted by Steve State at
15:25
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