The Nightmare Before Christmas '06

honru

Thinking of heading over to All Tomorrow's Parties/The Nightmare Before Christmas shindig in the UK this December. The Stooges, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Melvins, DKT/MC5, Gang of Four... that's bleedin' amazing at the moment.

It's relocated to Minehead, near Bristol, so it's no longer out of the way like Camber Sands was.

Linky.

calex71

Heard about this from sonic youth website, am very tempted

odhran

It's one of only three European gigs that SY are playing all year, if I recall correctly. It is very tempting...

The Free Man

i wanted to go to this last year but broke my neck, so its on my list for this year.

honru

OK, I've pretty much got enough people interested in this. Just need to sort out the funds and we'll be on our way.

Hope this doesn't sell out under me nose like last time.

John

Nurse With Wound are playing. Hmmm. Very interesting. Hmmmm. Hmmmm.

honru

Cabin booked... should be awesome stuff. I'm going to try and get to terms with Mike Watt this time.

Anyone ever been to one of these ATP festies? What's the capacity like? Stages? Beer?

dross

get to terms with mike watt?

indiewindy

I was at 2 years ago in camber sands for the mogwai, shellac ,tortoise weekwnd. Its a great festival, capacity was about 2,500 dont know about the new one though. You can bring your own booze in although it wasnt too dear in the venue and onne ofg the pubs served really late till about 5am:) . No trouble makers at all and the security were sound. tHe bands even stayed in chalets, and with everything being indoor no need to worry about pitching the tent, rain and getting robbed

honru

Wow, that sounds cool. I'd imagine they'll increase the capacity a bit but even something below 5,000 is tiny.

honru

Even before this Christmas one, there's already a new Parties up for April with The Dirty Three curating. Nick Cave and Low are also on the bill.

Hopefully the second weekend will get Ween this time...

John

I'm thinking hard about the D3 ATP.

DadaKopf

Yip. Missed the boat on this one. Just too poor 'cos of the last 2 I went to, plus trips to Silver Jews and plans to see Arab Strap in Glasgow and Yo la Tengo in Brussels.

The Dirty Three one I think I might bite the bullet on. Magnola Electric Co. MMMMMMMM.

Anyone goin to the Nightmare, don't feckin' miss Comets on Fire.

honru

DadaKopf wrote:

Anyone goin to the Nightmare, don't feckin' miss Comets on Fire.

Times are up today, looks like they clash with Sonic Youth. I should've seen them when they played Whelan's in October.

Are there any other bands who I really shouldn't miss? Going to be listening to plenty of new noise over the coming week.

ANarcho-Munk

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

Are there any other bands who I really shouldn't miss? Going to be listening to plenty of new noise over the coming week.

I'll kill you if you somehow miss Dino Jr. that's for sure.:)

Really pissed about not being able to see them on the 11th.

honru

Dude... at least go to Galway on the 12th.

ANarcho-Munk

I can't...it's over 18's and i've nowhere to stay in Galway. Major Bummer.

honru

That over 18s shít is such bollocks if you're into music... I went through that period myself. Unless the band have a young following these days you're ****ed.

Saying that... I'd chance it.

Mr Rivers

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

That over 18s shít is such bollocks if you're into music... I went through that period myself.

Yeah but then you turn 18 and don't care about it anymore! It's just a temp thing, ya just have to live past the age of 18 and you can see all the great bands you want

honru

Ah yea, but when I think about Munk not getting to see Dino Jr. it hits me right in the solar plexus, 'cos I know what that feeling is like.

Toast

In my day we didnt have the money to go to gigs before you were 18. You spent it all on copy books for your inter cert. Or something.

ANarcho-Munk

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

That over 18s shít is such bollocks if you're into music... I went through that period myself. Unless the band have a young following these days you're ****ed.

Saying that... I'd chance it.

Well it's too late to chance it now. That over 18's bollocks is the most annoying thing ever. I missed Dino Jr. last year because of it too and missed tonnes of other bands too. I can't understand why they can't jsut get those wristbands or put an X on you hand or something.

honru

Got back from this yesterday. Thought I'd throw up a little review.

What I thought the setup would be like was extremely off the mark. It's basically situated bang in the middle of a holiday resort; arcade/slot machines, bowling, Burger King, a waterpark, and plenty more. Then there's the three music venues where all the ATP action happens.

It was a great setup; I was actually expecting something in the vein of a summer festival. The chalets are fucking lovely. Obviously a little more formal than camping out in a tent but it's nice to be able to go back to a bed when you're bolloxed. And they're only about a two minute walk from the music, so it's all fantastic there.

The problem was with the venues themselves. We started the proceedings with Melvins, but once we got to the venue, there was an enormous queue. Probably about 500 people in line. Apperantly the venue, with a capacity of 2,800 people, was full, so it was a "one person in, one person out" situation until they ended. As you can imagine, this was a slow process, and from where we were, there was no chance we'd make it in for Melvins. Not too impressed.

It happened again for Gang of Four the following night; it was likely we'd make it in for Dinosaur Jr., but Gang of Four seemed like a no deal. This was frustrating, as Gang of Four were quite a priority for me.

However, thankfully they both agreed to play second shows. Bands that I managed to get into the first time round (Deerhoof and Dinosaur Jr.) also played a second time due to the demand. If they hadn't I probably would have no reason to return to ATP again.

The amount of time spent queuing wasn't the most ideal situation, and ATP were apologetic about the problem. It was their first year at Minehead with a much higher capacity (5,000) so they were bound to run into a few snags; unfortunetly one of them stood out more than most.

About the venues: the main stage was like a squashed one-floor Vicar Street with a hotel convention interior. I wasn't too fond about it tbh. Their "hall of fame" at the entrance belonged to Blazin' Squad, S Club 7, and Atomic Kitten. :eek:

The second stage was worse, completely tack Red and (oddly) the stage was facing the left side when viewed at the front. Two massive girders blocked the view, and the stage was way too low to see anything if you were standing behind a bunch of people; could barely see Deerhoof, had to go up on the elevated balcony. Good thing the sound at all the venues was great throughout; it's easy to overlook the venue decor when you're seeing such great music.

Overall, you get your money's worth if the lineup's your cup of tea. €180 including a bed for three nights is great value. I'm sure that ATP will make sure that the overcapacity problems never happen again, or at least not to the extent that Nightmare '06 fell flat to.