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| Battles |
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| Swans |
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| Kool Keith w/ Ultramagnetic MC's |
Photos: Chris & Nadia Chaudhury / Review: Chris
The second day of All Tomorrow's Parties I'll Be Your Mirror was a really diverse and solid lineup, leaving me pretty exhausted from a full day's worth of shooting (10 acts photographed total). Things really started to pick up towards the end, with the 1-2-3 punch of Battles, Swans and Ultramagnetic MC's, all before the beautiful closing set by headliners and curators Portishead. More on Portishead in a bit, but here's everything else we got to check out throughout the day...
I arrived a little late and missed the first act of the day at the Paramount Theatre, bass saxophonist Colin Stetson, who has toured with Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre. I last saw Stetson open for Godspeed You! Black Emperor back in March and though it may seem weird to watch a guy play a gigantic saxophone for 45 minutes, it actually is pretty entertaining. Nadia was there and snapped a couple of photos for us...
The first act I got to see for the day was Geoff Barrow's other band, BEAK>, featuring Billy Fuller of Fuzz Against Junk and Matt Williams of Team Brick. I saw BEAK> play Bowery Ballroom about a year ago, bought their record and really liked it, so it was great to revisit them in a live setting at the Convention Hall. They play really jammy, droning krautrock with a heavy emphasis on rhythm. This was just the first of many times I would see Geoff Barrow throughout the day. Check out some of BEAK> photos below...
After that it was onto the Paramount Theatre to check out Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, who I honestly was not aware of before checking him out, but was told he was featured on Tom Waits' Rain Dogs which piqued my interest. Ribot led a group of two other musicians, playing pretty improvisational avant-garde music, with Ribot taking on lead vocal and guitar duties. It seemed like Marc was having some sound troubles throughout the set, something that seemed to happen a few times throughout the day at Paramount. Hopefully they get that under control for today.
Side note: I keep seeing the bassist of Ceramic Dog everywhere. He played with St. Vincent for the Our Band Could Be Your Life show back in May and also with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy on Friday. What's his name? Check out some photos of Marc Ribot below...
Next, we decided to take a walk over to Asbury Lanes to check out the Ocropolis, a 10-hour marathon jam session hosted by weirdo-psychedelic noise act, Oneida. Basically, musicians from throughout the festival drop in to jam with the group, and for the entire day James McNew of Yo La Tengo fame was playing guitar with them. It was also kind of funny that for about fifteen minutes I didn't even realize that Geoff Barrow was playing drums behind James (it was really dark in there and he was pretty hidden). It was pretty awesome for the 30 minutes or so we stuck around, and extremely fucking loud. Earplugs have never come more in hand for me than they have at this festival. Check out some photos from the Ocropolis below...
After the Ocropolis it was off to check out The Horrors, who have been gaining a lot of attention with the release of their album Skying in July. Being one of the youngest bands on the lineup, I was hoping they would bring some sort of youthful energy to day. I wasn't too impressed. They did, however, generate some of the funniest tweets, ranging from "why is the lead singer of the Horrors dressed like Joey Ramone?" and "all the guys in the Horrors look like they're dressed for the wrong band." Decide for yourself...
Things really started to pick up when we ventured over to the Paramount Theatre to check out The Pop Group, who played their first US show since splitting in 1981. They were really great. A mixture of punk, funk, and dance music, The Pop Group's frontman Mark Stewart ran about on stage--making me realize just how much James Murphy must have taken a cue from this band. The packed theatre was entirely sitting until Stewart remarked, "we're not really a sit-down band." Instantly, the entire crowd was on their feet, with fans in the front singing every word along with the band. We only got to check out a few songs before securing a place for Battles, but check out some photos of The Pop Group below...
And now Battles. They were definitely the highlight of day two (aside from Portishead), playing a frenetic set of songs that clearly resonated very well with the crowd. Most songs were off their latest album, Gloss Drop, but they did play their great single "Atlas" which was just fucking awesome. The band has shown no signs of loss following the departure of Tyondai Braxton, and when they launched into Gloss highlight, "Ice Cream," I'm pretty sure it cemented everyone's opinion that Battles are one great band to see live. Check out photos of Battles below...
The only major overlap throughout the day was between Ultramagnetic MC's (who we'll get to in a minute) and Swans. Luckily, Convention Hall was running about a half hour behind schedule which gave everyone some time to check out the band that is described as "the loudest fucking thing you'll ever hear." It was no exaggeration. I've long held the opinion that My Bloody Valentine were the loudest band on earth, but I'm pretty sure Swans give them a run for their money.
Walking into a packed (and seated) theater while Michael Gira led some of the heaviest music I've ever seen live was nothing short of surreal. I got about thirty seconds to shoot the band before being (physically) pulled out of the front, but luckily I was able to get some good shots of Gira. I wish I could've stuck around for more of their set, but I had to run over and catch Kool Keith with Ultramagnetic MC's. Running a bit late right now, so I'll sum it up with this: they got the hipsters dancing. Kool Keith is still an excellent rapper. Check out photos of both acts below...
Swans
Ultramagnetic MC's
After Ultramagnetic MC's, Portishead played a really great closing set, bringing Saturday's festivities to an end. We'll be posting those photos along with tonight's Portishead set tomorrow. And now I'm off to experience day three...
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