By Jeff TerichSenior Staff Writer
After six months of waiting and anticipating, All Tomorrow’sParties Pacific 2003 finally happened. Curated by Simpsons and Lifein Hell creator Matt Groening, the two-day music festival took placeat the Queen Mary in Long Beach this past Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8and 9. The initial proposed date was in June and many lineup changestook place in that time, though many performers stuck around for asecond try. And in the eyes of the concert-goer, it went off withouta hitch.
Groening is the first non-musical artist to curate ATP, and itshould be said that he has impeccable taste. Performers like TheAmerican Analog Set and Daniel Johnston played the ship stage, whileSonic Youth and Mars Volta performed on the much larger park stageoutside. Yet, what makes all of the artists at ATP so unique is theyaren’t just musicians, they’re music fans as well. Built to Spill’sDoug Martsch watched Sonic Youth, Lou Barlow checked out Cat Powerand damn near everyone watched the Stooges. And just to add thatlocal aspect, Bunky’s Rafter Roberts was in attendance as well,hanging around the park stage all day Saturday.
And I swear I saw Ted Nugent. I can’t prove it, but a man wholooked just like him was standing next to Matt Groening, awaiting thearrival of the other Motor City Madmen, Iggy and the Stooges.
Almost every performer witnessed was outstanding, proving theirworthiness to be a part of such a historic event. The following aresome of the more notable acts, leaving an indelible impression onthose who attended.
The Shins
Albuquerque-via-Portland popsters The Shins played a fun set ofsunny pop music under gray skies on Saturday. Keyboardist MartinCrandall played emcee for the band, joking that if the sun were tocome out, they would play happy songs, and if it didn’t, they’d stillplay happy songs. Among the highlights of the set were “Caring isCreepy,” “Saint Simon” and the slow, somber “Pink Bullets.” And justso you know, they’re much more handsome in person.
ModestMouse
After hearing many differing opinions on Modest Mouse’s live show,I was pleasantly surprised by the Issaquah indie rockers. FrontmanIsaac Brock apologized for his voice, which was recovering fromlaryngitis, though sounded no different than usual. The band churnedout songs from its last record, The Moon and Antarctica, as well asnew songs. It finished its set with a 15-minute rendition of “CowboyDan,” which extended into a noisy psychedelic freakout, furthersolidifying my theory that ATP is the hipster’s Woodstock.
Spoon
Britt Daniel and company wasted no time delivering the rock to theQueen Mary ship stage. The Austin foursome churned out 18 songs in alittle more than an hour, conserving its energy for playing itsunique, minimalist brand Wire-inflected rock ‘n’ roll. Songs like”Paper Tiger” and “Small Stakes” were beefed up for the live show,while their performances of “Everything Hits at Once” and”Utilitarian” stayed true to the originals. Strange coincidence: HarMar Superstar stood next to the stage watching as Britt sang “I don’tdig the Stripes but I’ll go for Har Mar” in “Small Stakes.”
Mission of Burma
Despite each member being old enough to be my father, Mission ofBurma can still play some ass-walloping punk rock. Clint Conley’sbass thundered across the Park stage while Roger Miller scraped outsome abrasive guitar leads. Drummer Peter Prescott threw in hispolitical two cents, asking the crowd to vote President Bush out ofoffice in the next election, just because he said so. Songs like”This is Not a Photograph” and “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate”sounded just as fresh as they did in the ’80s. And Conley was wearingleather pants. And it didn’t look embarrassing. Celebrity sighting:David Cross, having his picture taken with six or seven giddy fans.
Tribute to Elliott Smith
After Elliott Smith’s passing last month, it was unclear how eventplanners were going to fill the spot. Rather than leave an emptyspace, Elliott’s band played, joined by Sebadoh’s Lou Barlow onvocals. Barlow and bassist Robin Peringer got choked up at times,making the heartfelt tribute a tear-jerking – though respectable -event. Barlow’s renditions of Smith’s songs were spot-on, and theband was joined by two members of The Minders, one of Elliott’sfavorite bands, to play “Now I Can Smile” and “Hooray for Tuesday,” asong Smith often covered at his shows. The tribute ended with”Happiness,” sung by Barlow and eight friends, including Elliott’ssister, girlfriend and The Minders.
Cat Power
After taking the stage 30 minutes late, Chan Marshall a.k.a. CatPower, played a set of subdued numbers with her three-piece band.After three songs, the fire alarm went off, prompting Cat Power’sguitarist to say, “That song was so hot, it set off the fire alarm.”
Iggy and the Stooges
The Stooges were the headliners of this year’s event, drawing acrowd of a few thousand. Almost all of this year’s performers were inthe audience or next to the stage, watching the heroes of their youthcrank out their favorite tunes. Iggy Pop was wiry and wild as usual,howling like a banshee, humping equipment and rivaling Ryan Adams forhow many times he could drop the f-bomb. Three of the originalStooges played (Iggy, Ron and Scott Asheton), rounded out byMinuteman Mike Watt on bass. In the midst of all the chaos, Iggydedicated “Dirt” to the late Elliott Smith, who was reportedly one ofhis biggest fans.
For more information about future All Tomorrow’s Parties events,visit www.atpfestival.com.
