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Your ATP Vs. Pitchfork Festival Guide

08th May 2008 | by Gavin Riley

ATP continue their quest to dominate the U.K Festival market by not just throwing on one bash for the month of May, but two events in the space of just over a week.

First up is this weekend's ATP Vs. Pitchfork Festival which features the likes of Sebadoh, Vampire Weekend, Hot Chip, Yeasayer, Bon Iver, The Hold Steady and Of Montreal. The scary thing is we could go on.

However there are a few smaller bands making up the approximately 40 bands on showcase this weekend. All battling for your attention.

So whether you're a music guru or an up-and-coming music junkie, here we lay down the Strange Glue guide to the forthcoming festival, so that you don't miss out on any must-see bands.

Band	Stage	Day	Time	Rating	Website	Comment
Ween	Main	Fri May 9th	9pm - 12 midnight		http://www.myspace.com/ween	Chilled out psychedlica-infused rock music from a band who'd just as rather please your ears than they would please your palette via their extensive range of food recipes for fans.
Sebadoh	Main	Fri May 9th	7:30pm - 8:30pm		http://www.myspace.com/sehbahdough	As enchanting as they are off-kilter. The recently reformed American trio will be soon showing us exactly how lo-fi music should be done.
Vampire Weekend	Main	Fri May 9th	6pm - 7pm		http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend	Probably the most hyped band of 2008, you can judge for yourself whether it is justified or not. Needless to say, the band have an immense amount of high expectations to live up to.
The Clientèle	Main	Fri May 9th	4:30pm - 5:30pm		http://www.myspace.com/theclienteleofficial	Can you picture yourself enveloped in a consuming sofa whilst a soothing sage serenades you with his laid-back charms whilst psychedelic licks fill your ears. We can.... now.
Hot Chip DJ set	Second	Fri May 9th	1:30am - 5:00am	unknown	http://www.myspace.com/hotchip	If you're interested in which sounds inspired the recent Hot Chip album "Made in the Dark", what better way to find out than to let them entertain you into the small hours via their DJ set.
Glass Candy	Second	Fri May 9th	12:30am - 1:30am		http://www.myspace.com/glasscandy	Breathy female vocals over the ever-present vibrating synths form the backbone of Glass Candy. Should bridge the gap perfectly between live music and the DJs.
Redd Kross	Second	Fri May 9th	10:45pm - 12 midnight		http://www.myspace.com/reddkross	Californian psychedelic pop-rock is presented in its familiar format. If you happen to like said genre, great for you, if not, don't expect to get much out of this one.
Fuck Buttons	Second	Fri May 9th	9:15pm - 10:15pm		http://www.myspace.com/fuckbuttons	Loud, beautiful and anti-social. Electro duo Fuck Buttons are less likely to get radio play than a kangaroo singing the blues, but that's why we love. Plus they're loads better than a singing kangaroo.
Shit and Shine	Second	Fri May 9th	8:00pm - 8:45pm		http://www.myspace.com/shitandshine	Everytime these guys play live, it registers as an 8 on the Richter scale. With four drummers, two bassists and a broken toy keyboard... How exactly could this not be legendary. Inspired super-heavy experimentalism.
Carsick Cars	Second	Fri May 9th	6:45pm - 7:30pm		http://www.myspace.com/carsickcars	Sonic Youth inspired Chinese-rock. Brimming with touching melodies constructed mostly of noise, this trio prove music truly is an international language. Highly resonating.
Man Man	Second	Fri May 9th	5:30pm - 6:15pm		http://www.myspace.com/wearemanman	Jaunty and quirky indie-rock from a Philidelphian sextet which invokes the spirit of Modest Mouse and then drives it deep underground. The darkness is nice.
Jay Reatard	Second	Fri May 9th	4:15pm - 5:00pm		http://www.myspace.com/jayreatard	A throwback to the uncomplicated times of straightforward Ramones inspired punk. Oddly enough, it's simple and uncomplicated. We wonder what his nickname was in high school.

Hot Chip	Main	Sat May 10th	11:00pm - 12:30am	http://www.myspace.com/hotchip	Worth holding on to, despite the likely burning. Rock/electro experimentalism at it's finest, all backed up by a healthy amount of energy and pop sensibility.
Les Savy Fav	Main	Sat May 10th	9:30pm - 10:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/lessavyfav	"You make me shake, you make me shiver!" goes a vocal on one of Brooklyn legends Les Savy Fav's numerous fantastic songs. We'd like to turn that compliment around and return it to them with thanks.
The Black Angels	Main	Sat May 10th	8:00pm - 9:00pm	http://www.myspace.com/theblackangels	Born in the dark alleys which metaphorically surround the city of Austin, Texas, The Black Angels have the power to simultaneously lift you up and strike you down with their psychedelic dirges.
Los Campesinos	Main	Sat May 10th	6:30pm - 7:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/loscampesinos	A spirit which is immediately infectious coupled with quirky song-writing is likely to keep the propellant firing behind this band's voyage to the centre of the earth's attention.
Yeasayer	Main	Sat May 10th	5:00pm - 6:00pm	http://www.myspace.com/yeasayer	A clear victim of the hype machine. Maybe given a few more years to work on their sound, things could work out, but for now it's mostly a scattershot routine and the gun's pointed the wrong way.
Bon Iver	Main	Sat May 10th	3:45pm - 4:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/boniver	Every so often, a man comes around who possesses the ability to capture an infinite amount of emotion within each delicate strum of his broken guitar. Bon Iver's Justin Vernon is such a man. Quite possibly the most intense experience of your life. Watch!
Black Lips	Second	Sat May 10th	10:30pm - 11:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/theblacklips	Combining a mish-mash of sounds with a traditional style and some scary sounding stage antics (vomit, urine, nudity, fireworks, inter-band snogs etc...) their live show should prove both interesting and scaring.
Deerhunter	Second	Sat May 10th	9:00pm - 10:00pm	http://www.myspace.com/deerhunter	Eclectic and eccentric are two ways to describe this Atlantan five-piece who house tunes somewhere in the swirling noise. They pride themselves on putting on a climactic show for their fans.
Dirty Projectors	Second	Sat May 10th	7:30pm - 8:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/dirtyprojectors	Expansive sounding collective which swells from four members to forty at will. Perhaps a little too leftfield to be truly appealing, nevertheless, it's a sterling effort to be proud of.
Howlin' Rain	Second	Sat May 10th	6:00pm - 7:00pm	http://www.myspace.com/howlinrain	More slices of psychedelic/classic rock from the side-project of Comets On Fire man Ethan Miller. Borders a little too close to the 'classic rock' line for our liking.
Born Ruffians	Second	Sat May 10th	4:30pm - 5:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/bornruffians	Stuttery Canadian indie-rock provided by the trio of bass, drums and guitar. Sparse and unassuming. Good times are likely, however, last time we caught them, they needed some work on their stage presence.
Times New Viking	Second	Sat May 10th	3:15pm - 4:00pm	http://www.myspace.com/timesnewviking	Wearing it's noise with pride, the no-fi trio from Ohio are even more captivating live than they are on record. Which is really a feat in itself. Unmissable!
Even	Second	Sat May 10th	2:00pm - 2:45pm	http://www.myspace.com/evengroupofsingers	With hazy eyes and misty memories, the Australian trio take you back to better times with their laid-back grooves, dripping with attitude and flower-power, punk-style.

Harmonia	Main	Sun May 11th	11:00pm - 12:30am	http://www.myspace.com/harmoniamusic	Their eldest member being in his mid-70's, don't expect rock 'n' roll shenanigans from this trio. Do, however, expect lush, transcendent manipulation of digital noise layered over beauteous instruments.
Girls Against Boys	Main	Sun May 11th	9:30pm - 10:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/gvsb	Belonging to the rapidly growing 'gender action gender' band name club, New York's Girls Against Boys fail to bring anything outstanding to the fray, besides competent melodies, but that's not really outstanding, so the point stands.
The Hold Steady	Main	Sun May 11th	8:00pm - 9:00pm	http://www.myspace.com/theholdsteady	"You were drunk and exhausted whereas he was critically acclaimed." The band unwittingly give a good comparison between themselves and their lesser contemporaries, of which there are many. Lesser, that is.
of Montreal	Main	Sun May 11th	6:30pm - 7:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/ofmontreal	Wonderfully quirky danceable rock with it's eyes squarely on the world of pop. If you don't have one of their choruses stuck in your head by the close of the set, then you've been trampelled to death. Our condolences.
Black Mountain	Main	Sun May 11th	5:00pm - 6:00pm	http://www.myspace.com/blackmountain	Just because they were hand-picked by Coldplay to support them on a recent tour, that's no reason to hold a grudge. Inherently interesting and musically brave. That's Black Mountain, not Coldplay.
A Place To Bury Strangers	Main	Sun May 11th	3:30pm - 4:30pm	http://www.myspace.com/aplacetoburystrangers	You see all of these other bands playing later on during this fine Sunday? Well, seeing them is all you'll be capable of should you not bring earplugs to the loudest band in New York's set.
Jens Lekman	Main	Sun May 11th	2:00pm - 3:00pm	http://www.jenslekman.com/	Start your day with Lekman and friends, you won't be disappointed. You'll only miss Apse and who cares about them, Jens Lekman is on. Exceptional down-tempo indie-rock with a story-telling twist.
Caribou	Second	Sun May 11th	11pm – 12.15am	http://www.myspace.com/cariboumanitoba	Caribou look to have fixed themselves up for their headlining slot, after cancelling a raft of dates this year due to injuries. Expect Psychedelica at its finest.
Meat Puppets	Second>	Sun May 11th	9.30pm – 10.30pm	http://www.myspace.com/themeatpuppets	The Meat Puppets, who became synonymous with the Nirvana era of music are now on their second reunion, with an almost identical line-up to how they first started. Be interesting to see if they can still cut it.
No Age	Second	Sun May 11th	8pm - 9pm	http://www.myspace.com/nonoage	One of Sub Pop's best signings, No Age have an original brand of powerpop/punk music that will splinter your ears. Look out for a cover of Bjork's 'It's Oh So Quiet'. Must see!
Wooden Shjips	Second	Sun May 11th	6.30pm – 7.30pm	http://www.myspace.com/woodenshjips	Yes that is how you spell “Shjips”, but rather more importantly we have some more psychedelic drone music here, with a penchant for finishing tracks rather abruptly. Good on record, great live. See them if you hate Of Montreal. Which you shouldn't.
Pissed Jeans	Second	Sun May 11th	5.00pm –6.00pm	http://www.myspace.com/pissedjeans	Loud and in yer face, Pissed Jeans will shake you out of your Sunday hangover and slam-dance you into a chemically induced coma. Proof that loud doesn't always equal good.
Marissa Nadler	Second	Sun May 11th	3.30pm - 4.30pm	http://www.myspace.com/songsoftheend	Haunting American gothic singer emanating from Boston, she performs almost effortlessly. Lets hope she brings along her theramin.
Apse	Second	Sun May 11th	2.15pm – 3.00pm	http://www.myspace.com/apse	Great way to kick off Sunday, if you like your post-rock, this should be one of the first band's one your list to watch. However being up against Jens Lekman should see Apse rather deserted.