Preview: ATP NY '09 Day One

by Pop Tarts Suck Toasted on Fri, 2009/09/11 - 4:00pm Post to Twitter

Damn near the last minute I was given a chance to attend this year’s ATP NY (I’ll be covering it for Gothamist all weekend) and I have to say I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a musical weekend in ages! With bands like The Flaming Lips, Deerhunter, and Animal Collective all on tap and crazy concoctions like Bob Mould with No Age (performing as Hüsker Dü) and the Boredoms doing a 9 drum BOADRUM, this is gonna be a crazy weekend! It starts tonight with several legendary performers reprising classic albums and a highly publicized reunion from The Jesus Lizard that we are especially amped for! Here’s what I’ll be catching tonight (full review tomorrow hopefully!) and you should join along. I’m skipping the comedy stage, most of those guys are from the area already.

3:15pm: The Drones
The first act to take the stage this weekend are from Australia and are here to promote their upcoming album (which just happens to be on ATP Recordings). Even though they are promoting a new album they will be performing Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By in its entirety. I’ve honestly never really listened to their music so this will be a new experience for me, but since they are the first band of the weekend they will probably get my undivided attention and a lot of my bubbling energy!
The Drones - "Shark Fin Blues"

4:45pm: The Feelies
Now The Feelies are a band I know and absolutely love! I was able to see them last year when they opened for Sonic Youth and was blown away by how tight they’ve remained despite having some really long layoffs between shows. This time around they should be way fresher than they were back then thanks to some recent shows. They will be performing their classic debut album Crazy Rhythms and I’m really looking forward to this performance.
The Feelies - "Crazy Rhythms"

6:15pm: Dirty Three
Another Australian act, this time the instrumental Dirty Three, will be invading our shores. I don’t think we’ve ever had this many Aussie bands hitting our shores at the same time! These guys are absolute legends though, creating music that has been revered and adored for quite some time so much so that they got to curate ATP 2007. They’ll be performing their seminal record Ocean Songs, and we’re quite excited to see it done live.
Dirty Three - "Distant Shore"

7:45pm: Suicide
Two years ago I got to see Suicide at the South Street Seaport and it was one of the most bizarre shows I have ever seen. Of course it didn’t really translate to the sunny riverfront that the Seaport is, but the music really comes off as this strange sounding noise punk. Like really strange! I’m hoping it translates better to the darkened country club setting then it did that day, but I’m excited they they are playing their self-titled, debut record instead of anything else.
Suicide - "Rocket U.S.A."

9:15pm: Panda Bear
No idea why they moved his set to Friday (I assume it was to save him the trouble of playing two sets in one day), but the addition of Panda Bear to Friday night’s lineup took it from really solid to absolutely cannot miss greatness. Panda Bear may not do much on stage, generally he stands behind his equipment as images flash behind him, but the music translates incredibly well to a live setting. The fact that this will be his only U.S. performance this year makes it even sweeter!
Panda Bear- "Take Pills"

10:30pm: Iron & Wine
Considering how much I claim to love independent music it’s pretty shocking that I have never seen Iron & Wine, the man is one of the main purveyors of the genre over the last decade plus and I just have never gotten off my ass to see him. Luckily I’ll be able to correct that wrong tonight when he and his band hit the stage right before my eyes. It’s about damn time!
Iron & Wine - "Carried Home"

12:00am: The Jesus Lizard
Lollapalooza 1995 was the first ever show I went to without my parents, instead I went with a girl - who ditched me halfway through the first set - and spent the whole day taking in as many bands as I could. Sonic Youth, Hole, Pavement, all blew me away but that day I only left with one souvenir, a copy of The Jesus Lizard’s Head (with the EP Pure, it was the most bang for my buck!). Since then I have patiently waited for a second chance to see the band and have my adult mind blown away by the music I could barely comprehend when I was 14, and now I have that chance! I am beyond euphoric at having a chance to see this band once again and you can bet that I will be going nuts when they take the stage.
The Jesus Lizard - "Puss"