 ATP vs. Pitchfork Festival
Camber, England
Situated
on a humble resort near England's southern coast, this year's ATP
vs. Pitchfork festival brought together a slew of almost-famous bands
curated by the venerable indie magnates at All Tomorrow's Parties and
famed music webzine Pitchfork (full disclosure: I, Ryan Dombal , also
contribute to Pitchfork). Stretching across three days and featuring more than 40 acts, the festival offered a relaxed, summer camp-style
atmosphere, clear skies, an endless supply of beer served in sturdy
plastic cups and off-center bands of all types, from
novelty virtuosos Ween to youthful yacht rockers Vampire Weekend.
Whether looking for some new sounds to love or a killer game of air
hockey (featured in the main venue's tricked-out arcade!), it seemed
like most of the 3,000 attendees walked away happy, if a bit haggard
(even that one girl who fell in a drain didn't seem too upset about
it). Here's our superlatives-style, picture-heavy rundown of the
weekend's musical enticements:
Best Crotch Shot Opportunity
Man Man
Taking
photos of Tom Waits worshippers Man Man is a dangerous task — drums
may fall off the stage or a bowl of water may come flying in your
direction at any moment. Also, there's always a chance you'll get the
opportunity for a killer indie-rock crotch shot of lead singer-madman Honus Honus,
who perilously hovered between the stage and the crowd several times
during the set. Next stop, TMZ: 
Best Use of Nonsense Exclamations
Glass Candy
The
boy-girl disco duo nailed their late-night slot with immense beats and
flighty vocals straight outta 1978, and our favorite moments were
usually accompanied by a pitch-perfect "yeah!" or "woo!" from free-spirited
lead singer Ida No. Barefoot and dancing like Uma Thurman in Pulp
Fiction, the striped chanteuse proved there's much more to modern indie music than
dowdy white dudes with guitars: 
Best Cover
Hot Chip: "Nothing Compares 2 U"
The
British electro-pop mavens ignited the fest's biggest sing-along when
they played a bit of the Prince-written Sinead O'Connor classic at the
beginning of their own similarly heartbroken ballad "In the Privacy of
Our Love" (hear a studio version of the cover here): 
Ugliest Band
Ween
They still rocked, though (below, left).
Most Unfortunate Set Time
A Place to Bury Strangers
The industrial shoegazers were simply too loud for the hungover 3:30 p.m. crowd (below, right). 
Best Banter
Jens Lekman
Dry
as ever, the Swedish singer-songwriter tried to help his sound man
through some relationship troubles in between songs during his effortlessly charming afternoon set: 
Most Shocking Song Dedication
Times New Viking
Drummer-singer Adam
Elliott of this Ohio fuzz-pop band got a few evil laughs when he
introduced a song with: "This one goes out to Heath Ledger — he's in
the audience." Best Place to Find Fellow Americans
The Hold Steady — Front Row
In 2008, nothing says "Indie Rock USA!" like these Minnesota-bred, Brooklyn-based riff monsters: 
Best Audition for an Opening Slot on My Bloody Valentine's Upcoming Reunion Tour
Deerhunter 
Best Hangover Cure
Radiohead's "House of Cards"
The lulling song off of In Rainbows was played ad nauseum in between
sets during the day, calmly dissipating the aching remnants of last
night's party.
Best, Um, Band!
Los Campesinos!
"This is like our Wembley," gushed lead Campesino Gareth, referencing one of England's most massive venues. And while they played to only a fraction of Wembley's
capacity at ATP, this hyper-pop Welsh septet exerted enough sweat
to convert a stadium-sized audience. After all, this is a band who
represents the indie-to-the-nth ATP ideal in all the best ways — they
cover Pavement, worship small-time stalwart K Records and even have a
song about ATP (the jerky ballad "Knee Deep at ATP," which, of course,
they played). Clearly, for Los Campesinos!, playing ATP was an immense milestone — the first of many, for sure: 
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