I’m not sure what I think about this article about ATP on Freaky Trigger. I like the way it’s written, the way the half thoughts instantly remind me of my own ATP experiences and yet seem entirely personal. I think where it goes wrong is in a certain smugness and superiority over the music. There seems to be a whole layer of Belle and Sebastian fans who feel emotionally attached to ATP purely because of the pre-cursor Bowlie and spend a weekend each year trying vainly to recreate it at what is technically and actually a completely different festival, both in terms of organisation, music and audience. Although very few people would say they go to ATP purely for the music, I would hope most people go because they’re interested or intrigued by the line-up and want to hear some new and exciting music. In the FT article, there’s a patronising air that the bands were unimportant, unmelodic and a mere distraction from the real attractions of beach, pub, singalongs and television. If the music is such a minor part of the experience and the audience considered further and further from the twee ideal, maybe they should pack up their ‘We were here first’ indie cred and invade the Kerrang Weekender instead where they can really feel like outsiders. Or just go for a weekend in Skegness.

Posted: 09|10|03 at 1:21 pm. Filed under: events.
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