ATP curated by Jeff Mangum: Three of Sunday’s Best

So here it is – the final installment of the All Tomorrow’s Parties trilogy. It was quite a weekend – full of hearsay (where did that Ryan Gosling rumour come from, anyway?), hot dogs and, of course, ridiculous amounts of awesome bands. Sadly, we couldn’t catch everyone on the last day, but here are a few of our favourites.

American Contemporary Music Ensemble

ACME provided the perfect soundtrack to ease in the final day of ATP. While the midday start was clearly too early for a lot of people, those who did make the effort were rewarded with a set that was at times delicate, at times intense – but constantly unpredictable and moving. The audience, most of whom remained seated on the floor throughout the set, were understandably a little quiet due to the previous night’s shenanigans, but were respectful and attentive throughout.

Lost In The Trees

Combining folky loveliness and dreamy melodies with foreboding strings arrangements and complex, asymmetrical time signatures, North Carolina’s Lost In The Trees were undoubtedly one of the best bands to grace the Crazy Horse stage over the weekend. Led by the gorgeous vocals and charmingly timid nature of frontman Ari Picker, and backed up by a fantastic band who switched from violins to french horns to glockenspiels and back again, Lost In The Trees really were a band to please both the head and the heart.

The Magic Band

Although their set began in a slightly chaotic manner (the band were still soundchecking as the Centre Stage slowly filled up), The Magic Band’s set was exactly as you have have hoped it to be. Playing the music of the late Captain Beefheart, they walked the fine line between wizardry and wankery, with extended bass solos and avant-garde freak-outs galore. OK, so it might not have been to everyone’s liking – but what would you expect from The Magic Band?

Low (sort of)

They might not have played on Sunday, but they did manage to persuade around thirty people to go for an early-afternoon jog with them along the Minehead seafront – and they deserve a lot of credit for that.

Photographs by Daniel Mackie.