ArcTanGent 2016 Review: An American’s Perspective
By William Covert
By William Covert
For math rock and post rock fans, Fernhill Farm is like Oz, Mecca, and Xanadu all rolled into one place. I had made the pilgrimage from the US to Fernhill Farm for the music festival known as ArcTanGent in 2014 to hear what all the hub bub was about and was absolutely blown away from the sheer magnitude of the music, people, and community that make up the fest. I’ve been waiting all year for ArcTanGent 2016, and the festival did not disappoint and exceeded any expectations I had going in to it.
The drive through Bristol and out into the country to reach Fernhill Farm was beautiful and the weather was perfect. Unfortunately, the sunny skies would not hold out for what became a brutal onslaught of rain that lasted most of the weekend, but one of the cool things about ATG is how hardcore of fans who attend the festival are, and no rain was going to spoil the fun that weekend. I’ve seen American music festivals get cancelled for weather conditions that paled in comparison to this year’s ATG.
The set up for the festival is great. Having only four stages, with two stages staggered on either side of the fest grounds with short walking distances between stages and camping sites, it’s brilliant stage planning especially the new location of The Bixler stage and the increase in size of the PX3 stage. There’s such a strong feeling of a community at ATG as well and I think it helps that the organizers have kept the fest small in audience size, capping at 5,000 and it allows fest goers to have a real great music experience and it’s fairly easy to run in to friends and people you know, which is great since there is absolutely no phone reception anywhere near the fest. Going back to the hardcore-ness of the fest goers, there was just a feeling everywhere that people were there for the music and it isn’t how I’ve seen some American festivals where people go to hang out and don’t watch any of the bands and when they do they are on their phones trying to ‘capture the moment’ through a screen. ATG goers partied every night (the silent disco was absolute mental this year) and then still got up early for the fest and the first bands of each day played to very sizeable crowds and its one of the few fests I’ve been to where someone will check out a band they don’t know and most bands on almost every stage played to packed crowds, it’s really a sight to see and experience. The fest oozes a sense of community and like it doesn’t matter where you are from or what you do in your normal day-to-day life for those three days everyone is there together and part of this really fantastic contemporary math rock/post rock/noise rock music scene that has fully grounded itself in the UK. Also should note that the food at the fest is absolutely outstanding, which if your someone like me and packed a couple cases of beer for the fest, but not any food, you were still in luck with the food options available. And now on to the fest highlights!
Thursday
Body Hound came out swinging early in the day on Thursday and set the tone for the rest of the festival. They played a blistering set that delivered riff after riff with stop on the dime rhythm changes. I like bands that take chances and they played a new song right out of gate, which grabbed mine and I think everyone at the Yohkai stage’s attention immediately. The new songs they played that were so massively good with maybe the most direct influence of King Crimson of any band I saw at ATG this year, and showcased just how technically proficient these four guys are. They also know how to control a stage like few instrumental bands I’ve seen, and their stage presence has an undeniable charisma that’s just a lot of fun to behold.
I was pretty disappointed to hear that Tangled Hair dropped off ATG again, but Memory of Elephants really seized the moment as a last minute fill in. I wasn’t missing Tangled Hair’s absence after Memory of Elephants slayed with a set that was so full for a three-piece and their mix of instrumental math rock with noise rock immediately had me head banging. Bassist Ben Shuffler gave one of the best bass performances I saw the whole festival, definitely a band worth seeing if they are ever playing anywhere near where you are.
Talons and Alarmist both played tight and energetic sets that got the mid-day crowd amped up and couldn’t have been followed up with a better band than Delta Sleep. The Brighton quartet’s set was jammed packed with banger after banger and maybe were the first band of ATG to get the crowd singing along with their songs. The songs they played off their latest album Twin Galaxies were especially tight and the guitars and bass interplay is nearly mesmerizing live. Blake Mostyn gave one of my favorite live drum performances of the year let alone at ATG.
Axes closed off the night at the PX3 and nothing against Mono, but Axes should have been the last band to play on Thursday. The pit during their set was so crazy I couldn’t believe where I was and it reminded me of being a teenager in the pit at hardcore shows. The band’s live energy from start to finish was so unbelievable and just so much fun! I can’t really stress enough how much of a fun band Axes is live, and they are like the epitome of Party Math Rock because their whole set just felt like a party and I caught myself just in awe from excitement multiple times during their set.
Friday
Friday opened up with a bang with Big Scary Monsters’ band Sleep Kit kicking things off on the Bixler stage. Despite a couple technical difficulties, the band played a killer set and in particular their songs “Standby Me” and “Foster Ghost Plan” were on point. Sleep Kit was definitely the most I’d ever gotten into a band’s set that occurred before noon. They definitely were a hard act for the rest of the day to follow.
Fellow Americans Vasudeva had the crowd moving and grooving over on the main Arc stage. They played a highly technical and efficient set that kind of melds post rock with mathy and pop elements. Drummer Derek Broomhead is a beast behind the kit, and his beats are as beefy as they come. Similar to Body Hound, Vasudeva played new material which to me was the highlight of their set.
Adam Betts of Three Trapped Tigers played a mind bending solo set over at the PX3 stage that my brain is still trying to comprehend everything he is doing when he’s playing. Musically it’s similar to Three Trapped Tigers, but what Betts is able to accomplish sonically as a one-man band is stunning and incredibly inspirational. I know this will be considered blasphemy in many circles, but I honestly enjoyed Betts’ solo set on par with the set TTT played the night before. I can’t wait for his solo album Colossal Squid to come out later this year.
My main highlight from Friday though was Cleft’s grand finale. The first time I saw Cleft was at ArcTanGent two years and they immediately grabbed my attention and blew me away and made me a fan ever since. It was bittersweet seeing the band come to an end, but still being able to live through their songs one more time live and they about brought down the Bixler. Dan Wild-Beesley playing guitar is a sight to see, and he laid down a sonic attack that was just incredible and unlike any other two-piece math rock duo to play the fest (including my own two-piece band). John Simm has such a great flow to his drumming and his style of playing is seamlessly fluid while also being melodic. John can sit in the pocket and groove out all day and then he’ll change it up and play a rhythmic tom and cymbal pattern or vice versa that is really impressive to watch. I found myself walking around singing their melodies for days afterwards and “Frankenstein” and “Hostage” in particular cemented their set as one I’ll never forget. Cleft closed out their set with a cover medley including “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead and followed by David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and “Rebel Rebel”.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor closed out the night and gave one of the best headlining festival performances I’ve ever witnessed. With a given set time of two hours I actually had no intention of watching their whole set and planned on catching the first 45 minutes to an hour tops. Well they shattered my expectations, which again taught my you should not have expectations of a band before their set, and I was captivated, inspired, and enlightened throughout their 90+ minute set.
Saturday
On Saturday, the PX3 was definitely the place to be. Between Chiyoda Ku, Kusanagi, Classically Handsome Brutes, and Cheap Jazz the stage was absolutely stacked! That’s me trying to be as non-biased as possible because my band Space Blood also played the PX3 that day, but I consider us very, very lucky to have been surrounded by the talent of those bands I just mentioned. Chiyoda Ku are wise beyond their years and they played one of the tightest sets I saw all weekend. Chiyoda Ku didn’t just play a set, they made a statement really worked the crowd and I can only see them going up from here.
Classically Handsome Brutes and Cheap Jazz both had everyone under the PX3 tent jumping and bumping and I found both bands to be heavier live than on their recordings and I was very happy with that discovery. Both bands gave a couple of the more memorable set endings this year, with the guys in Classically Handsome Brutes removing their shirts to reveal each band member having a letter of “C” or “H” or “B” written on their chest at which point the guitar and bass were looped in a noise drone with their guitarist and bassist then taking a jump into the crowd for a surf and then swimming through people back to the stage to rejoin and finish their set and it was brilliant! Cheap Jazz played a blistering set that I could barely keep up with what the three of them were doing musically and then to top it off Marty Toner of Alright The Captain joined Cheap Jazz on bass for their last song and it was another one of those moments that really stood out to me over the course of ATG.
Usually in these types of things as an audience member you’re talking about the band you’re watching perform, but I also had the opportunity to be an ATG performer with my band Space Blood from Chicago, so I’ll just say from my perspective playing the crowd was one of the most attentive and best crowds I’ve ever gotten to play to. As a performer it really goes to show the special almost magic-like quality of this festival that you can be playing to so many strangers and when looking out to the crowd you just see faces back at you, not people on their phone, not people just chit-chatting to the people next to them, but people actually giving a shit and watching the bands. It was an amazing and unique experience I was lucky to get to be able to play for an ATG crowd.
Over on the Bixler stage, Enemies gave one of the best performances of the festival and I left their set with my jaw on the floor in the pouring rain. They had a great set list consisting of material from their entire catalogue and just brought an energy that further amped up what was already a very amped up fest crowd. To watch Enemies do live looping is a thing of magic, and very few bands can pull it off as well as these Irish minstrels. I don’t know of any other post rock / math rock band that has the crossover mainstream pop appeal that Enemies has, but is easy to forget under all the musical complexity and showmanship the members bring to the table. I would really hope Enemies comes back to ATG again and can showcase their talents on the main Arc stage. I’ll be there up front and screaming the lyrics to “Indian Summer’.
The drive through Bristol and out into the country to reach Fernhill Farm was beautiful and the weather was perfect. Unfortunately, the sunny skies would not hold out for what became a brutal onslaught of rain that lasted most of the weekend, but one of the cool things about ATG is how hardcore of fans who attend the festival are, and no rain was going to spoil the fun that weekend. I’ve seen American music festivals get cancelled for weather conditions that paled in comparison to this year’s ATG.
The set up for the festival is great. Having only four stages, with two stages staggered on either side of the fest grounds with short walking distances between stages and camping sites, it’s brilliant stage planning especially the new location of The Bixler stage and the increase in size of the PX3 stage. There’s such a strong feeling of a community at ATG as well and I think it helps that the organizers have kept the fest small in audience size, capping at 5,000 and it allows fest goers to have a real great music experience and it’s fairly easy to run in to friends and people you know, which is great since there is absolutely no phone reception anywhere near the fest. Going back to the hardcore-ness of the fest goers, there was just a feeling everywhere that people were there for the music and it isn’t how I’ve seen some American festivals where people go to hang out and don’t watch any of the bands and when they do they are on their phones trying to ‘capture the moment’ through a screen. ATG goers partied every night (the silent disco was absolute mental this year) and then still got up early for the fest and the first bands of each day played to very sizeable crowds and its one of the few fests I’ve been to where someone will check out a band they don’t know and most bands on almost every stage played to packed crowds, it’s really a sight to see and experience. The fest oozes a sense of community and like it doesn’t matter where you are from or what you do in your normal day-to-day life for those three days everyone is there together and part of this really fantastic contemporary math rock/post rock/noise rock music scene that has fully grounded itself in the UK. Also should note that the food at the fest is absolutely outstanding, which if your someone like me and packed a couple cases of beer for the fest, but not any food, you were still in luck with the food options available. And now on to the fest highlights!
Thursday
Body Hound came out swinging early in the day on Thursday and set the tone for the rest of the festival. They played a blistering set that delivered riff after riff with stop on the dime rhythm changes. I like bands that take chances and they played a new song right out of gate, which grabbed mine and I think everyone at the Yohkai stage’s attention immediately. The new songs they played that were so massively good with maybe the most direct influence of King Crimson of any band I saw at ATG this year, and showcased just how technically proficient these four guys are. They also know how to control a stage like few instrumental bands I’ve seen, and their stage presence has an undeniable charisma that’s just a lot of fun to behold.
I was pretty disappointed to hear that Tangled Hair dropped off ATG again, but Memory of Elephants really seized the moment as a last minute fill in. I wasn’t missing Tangled Hair’s absence after Memory of Elephants slayed with a set that was so full for a three-piece and their mix of instrumental math rock with noise rock immediately had me head banging. Bassist Ben Shuffler gave one of the best bass performances I saw the whole festival, definitely a band worth seeing if they are ever playing anywhere near where you are.
Talons and Alarmist both played tight and energetic sets that got the mid-day crowd amped up and couldn’t have been followed up with a better band than Delta Sleep. The Brighton quartet’s set was jammed packed with banger after banger and maybe were the first band of ATG to get the crowd singing along with their songs. The songs they played off their latest album Twin Galaxies were especially tight and the guitars and bass interplay is nearly mesmerizing live. Blake Mostyn gave one of my favorite live drum performances of the year let alone at ATG.
Axes closed off the night at the PX3 and nothing against Mono, but Axes should have been the last band to play on Thursday. The pit during their set was so crazy I couldn’t believe where I was and it reminded me of being a teenager in the pit at hardcore shows. The band’s live energy from start to finish was so unbelievable and just so much fun! I can’t really stress enough how much of a fun band Axes is live, and they are like the epitome of Party Math Rock because their whole set just felt like a party and I caught myself just in awe from excitement multiple times during their set.
Friday
Friday opened up with a bang with Big Scary Monsters’ band Sleep Kit kicking things off on the Bixler stage. Despite a couple technical difficulties, the band played a killer set and in particular their songs “Standby Me” and “Foster Ghost Plan” were on point. Sleep Kit was definitely the most I’d ever gotten into a band’s set that occurred before noon. They definitely were a hard act for the rest of the day to follow.
Fellow Americans Vasudeva had the crowd moving and grooving over on the main Arc stage. They played a highly technical and efficient set that kind of melds post rock with mathy and pop elements. Drummer Derek Broomhead is a beast behind the kit, and his beats are as beefy as they come. Similar to Body Hound, Vasudeva played new material which to me was the highlight of their set.
Adam Betts of Three Trapped Tigers played a mind bending solo set over at the PX3 stage that my brain is still trying to comprehend everything he is doing when he’s playing. Musically it’s similar to Three Trapped Tigers, but what Betts is able to accomplish sonically as a one-man band is stunning and incredibly inspirational. I know this will be considered blasphemy in many circles, but I honestly enjoyed Betts’ solo set on par with the set TTT played the night before. I can’t wait for his solo album Colossal Squid to come out later this year.
My main highlight from Friday though was Cleft’s grand finale. The first time I saw Cleft was at ArcTanGent two years and they immediately grabbed my attention and blew me away and made me a fan ever since. It was bittersweet seeing the band come to an end, but still being able to live through their songs one more time live and they about brought down the Bixler. Dan Wild-Beesley playing guitar is a sight to see, and he laid down a sonic attack that was just incredible and unlike any other two-piece math rock duo to play the fest (including my own two-piece band). John Simm has such a great flow to his drumming and his style of playing is seamlessly fluid while also being melodic. John can sit in the pocket and groove out all day and then he’ll change it up and play a rhythmic tom and cymbal pattern or vice versa that is really impressive to watch. I found myself walking around singing their melodies for days afterwards and “Frankenstein” and “Hostage” in particular cemented their set as one I’ll never forget. Cleft closed out their set with a cover medley including “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead and followed by David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and “Rebel Rebel”.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor closed out the night and gave one of the best headlining festival performances I’ve ever witnessed. With a given set time of two hours I actually had no intention of watching their whole set and planned on catching the first 45 minutes to an hour tops. Well they shattered my expectations, which again taught my you should not have expectations of a band before their set, and I was captivated, inspired, and enlightened throughout their 90+ minute set.
Saturday
On Saturday, the PX3 was definitely the place to be. Between Chiyoda Ku, Kusanagi, Classically Handsome Brutes, and Cheap Jazz the stage was absolutely stacked! That’s me trying to be as non-biased as possible because my band Space Blood also played the PX3 that day, but I consider us very, very lucky to have been surrounded by the talent of those bands I just mentioned. Chiyoda Ku are wise beyond their years and they played one of the tightest sets I saw all weekend. Chiyoda Ku didn’t just play a set, they made a statement really worked the crowd and I can only see them going up from here.
Classically Handsome Brutes and Cheap Jazz both had everyone under the PX3 tent jumping and bumping and I found both bands to be heavier live than on their recordings and I was very happy with that discovery. Both bands gave a couple of the more memorable set endings this year, with the guys in Classically Handsome Brutes removing their shirts to reveal each band member having a letter of “C” or “H” or “B” written on their chest at which point the guitar and bass were looped in a noise drone with their guitarist and bassist then taking a jump into the crowd for a surf and then swimming through people back to the stage to rejoin and finish their set and it was brilliant! Cheap Jazz played a blistering set that I could barely keep up with what the three of them were doing musically and then to top it off Marty Toner of Alright The Captain joined Cheap Jazz on bass for their last song and it was another one of those moments that really stood out to me over the course of ATG.
Usually in these types of things as an audience member you’re talking about the band you’re watching perform, but I also had the opportunity to be an ATG performer with my band Space Blood from Chicago, so I’ll just say from my perspective playing the crowd was one of the most attentive and best crowds I’ve ever gotten to play to. As a performer it really goes to show the special almost magic-like quality of this festival that you can be playing to so many strangers and when looking out to the crowd you just see faces back at you, not people on their phone, not people just chit-chatting to the people next to them, but people actually giving a shit and watching the bands. It was an amazing and unique experience I was lucky to get to be able to play for an ATG crowd.
Over on the Bixler stage, Enemies gave one of the best performances of the festival and I left their set with my jaw on the floor in the pouring rain. They had a great set list consisting of material from their entire catalogue and just brought an energy that further amped up what was already a very amped up fest crowd. To watch Enemies do live looping is a thing of magic, and very few bands can pull it off as well as these Irish minstrels. I don’t know of any other post rock / math rock band that has the crossover mainstream pop appeal that Enemies has, but is easy to forget under all the musical complexity and showmanship the members bring to the table. I would really hope Enemies comes back to ATG again and can showcase their talents on the main Arc stage. I’ll be there up front and screaming the lyrics to “Indian Summer’.