The Dronefest begins: Godspeed You! Black Emperor's epic return

All Tomorrows Parties festivals can be likened to a musical education for many of us, this was my 6th attendance and my familiarity (or not) with the line-up no longer worries me before I book. If you arrive with an open mind you can expect to come away with a sprinkling of new 'old' bands and artists to explore. New bands are often put in the mix too, though not so many on this occasion. Tent, camping stove and so on not required. Even 2 supermarkets are a stonesthrow away from the festival site at Butlins, easy life compared to most festivals.

Firmly established now as an alternative to more mainstream festivals, ATP's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' has a history of showcasing alternative bands returning after lengthy absence. In recent years curators have included Portishead and My Bloody Valentine. The latest band to feel the 7-year itch was this year's curators Godspeed You! Black Emperor, returning after 7 years in the wilderness.

Fairly outrageous freezing weather meant that most people arriving at sleepy Minehead had stories to tell, some couldn't make it at all. The good news was the full line-up was able to be put out, with the exception of Throbbing Gristle for other reasons. Impressive, given most bands, not to mention legions of attendees, were journeying from overseas. Anyway, the chalets and venues were warm at least. The usual setup of four stages was in place. Pavilion is essentially a large arena that also resembles a shopping mall. Centre, Reds and Crazy Horse provide the better sound in the form of theatre and large bar venues. For this reason many curators choose to play Centre on multiple nights, it also makes for a more intimate experience. There's little in the way of distance to hop between performances, providing you don't get waylaid at one of the multitude of bars. Local Exmoor Ales and cider firms 'curate' the refreshment side of things, this is Zummerset after all.

Friday started with a trio of (mostly) electronica bands; Dreamcatcher (F*ck Buttons but gloomy), Growing, (more ambient) and Black Dice (experimental). All good, though noise/drone/electronica overload started to kick in, leaving us wanting for something different. I tried to catch a little of Josephine Foster, though her quiet acoustic sound was essentially drowned out in the early Friday evening revelry at Reds venue. Change arrived to some extent in the form of the curators and main event.

The first of three shows over the weekend by post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor drew the first long queue of the weekend. As we entered the band were already playing; a half hour noise-drone warm-up, followed by the epic 2 hour show.

Their performances are all about intense, moody sounds, with some visual accompaniment, much of it flashes of 1950's film footage, or monotype typeface montages. There are no vocals, little audience interaction, or even much in the way of acknowledgement at the close. It's not their style and they're not even looking for applause, leaving the stage one by one. Some people lie on the carpeted floor to just listen, not a bad idea. The opening 'Storm' and the closing 'BBF3' were obvious highlights for me, though everyone seemed to have differing opinions. Sophie Trudeau really stands out with her sorrowful notes on violin, a faultless performance. Subsequent sets over the weekend provided us with variations on the first setlist; Sunday proved to be the best sound as they found their groove. New material would have been the icing on the cake; instead we happily soaked up the past glories of yesteryear.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Setlist 1: Gathering Storm- Monheim – Albanian – Dead Metheny – World Police – Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls – Motherfucker = Redeemer – BBF3

Elsewhere, on Pavilion Stage, a tribute night for Peter Christopherson was happening, the Throbbing Gristle set obviously having being cancelled following his recent death. Free beer was being handed out I gathered.

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