All Tomorrows Parties offers a rare Kim Deal solo treat

Saturday was firstly notable for failures in our chalet; power failures/ electrical short-circuiting, boiler failure and leaks from the chalet above saw site maintenance man Barry called into the rescue 3 times. Social networking sites (and Barry's radio receiver) lit up with tales of similar woes occurring elsewhere. Pontins appeared to be the epicentre for the start of 2012 Mayan apocalyptic meltdown. It was hard to suppress the laughter as the state of affairs seemed to resemble sitcom farce at times. "Everything's *****d" mimicked one of my chalet mates as Barry's receiver continuously relayed yet more news of troubles onsite. We were housed in one of the newly constructed units and others may have fared worse. The site had undergone recent complete restoration and perhaps this weekend's event was the test run, to be fair all problems were fixed promptly and courteously.

First up Saturday, Buke and Gase were a surprise highlight of the weekend, complete with guest appearance by Bob Weston (Shellac). The duo of Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez used their homemade string instruments to re-create their own unique, quirky pop-rock sound, winning over the praises of many in the audience in the process. Signed to The National's record label, the Brooklyn-based band were also booked to return the following weekend to play consecutive ATPs, the only band to do so. Comprehensively the best named band at the festival, Gay Witch Abortion didn't quite live up to the name, but put on a reasonably intense show.

One of the most influential bands of the weekend, post-punk 4-piece Wire delivered a typically diverse set from their back catalogue. Their set mixed old and new, the corrosive/abrasive with the more melodic/moderate. After 36 years their repertoire seems much broader, though their core sound remains minimalist. . . no doubt an influence on the curators. Unsurprisingly it was Pink Flag that had the crowd bouncing at the end of their set. Japanese noise-rock band Melt Banana appeared as just the 2-piece of Yasuko Onuki (vocals) Ichirou Agata (guitar), but were as noisy, chaotic and incoherent as ever. Drum 'n bass filled in for the absence of a bassist/drummer on this occasion. Dense dry ice filled Stage 2 to add to the atmosphere of confusion that typifies their shows.

Past curator Kim Deal 's (Pixies/Breeders/Amps) set was a fortunate first chance to see her perform solo. She appeared a little nervous and stage-rusty to begin with, but pulled it off with her typical charm, honesty and laughter though. Lots of promising new songs were debuted in the raw, getting people excited about the chances of a new solo album in the process. One endearing number stuck in the mind entitled 'Are You Mine' written about her experiences caring for her Mum with Alzheimers. Pixies/Breeders favourites 'Gigantic'/'Cannonball' predictably drew the cheers and had the crowd dancing, though Kim was forced to admit she's much happier playing bass on the former. Later in the weekend she was to be seen performing karaoke in The Queen Vic. Kim is also set to return next year with The Breeders to play the Deerhunter ATP, their seminal album 'Last Splash' to be played in full in the 20th anniversary year of its release.

Post-rock and post-punk had already been showcased on the line-up for the weekend, step up post-metal doom 5-piece band Neurosis to close the main stage Saturday night. Their song structures followed a similar pattern to that of Mono the previous night; long, dark, complex, atmospheric, psychedelic and experimental, but louder, drone-infused with their distinctive shouty vocals. No nighttimes lullabies tonight then.

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