The Catskill Chronicle

Last year’s ATP NY line-up included Super Furry Animals.

By Jason Dole

I don’t usually make plans six months in advance. Right now I’m just trying to get through another Sullivan County winter. But I know exactly what I’m doing on Labor Day weekend. If you want to kiss summer goodbye in the foothills of the Catskills while seeing a few dozen of the best bands in the world, then I also know what you’ll be doing on Labor Day weekend.

You and I, my music-loving friend, are going to All Tomorrow’s Parties New York 2010. We will see more bands in one weekend than we would normally see in two years. We will chill with cool music-loving people from around the world. We will look for ghosts in one of the last functioning hotels of the old Catskills resort era.

We will rock and be rocked.

If we forget our ear plugs, we may be partially deafened.

If we do wear our mind plugs, our minds will still be blown. It’s a guaranteed experience.

Hell, my mind’s half-blown already. Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth, Kim Deal, Anton Newcombe, Jim Jarmusch and Raekwon are coming to Monticello. Raekwon!

In 2008, My Bloody Valentine came. Last year, The Flaming Lips touched down. This year, Kim and Thurston, Iggy and Raekwan… BOOM! There, my mind is blown. Are you happy? Years of listening to rock music softened up my lobes, and ATP finished the job, driving the jumbled mess from my dazzled cranium. I’d try to make someone feel guilty for blowing up my mind, but I honestly wasn’t using it anyway. Besides…I liked it!

Yes, the New York edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) is returning to Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello, September 3-5. Big news dropped just a week ago about the event, including guest curator Jarmusch and many cool bands. Mudhoney, Explosions in the Sky, the Fuck Buttons, Vivian Girls and many others will be there (and Raekwon!) For the full line up so far, go to http://www.atpfestival.com.

If ATP New York 2009 is anything to go by, many more acts will be announced. To date, there are 18 performers listed for this year’s festival. The final ’09 lineup had 38 musical acts, in addition to a full bill of stand-up comedians, films, visual art, trivia contests, and more. Keep an eye on the ATP website for more info (and for more cool comics-themed poster art (and for Raekwon!))

I’ll have plenty to write about ATP New York in the weeks and months ahead. For now, let’s just focus on the date of the event. It’s happening Labor Day weekend, a week earlier than in previous years.

The good news is, the party will spill over into Monday. Event planners are guaranteeing the on-site food vendors, bars, and DJs will stay open until 6 p.m. Monday night. On the other hand, a lot more folks will want to come to the show since they don’t have work on Monday. People travel from across the country and all over the world for this event. And since ATP festivals are always intimate affairs, I doubt more than a few thousand tickets will be available.

So, grab yer tix as soon as ye can! This warning goes double if you live local. Folks like us may be tempted to wait, abut we’d better not. Lodgings at Kutsher’s are already sold out. The Raleigh may not be far behind.

If you’re like me (or know someone like me), you don’t have to worry about finding lodgings. We’re lucky, but we’re also in the minority. People travel to this show from around the world. If Joe and Jane Catskill don’t save their pennies quick, their tix will likely go to Joe Tokyo or Jane from Denmark or Billy del Manchester UK, Paula Portland OR, Sidney S. Sydney (Esq.), or Edna St. Vincent Von San Francisco… (you get the idea).

Good luck, rock fans. I’ll see you there in six and a half months, at the coolest music festival in North America.