All Tomorrow's Parties
UK 2002 (curated by Shellac)
Camber Sands, England
4.21.02

Mission of Burma took the inexplicability to England over the weekend with dramatic results. The band played the All Tomorrow's Parties festival at a “holiday camp” in the seaside village of Camber Sands in East Sussex, otherwise known as “1066 country.” ATP is a yearly festival that is curated by a different group each year and we are the beneficiaries of Shellac’s curation. The audience and artists stay in motel suites to the tune of about 3000 people and the gigs are in what they call a “leisure centre” over here. The larger room upstairs where Burma played had a vibe reminiscent of a more industrial version of the Kinks’ “Come Dancing” video.
The weather has been great and Clint and I even took a very refreshing dip in the Channel.
The music was varied to say the least, starting with Shellac in the smaller room to a rapt audience. The q+a aspect of the show was even more fascinating than the music. Other performers ranged from Silkworm to Arcwelder, The Upper Crust, and Cheap Trick. Burma took the hot stage for their ex-North American debut at 9:15 pm and the fury of January’s shows was in evidence from the start. The room was packed to the tune of 2-3000, very likely the largest audience they have ever played to. The set included a new Roger song “Into The Fire” and was an hour as opposed to the two set format which will be employed on Thursday at the Garage. Rachel's added cello and violin to "Wounded World" which was very rock. After all of the logistical issues and concerns about getting over here, it was great to be reminded of why we came.

mk