All Tomorrow's Parties
27-29 April, Butlins, Minehead

A festival curated by violin rockers Dirty Three was always in danger of becoming a macho Oz-rock fest and, as the first day of ATP drew to a close, it nearly did.

Thankfully, Saturday brought Magnolia Electric Co and Low, their mellow afternoon fare oddly framed by the fast-food joints in the main hall. Shannon Wright writhed on stage delivering some awe-inspiring female guitar action, while Dawn McCarthy's Faun Fables astonished with a mix of discordant medieval operatics and tribal beats.

Then came the main course as Nick Cave swept onstage orchestrating his men like a demon count. All the Bad Seeds hits were paraded as Cave hopped up and down, bashing at the piano, before returning to play a brilliant, first-ever Grinderman set, accompanied by Bobby Gillespie on percussion.

The beautiful fragility of Papa M opened Sunday, which then saw Cat Power disappointingly lost on a vast stage. Smog-man Bill Callahan appeared reinvented, but was cowed offstage with shouts of: 'Not as good as Joanna Newsom!' As her talent enthralled the room and her songs burnt into our brains, it was hard to disagree.