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All Tomorrow's Parties Reviewed: All Hail Matt Groening
The Quietus , May 17th, 2010 06:23

Luke Turner and John Doran raise a glass to Matt Groening and Barry and Deborah at ATP for one of the most enjoyably eclectic festival line-ups they've ever witnessed. All photos by Maria Jefferis, Andy Ennis and Edd Westmacott for Shot2Bits.net

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The Residents

The Residents are perfect for a Matt Groening ATP. The illustrator is a long-standing fan of this most peculiar of groups, and in 1993 penned The True Story Of The Residents. Like Groening, these three - today vocalist 'Randy' wears a lurid old man prosthetic mask, the other two dressed in capes and sport peculiar snouts - scratch the surface of the every day and uncover the madness beneath. This is a deeply unsettling set that would probably make no sense if you came in halfway through. There's something of a narrative going on, Randy telling disturbing tales of suburban death and imaginings of "the mirror people", all underpinned by a simple musical backing -abrasive supercharged guitar that twists six-string iconography, and deep noise. At one point there's a loud, violent crack, as if a lead has been pulled out unexpectedly. Half the audience jumps out of their skin. Yet the performers are nonplussed, carry on as before, and then suddenly the noise is repeated. And so it continues, this strange hour, quite unlike anything ever seen at ATP before. A question for Simpson's geeks - has Groening ever featured The Residents in the show?

LT