Review: The grandfathers of rap and a half-naked Iggy Pop at ATP

Situated in the twiliight-zone-esque Ásbrú, the abandoned NATO Naval Air Station in Keflavík, the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival is now in its third year in Iceland. In the first two years the festival offered legendary headliners including Nick Cave, The Fall, Slowdive and Portishead. ATP's strenghts are in venturing into the realms of rock underground and has for instance featured Jim Jarmuschs' band Squrl and Thurston Moore's Chelsea Light Moving. This Thursday, the festival began with a loud bang, in the form of Public Enemy and Iggy Pop.

It's quite unusual to put the headlining artists on the first night of a festival but it worked splendidly. I arrived in the concrete bleakness of Ásbrú under sullen rainy skies in the early evening. The sombre weather seems to be a fixture of this festival but seeing as the performances are all on inside stages the weather can mostly be avoided.

Public Enemy are undoubtedly one of the most famous rap acts in history. With politically charged hits in the late eighties and early nineties, this year saw the release of a new album titled Man Plans God Laughs. The concert drew an audience of all ages, those perhaps listening to Public Enemy for the first time as well as faithful fans who grew up them in their teenage years. "I just became a grandfather for the sixth time," announced a jovial Chuck D to a cheering crowd and the girl next to me whispered that she'd like to have a grandfather like that. Indeed. Chuck D seems never changing, the epitome of hip hop cool, he hasn't succumbed to that modern malaise called autotune. Rapping "An I tell' em that I never had a gun, it's the wax the Terminator X spun, now they've got me in a cell cause my records sell well," with Flavour Flav churning out his "Yeah boy's", the crowd goes crazy and stays that way for a concert that lasts for over an hour. What was an immensely enjoyable concert experience was slightly marred by the sound system, which had an ever annoying emphasis on sub bass which did not seem to benefit Public Enemy's wall of sound.

Between acts the festival are af Ásbrú offers a host of food wagons including the delicious lobster hut which had me munching on a greasy but fantastic lobster sandwich, finished just in time for ultimate rock idol Iggy Pop. Iggy arrived on stage in his usual manner of leathered naked torso, long beachy highlighted hair, tight jeans and a glitter belt. He broke into a set list of endless hits from both The Stoogees year and his solo career. The crowd went bonkers when Iggy writhed and jumped around the stage brandishing his microphone in songs such as Sweet Sixteen, The Passenger and Lust for Life. Iggy knows what the audience wants him to deliver, and he does so with boundless exuberance and energy. When the smiling, half naked sixty-eight year old shouts, "I love you Iceland", we believe him.

A wonderful start to a fesitval that continues today with performances including White Hills and Godspeed! You Black Emperor and tomorrow including performances from Swans and Loop, ATP retains its reputation as Iceland's coolest festival offering.

Readers are reminded that single tickets are available for both tonight's and tomorrow's performances and buses run from the BSÍ bus central at regular intervals to Ásbrú. For the whole line up and tickets visit atpfestival.com