In the Netherlands this fall, a magical dream festival awaits. Fans of indie goth or post-punk and other sad people will want to book a flight to lovely Tilburg, where from September 10-16 one can enter the wardrobe known as Incubate Festival and wander out through the other side into a wonderful post-punk Narnia. But instead of scary witches and lions and stuff, they got The Men! Iceage! Amen Dunes! And the rad English dude who wrote a ton of articles on hip-hop, rave culture, and rock ‘n’ roll, as well as Bible of Awesomeness Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984, along with recent investigation into why you like slap-bracelets Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to Its Own Past: Mr.! Simon! Reeeeeeynolds! And that’s not it: Incubate will play host to a little something called “Sacred Bones in Residence,” which is — you guessed it — a whole lot of Sacred Bones artists taking over the stage at the venue 013. Add War, Lower, Lust for Youth, Luke Roberts, Killed by 9V Batteries, RM Hubbert, and Pretty Lightning to your mental roster.
But Incubate isn’t just about the music. The worthy Tilburgians have got a DIY Conference in the works, where Simon Reynolds will talk DIY Pop Culture as part of the keynote, and other kickass speakers will set you on the fast track to Cool University. Brit filmmaker Chris Jones will discuss his recent book The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook, about how anyone can make stellar films on an “ehhhh I don’t know if I can afford this coffee” budget. British Sea Power manager Roy Wilkinson will give you the lowdown on his non-fiction book Do It for Your Mum, about family, rock music, and how the band fits into it all. Apparently he’ll also dish out his hot tips for birdwatching. (Here’s mine: Stake out a Denny’s for three hours. Order a shit ton of coffee. Look at your bird book and then never actually leave and go outside where it’s cold and Grand Slam-less to look for birds. Seriously, old people do this all the time. I KNOW. I went to a Denny’s once when I moved cross country.) There’s also a Q&A with Can’s Damo Suzuki, and as always, the ever-promised, enigmatic “much more.” So if you think about it, Incubate is probably at least 5% more educational than a trip through Narnia, plus you never have to worry about stumbling on an epic fight between good and evil or eating BAD CANDY.
• Incubate: http://incubate.org/2012
• Simon Reynolds: http://blissout.blogspot.com