The sodden All Tomorrow's Parties festival brightened Saturday as curator and Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne arrived to scare away the rain clouds. Coyne scooted around Kutsher's Country Resort in Monticello, N.Y., in his personal golf cart with a 3D videographer in tow, interviewing festival-goers as they lounged in the grass. The entire day saw Coyne tripping from set to set, filming and causing electric shocks of recognition in the crowd.

Motivated attendees shook off the previous night to hear Sufjan Stevens' early afternoon set. Stevens eased fans into a second day of audio assault with a full-album performance of his debut, 'Seven Swans.' One Grouper set later, Black Dice shot for the brown note with a long set of low-frequency noise.

Day two also brought a much-anticipated double dose of Bradford Cox, who first performed a bit of a fumbling set as Atlas Sound on the second stage, followed by an impressive turn as Deerhunter, where he spun his shoegaze for a rapt mass of fans on the main stage, just after announcing that the band would be going on temporary hiatus following the festival to pursue other projects.

Steve Albini, meanwhile, took a break from his ongoing poker game in the Executive Card Room to blast out a set as Shellac. The group peppered a rhythmically assaulting set with audience Q&A about groupies and disco balls, promising a Sunday morning pickup baseball game if the rain stopped. Meanwhile, the Melvins poufed up their hair and donned animal print snuggies to spit and scream a hard-rocking set downstairs.

The late-night main stage brought a second helping of Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear), who was joined by Animal Collective compadres Avey Tare and Geologist for arguably one of the most beautiful sets of the weekend. Mashing back catalog with the huge noises of their most recent album, 'Merriweather Post Pavilion,' Animal Collective combined visuals of lit-up jellyfish and entrancing video projections with infectious rhythms and effervescent electronics.

The Criterion Cinema drew big crowds with music-themed films like the ATP documentary and 'Two Lane Blacktop,' featuring performances by James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. Those who ended their night with the screening of 'In the Realm of the Senses' squirmed during its nightmare-inducing final scene.

As loud DJ tunes spilled out of the back door of the nightclub, everyone spilled out to the banks of the lake to take advantage of the improved weather. Colorful plastic balls rained down from hotel windows and the next morning saw quite a few pieces of deck furniture submerged in the water. No wonder they discontinued last year's rowboat rentals.