Wed 24 Jun – Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts

Thursday

First off, I should mention that it’s been many years since I’ve been to a festival, so I wasn't sure what to expect or whether the discomfort of camping etc. would be detrimental to my enjoyment.

Glastonbury is around 5 hours drive from where I live, and I set off with my three fellow Glastonbury virgins at 9:30am on Thursday. The trip to the West Country was used to debate who we would like to see, and what clashes of favourite acts were likely. There were many decisions to make . . . . .

We arrived at around 3:00pm on a very warm Somerset afternoon, pitched two tents next to our campervan and set off to the site to check things out.

In the weeks leading up to the festival I was constantly reminded by people of the poor weather that the festival has experienced over the years.

Somewhat inevitably, four hours later we were walking back to our camp in a thunderstorm!

Friday was therefore set to deliver us three things: the proper start to the festival, rain until early afternoon and muddy conditions . . . . . .

Friday

Wellies on, we set off to the site early in the afternoon.



After some wandering, we ended up at the Jazz World stage (unplanned) to see The Hot 8 Brass Band. They’re not really my thing, but sitting with a beer watching the world go by was pleasant enough.

From here onwards there was a plan, and I set off to see White Lies on the Other Stage who turned out a workman-like performance and warmed to their task as their set gained momentum.

Off next to see Lily Allen on the Pyramid Stage as one of our party was keen to see her perform. This area was extremely busy for the popular British Singer and she was surprisingly good and the huge crowd were very appreciative. On the downside, it was impossible to get a beer!

I stayed at the Pyramid Stage for The Specials whom I’ve always liked. They were very good and livened up when the brass section joined them mid-set.



I had to skip the end of The Specials performance for a dash to the Jazz World stage to see The Streets, another favourite of mine. Mike Skinner was on top form and the band also did a cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, which was a nice touch.



Around 12:30am, after lots of music, beer, food, mud and laughter, we set off to our camp to retire for the evening. . . .

Saturday

We began the day with purpose as I wanted to see Blue Roses play at midday in one of the smaller venues, The Queen’s Head. We enjoyed another fine performance if a little short at around 35 minutes.



I then tried to meet friends at the Jazz World Stage who were watching Rolf Harris but I couldn’t get anywhere near as the area was so busy. We therefore arranged to meet at The Other Stage as they wanted to see Jason Mraz and The Script and I had nothing planned for a couple of hours. They were both pleasant enough, although not really my thing, but the sun was out and all was good with the world.

Back to the plan: next stop Gaslight Anthem at The John Peel Tent. There was a great atmosphere in the tent, a fantastic performance by the band and a surprise guest appearance by Bruce Springsteen for The 59 Sound.



On the way back we stopped off at the Dance Village which consists of four separate dance marquees:-



A gap in proceedings for dinner and rest and we were off to the Pyramid for a sing- along with Kasabian. Cut Off was especially good and with the sun setting behind the stage creating an atmospheric setting:-


We stayed at the Pyramid for the start of Bruce Springsteen and watched for around 5 songs before returning to our plans to see The Wonder Stuff play at the Avalon stage, which is one of the smaller venues at the festival. One thing that struck me was the fact that we had left probably 60,000 people watching The Boss to see The Wonder Stuff play in front of around 1,000 people. Anyway the atmosphere, a few beers, the late slot (11:15pm) and sing-along favourites such as Don't Let Me Down made for a real party in the Avalon tent. Definitely a good decision and one of my Glastonbury highlights.



Back to camp with doughnuts on the way completed Saturday for us . . . . . . . .

Sunday

I had a late start to the day due to feeling quite tired by this stage. However, after a couple of isotonic sausage sandwiches giving me the lift required to open a can of Becks, I was ready to wander down to the site for around 2:00pm!

Enter Shikari at the Other Stage were first on our plans. Technical problems delayed the start of the set which resulted in their slot being cut short. This was a shame since they were on good form, although I felt they played too many unfamiliar tracks from their new album for a festival set.



We stayed at the Other Stage for the start of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs . As you will see, Karen O was wearing a quite bizarre stage costume:-



Sunday was full of clashes for me. I’d like to have seen Bat for Lashes, but Madness edged it so we headed off to the Pyramid to catch their set. I’ve seen Madness a few times before and their set of classic pop hits were interspersed with a couple of tracks from their (highly recommended) new album. Their children coming on stage to dance during Night Boat to Cairo was a fitting end to a fine sing-along set.

Sunday evening produced a three-way clash for me: Blur, The Prodigy and Echo and the Bunnymen all on at the same time. I’ve seen the Bunnymen several times over the years, most recently in Liverpool last December, so the reformed Blur got my vote.

Blur were fantastic. The best performances are those when time seems to fly by and this was one of those occasions. The Universal was a highlight for me. Parklife with Phil Daniels was pretty good too:-



There were so many highlights over the weekend, just wandering around we came across some really interesting stuff:-



We had a fantastic time, so until next year . . . .




Dave :)

Ps – I’ve heard that U2 may headline the Pyramid in the Saturday 2010 ;-)