6 hour drive from Leeds to Glastonbury, with a decent break in the middle and not exactly high speed due to so many speed cameras on the m’way. Me and my driver mate met up with our fellow giggers / campers, 5 blokes of which two of them had their young sons with them (three in total) if that makes sense, so there were 10 of us in all, and each of my ‘new’ friends (I’d never met them before) were great fun and had been to Glasto a few times before. I knew I was in with a good crowd, which is half the battle for this sort of thing I reckon.
Got there at about 3am Thursday morning, I managed to schmooz my way into the festival despite not looking anything like my mate whose photo is on the ticket. The people on the entrance gates were I think all students and not locals either, but they were all so welcoming and cheerful, I forgot all my worries about getting turned away and just steamed in there. Funny thing is, one of the lads in our group got searched, just after me It really was a lovely welcome and those people were a credit to Glastonbury.
Put tents up, got about three hours’ kip and then just mulled around the place, drinking, wandering and watching a bit of the footie for a short time. Absolutely knackered I was though and went back to the tent for 8, had a nap and then rejoined whoever had made it back to our ‘plot’ as well, for wine and beer.
Gigs - Friday (times definitely vary but this is how I think it all panned out)
On the John Peel Srage - Detroit Social Club. First time seen, quite impressed.
BBC ‘intro’ tent - special guests Mumford and Sons, live on Radio 1, played two songs but I quite like these. Jo Wylie interviewed them in brilliantly bad style - ‘Is that a double bass or a cello? It’s great’. We’d have got another song if she’d have kept quiet.
The Other Stage - The Stranglers, about 1.30. By now it was absolutely searing hot. Huge crowd, the band played well even if JJ had his slapped arse look on his face. Before the gig I’d arranged to meet up with someone ‘in’ with the band so I was all talked out about the band tbh. Anyway, the huge crowd seemed to really enjoy the gig, even if you won’t have seen any of it on the Beeb because, despite there being a crowd of over 70,000 to watch them (and that’s a conservative estimate) The Stranglers aren’t what the television-viewing public want to watch, obviously!
The Queen’s Head stage - Detroit Social Club again (not sure why) and they again were good.
The Park Stage - ’special guests’ on the night - by now we’d all gone our separate ways. I walked miles to this venue, and what a pleasantly weird trek it was - and got there and could only hear the band, there was no way of seeing them. The special guest was Thom Yorke and I heard about 5 songs from him, mainly Radiohead. Very good even if I couldn’t get a view NME later said it was Radiohead appearing, but that’s not officially the case, even I knew that and I couldn’t see the feckers!
Didn’t have time to stay long as wanted to see, on the Leftfield stage, Reverend and the Makers who were great as expected, because they always are, even if there were no surprises or new material. And then back to The Other Stage for the best ever opening to a gig I probably will ever see, with The Flaming Lips. Their music’s not the best imho and this gig wasn’t totally ace but the beginning certainly was and made it all worthwhile, even if I missed the Gorillaz with Mark E Smith, Shaun Ryder et al because of it!
Saturday
Lightning Seeds, Jackson Browne, a bit of Two Door Cinema Club (I wished they’d been shut them doors ), Editors, Pet Shop Boys, special guests Biffy Clyro (again in the Park and again no chance of a view), plus an excellent gig from Nick Lowe. Saw a bit of Christy Moore but it doesn’t rev my engine tbh, a bit too Irish rebel music near enough.
Sunday
Unfortunately I forewent Slash and a bit of Ray Davies to watch those tossers in England shirts get slashed on by Germany. But anyway, the gigs for today were Davies, a bit of Frightened Rabbit (they should be), MGMT (why I know not) and Dan Mangan who was on in the John Peel tent/stage, and pretty good. The Gang of 4 were okay too, tho I reckon they only did three good singles in their career. The Bees a bit later, not heard them for ages and have discovered that they’re ‘white reggae’ now , plus Toots and the Maytals a bit later on who are definitely not white but definitely more reggae.
In the Glade area I watched Arthur Brown for a while, then went to see LCD Soundsystem who were good but disappointlingly not brilliant, then to the Glade again to see Alabama 3 who WERE brilliant and possibly my best gig of the festival. Even taking into account The Stranglers’ who are always fantastic even when they’re not. Then on to see Stevie Wonder for half an hour - only on the big screens though as that whole area/county/country was absolutely rammed. His voice sounded bloody immaculate and the first song I watched was my all time SW fave - MasterBlaster. Matt Smith (Dr Who) brushed by me too, I later realised he joined Orbital on stage. Says it all really. I’d seen Vince Vaughan the day before as well as Lembit Opik or however you spell it. I’m sure they were only slightly less thrilled to see me as I was to see them haha! Finished the evening with the Levellers who were a bit of a let down too, again a bit too fiddly diddly or rebel Irish songs on the whole.
Loved the whole festival, chuffed to have been there and met a lot of good people with very few negative aspects to it all. The sleep deprivation is hard work though, and I genuinely do not recall ever being in England when it has been as hot as it was during those afternoons. I was a Shade Worshipper and proud of it.
T in the Park to look forward to now, next week, hope I can recover in time
Edited to ADD - sat outside whichever tent, drinking beer and and shade-worshipping again, listenting to the surprisingly really good Ade Edmondson and his band who play folk versions of ‘punk’ classics, ie The Stranglers, Clash, Pistols. Really really good.
