glastonbury: day 3

You’ve guessed it … more rain. And so we missed Feluka at the Jazz Stage this morning – which J2 really wanted to see 😦 but by lunchtime, we were as mobile as we could be and were aptly tucking into Jerk chicken and Goat Curry to the reggae sounds of the Marley Brothers on the Pyramid. J1 disappeared off again for more of his favourite milkshake from the Shaken Udder stall, whilst J2 decided to go back to the Kidz Area to continue work on his tunnel in the sandpit. Me, I paid another visit to Burrow Hill for more liquid refreshment 😉

After packing up the tent, we were half way to the Other Stage when the heavens opened again … and it was then that the kids and I made the executive decision to detour to the exit … and catch Mika and the Kaiser Chiefs from our very snugly sofa at home … and in HD on our 42″ plasma telly!

I guess that’s my main gripe about Glastonbury 2007 – in 2005, about 2 month’s rainfall feel in one night but the rest fo the festival was pleasant enough, and more importantly there were still lots of green grass to sit on when one got a bit tired, drunk or over-laden with food. This year, it rained every bloody day and by Saturday morning, there were no patches of grass left … which made it a real slog. Time to petition Mr Eavis to move the date for 2008 … any takers?

glastonbury: day 2

There doesn’t appear to be an end to the rain, and now the mornings have a chill about them too 😦

We missed Liz Green this monrning because of the weather and instead plodded about, dropping into the Chai stall for a game of carrom with J1, but by late afternoon, the sun had come out … in time for Babyshambles at the Other Stage – see pic. Why do people find Pete Doherty so offensive – man, the boy’s got talent! Even the beautiful Kate Moss made a cameo appearance on stage, kissed Pete and then squeeked a bit in La Belle et La Bete – keep the day job dear, you’re infinitely better at that 😉

Then it was a marathon sprint (well, as fast as it is possible to travel in mud) back to the Pyramid to catch Paul Weller, the Kooks and headlining Saturday evening, the Killers – oh, and catching Eric Bibb singing the blues at the Acoustic stage on the way. Actually, I listened to the Killers from the relative comfort of my dry tent … the weather here has been doing something really strange and sound seems to travel a lot further resulting in the organisers having to turn down the PA system, so as not to annoy the locals.

Set of the day goes to a small band I came across at the Bandstand called the Cedar. There’s also an Americana band playing Glastonbury this year by the same name – I’ll post a link to one of their songs later from a CD I bought on site …

glastonbury: day 1

I need a teleport machine! There’s so much happening it is impossible to be in three places at the same time. And because sound travels, the stages are located sufficiently far apart to avoid any contamination … which is a tad inconvenient at the best of times, but a royal pain in the backside when the paths are sloppy and swallowing up your wellies.

We managed to see the folks we wanted to see, and then some. Set of the day has to be Newton Faulkner at the Acoustic Stage (go to link for his cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop). Now, Sponge Bob Square Pants will never be the same after hearing him play so beautifully! This set was closely followed by Reverend & the Makers on the Other stage – an opnionanted little runt with plenty to say about nationalism, but perhaps should keep to making music 😉

Other bonus acts included The Hothouse Flowers (who are looking and sounding a little saggy), Sandi Thom (with a voice like hers, I don’t understand why she’s still a Lonely Girl), Bloc Party (who were surprisingly good) and Kasabian (what a show – see pic).

Oh, and Burrow Hill has started to do this hot & spiced (mulled) cider – ummmmm, absolutely yummy. Make note to self: don’t buy alcohol when kids are about – J1, the little bugger, has been keeping tally of my alcohol consumption throughout and plans to divulge all to wifey, unless I offer a generous bribe …

glastonbury: day 0

At Glastonbury, you can count on music to draw the crowds: even with limited appearances at the Left Field Stage and the Bandstand by relatively unknown artists, where there’s a drum beat, there you will also find revellers … filing into lines like ants to a hive – and this year, we are expecting a whopping total of 177,500. Now that’s a lot of ants!

Last night, we watched Ghostbusters on the giant outdoor screen – an interesting experience made more amusing by the pantomime-like heckling from the very inebriated audience. In case you didn’t already know – you should never cross the streams!

The Kidz Field opens its gates today, and J2 has already declared his desire to hone his skills with diablo by sundown.

Also, the music starts in anger this morning. Already earmarked are The Fratellis, Mr Hudson & the Library, The Earlies, Amy Winehouse & Damien Rice. Rock on …

Pic is of the infamous Brothers Bar outside the Jazz Stage. Let the small print be a reminder to all the pissed farts who were circling aimlessly outside our tent last night – you lot, buy a GPS already!

Update: I’ve just been informed by my learned wife (who has deicded not to brave the inclement weather) that ants live in *nests* – yeah, like I give a flying f*** when you’re covered in mud!

Update#2: As the alcohol dissipates within the system, more and more is coming back to me … like seeing Paris Motel at the bandstand sometime in the afternoon.

glastonbury: day -1

It isn’t really Glastonbury without the rain, mud and general flotsam of cans, paper plates & cups generated by the welly-cladded crowd that seems to be descending on the quiet village of Pilton earlier and earlier each year. The boys and I made camp around 6pm yesterday and even then struggled to fird a pitch large enough to accommodate our 4 man tent. Still the rest of the evening was mild enough to allow us to mooch around, marking waypoints of old haunts on the GPS just in case one is overcome by the effects of Julian’s Burrow Hill cider 😉

Attached pic is from the Green Sculptures field. The music starts on Friday, and until then we plan to loiter with some intent (mainly to put nice food in our bellies) and generally soak up the electric atmosphere, mud and anything else that comes with this crappy weather.

music, the food of love …?

I was going to blog about my selection of favourite Glastonbury tracks but that will only confuse rather than inform you of my musical taste, if indeed the notion of musical tastes exists at all. For me, music (of all genres) act as triggers to help my (failing) memory recollect certain events that have happened in my life, but also to evoke a mood that allows me to relate to a situation that I’m not familiar with. For example, since the elimination of poverty and the G8 is fairly topical at the moment, I’ve purposely listened to The Cars number Drive, to remind myself of the painful images of those starving, pot-bellied children that we first saw in some horrific detail during the original Live Aid – and yes, the eyes still well-up and gooseflesh is evident throughout, but more importantly that piece of music opens a portal to my body that makes it possible for me to experience physical pain even when I’ve never been subjected to extreme hunger. I’m not sure I fully understand the psychosomatic reactions at play, but there is definitely a link between what we hear and our physical well-being – sort of anti-endorphins I guess. Perhaps that’s why I find myself unconsciously singing along to the Car’s song – if listening to it makes me sad and feel sick, then singing is said to release endorphins that act to neutralise the pain. Ummmm, any bio-chemists out there care to comment?

That brings me to the book I’m currently reading – The Food of Love by Anthony Capella which has nothing to do with music or Shakespeare I’ve only just started it but instinctively know I’m going to enjoy the rest since I’m passionate about food and an absolute sucker for sit-coms.

glastonbury 2005 – the close …

I can’t remember the last time I went without my daily shower, so after 4 days of sleeping in a water-logged tent and some unexpected mud-rolling, I can fully understand J’s reluctance to give us a big welcome hug when we arrived home at 7:30 this morning 😉

It’s all over for another 2 years, and before you ask, yes we fully intend to go again in 2007! Michael Eavis has said his land needs the extra time to recover, and having seen the state of the fields this morning (rubbish + mud = v. bad news), I can see his point of view. Glastonbury has become bigger and more ‘global’ and yes, a little too ‘public’ for the Glasto veterans who have seen it transform from a medium-sized fringe music festival full of tent burglars to a huge, relatively crime-free and tightly organised commercial venture, that now caters for a wide spectrum of society – from music aficionados, hippies, vagabonds, skunk seekers, permaculturalists, dancers, trancers to … well, just about everybody including ordinary folks. It is entirely possible to go through an entire day without watching a band – there is just *so* much to do!

In the next couple of days, I’ll be updating the Music page with some of my favourite tracks from the event so watch this space …

glastonbury day 3 …

If you bring children to Glastonbury dont lose them – especially during the headline set (Coldplay) when the police already have their hands full maintaining crowd control … Thank you to the family who looked after J1 – if you identify yourselves though this blog, we will name our next born after one of you. Anyway today has been very arty sort of day – between us we have made a mirror mosaic, a solar powered boat and a clay elf that will be sent to the Tor during the G8 summit. We’ve also spun plates walked on stilts and attempted to unicycle.

Music-wise the ‘find’ of today and probably of the festival is James Blunt ‘So long Jimmy’ will always remind me of our time here. I also came across this – ummmm maybe worth a visit … later 😉

More cider then Garbage, followed by The Beautiful South and sometime during the evening the Wicker man will meet a fiery end.

glastonbury day 2 …

Yesterday I wanted to grow fins and a set of gills and swim to the music stages but today I just want to be reincarnated as a duck and save a fortune on ponchos and wellies. Glastonbury is now less like Waterworld and more like Ypres, less the dead bodies of course 😉 And the music keeps getting better – we came across Keane doing an impromptu session in the Radio 1 tent but the gig of the day for me was KT Tunstall, followed by Athlete – and I really enjoyed the sassy blues sounds of Taj Mahal.

We all joined hands for the Make Poverty History event at 4pm prompted by Bob Geldof who couldnt resist another pot shot at the G8.

Ok more beer, perhaps a game or two of Carrom before dinner then more Keane, New Order and Coldplay.

glastonbury day 1 …

So you’ve probably seen the news report about the thunderstorms here – add squelching mud and ripe smells from the long drop latrines and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a great start to Glastonbury! Why wouldnt anyone want to be here?!

Musically, the John Butler Trio from Australia were totally impressive but we were distinctly unthrilled by the Thrills and the Undertones pretty much lived up to their name 😦 J1 and I were too tired to don our wet boots and slop to the Pyramid stage to see the White Stripes so we listened from the relative comfort of our dry tent.

A good, long day and tomorrow promises a return to sunshine and of course Coldplay.

glastonbury day 0 …

There is a time and place for cider and I can’t think of a more perfect setting than this … sandwiched between the Field of Avalon and Jazz World on a sunny warm evening, and surrounded by beautiful, likeminded people. It’s particularly nice when the cider’s from Julian’s Burrow Hill farm. Tomorrow we are expecting the full complement of 130,000-ish souls and an impressive lineup – can’t wait.

Updated: Not sure why this pic didn’t make it on the first attempt … taken on Thursday – very weird!

yippie hippie …

Ok, I’ve just received the confirmation email … I’ve got a ticket to Glastonbury 2005 on June 24-26. If you don’t have a ticket, too late as they are already sold out. The aloud.com website was a tad flakey at 0900 this morning but through perseverance and some cunning multi-tasking on a remote server, I managed to submit my request after 20 nail-biting minutes. J didn’t fancy the camping/peeing in the bush thing, so it’s just me and the boys this year. Oh, if there are any Glasto ‘virgins’ out there, check out this informative forum which includes ideas about this year’s must-have fashion accessory – a string of toilet rolls worn around the neck, you know for those awkward emergency situations (e.g. scrumpy belly) when a sprint back to the tent would be a tissue too far. How delightfully clever! Anyway, you can follow the rumours and this year’s line-up here … … ummmm, just can’t wait!

bye bye cy …

I was tad sad to hear the passing of Cy Coleman, the prolific composer of musicals with over 400 songs to his name, including The Best is yet to Come and Firefly … and when Radio 4 played many of his hits on Sunday, they also threw in a Carpenters cover, a WWII song called For all we know – dunno why really, since Cy wasn’t directly responsible for this … Anyway, I’m pretty lousy at goodbyes, but this seemed an appropriate song to bid farewell to one of Broadway’s greatests.