Okay so here's my Glasto review..
Wednesday:
Arrived at 7ish, camped in Dairy Ground. Got some food, watched sunset and then went to Silent Disco in the Park which was good fun.
Thursday:
Went to Baggy Mondays. Was quality. Hit Shangri La afterwards and ended up with a stinking hangover the next day.
Friday:
Wanted to see Brother just for comedy value but combination of rain, hangover and needing to take a shit at the flushing toilets up by the Pyramid Stage prevented me. Caught most of
Two Door Cinema Club who I've never been a big fan of but who were decent enough live and did a good job of the early afternoon "pull the punters in" Pyramid slot. 6.5/10
Then over to the Other Stage to see
The Vaccines. Most people on here really enjoyed them, however I think they went to the John Peel gig. I went to the Other Stage gig and they were some way off when I saw them in the Manchester Ritz a few months ago when they were great. Played well enough but the atmosphere wasn't there and they definitely seem more like a tent/indoor venue band than an outdoor band. Really wish I'd seen Wu Tang really. 6/10
By this time I'd found out Radiohead were the surprise guests on the Park and almost shat my pants with excitement. There wasn't much else I wanted to see before except for Moz and Fleet Foxes who both would've clashed directly with Radiohead anyway, so I headed to the Park knowing it was gonna get shut soon enough. Caught the last bits of Jenny and Jonny who were nothing special really but seeing Jenny Lewis in the flesh was a bit exciting.
Warpaint I had thought of seeing anyway since they'd been hyped a bit but hadn't heard much by them. They performed pretty well but the tunes didn't really seem there, but then maybe I might check out their album and decide differently. 6.5/10. Next up were Mick Jones' reformed
Big Audio Dynamite. Had never really checked much of their stuff out before, and wouldnt have seen them if it wasn't for Radiohead coming up next. They were very good, songs packed a punch especially in the current times, and Mick Jones' touch of class sealed the deal. 7.5/10
So by this time I'd made it to the fence, stage centre on the Park for
Radiohead. Out of the 50,000 or so who wanted to see them, me and 4 or 5 others had the best spots in the house. I already had guessed the main reason for this would be to road test King of Limbs material, but knew with the set time a minimum of 75 mins and the album only 38 mins we'd get to hear lots of other stuff too. Seeing them coming out up so close at Glastonbury was really special in itself and they kicked off with Lotus Flower which sounded great. Bloom and Morning Mr Magpie sounded pretty average live just like on record, but Give Up the Ghost was sublime with Thom looping his own backing vocals and singing over them, and Separator was another highlight. The older stuff sounded as good as ever, and Street Spirit was a wonderful closer and a fitting reward for those who'd watched from up on the hill with shit sound and little view. To be fair, had I watched from a distance and/or been a casual fan who hadn't heard much of the newer stuff my view wouldve been very different, but as it was it was a special gig. 9/10.
Finally
Primal Scream headlined the Other Stage, but not before I'd come down from the Radiohead gig to see tens of thousands of fans going crazy for the last few songs Mumford and Sons. My heart sank a little. Primal Scream were, as ever, on top form. Did feel a little strange with the Other Stage crowd being so empty though - the crowd didn't even reach the sound stage due to Bono and co being on the Pyramid and this show being for a fairly niche audience. I probably got a little too high and don't seem to remember them playing Shine Like Stars or don't think Higher than the Sun lasted for nearly as long, but then my memories are kinda sketchy. Didn't touch the same heights as the Brixton gig but was great to see it for one last time. 8/10. Hit the Dance village afterwards, got big to the end of Fatboy Slim and stayed there till 3am. We went to the Stone Circle afterwards.
Saturday began with
Fight Like Apes on the John Peel Stage who were good fun with a great frontwoman. 7/10. Next up came
Yuck who I'd been looking forward to seeing and they more than matched my expectations. Georgia and Shook Down were highlights and I have a feeling they'll go from strength to strength. 8/10. After a bit of lunch on came one of the acts I'd been looking forward to the most -
Anna Calvi. She absolutely nailed it and then some. Brilliant on vocals, brilliant on guitar and the lady from her backing band who had about five different instruments was impressive to watch too. There was a superb cover of Edith Piaf's 'Jezebel' thrown in aswell. A really rare talent who will no doubt be playing to four times as many people in Glastonbury 2013. 9/10
I'd had it confirmed Pulp were playing the Park Stage, however I was always going to go there to watch The Walkmen and Tame Impala.
The Walkmen were quality, by this time it was sunny and so the stuff off Lisbon sounded even better, however obviously the one everyone went the craziest for was The Rat which did not disappoint. 8/10.
Tame Impala were a bit of a let down, not helped by the fact the sound mix was all over the place for the first two or three songs and they opened with their strongest material. Things did get better but they finished with some of their weaker stuff so things petered out a little. 6/10
By this time I'd once again got a position on the fence, maybe two people to the left of where I was for Radiohead. And then, at quarter to eight, 30,000 people packed all the way up to the Stone Circle were greeted by Jarvis Cocker saying "surprise, surprise".
Pulp were quite simply sensational. Everything from the setlist, to Jarvis' incredible showmanship, to the performances of the rest of the band and the reactions of the crowd was better than perfect. Without doubt in my top five gigs of all time. I'd said to someone near me before the start of the gig how much I'd love to hear Like a Friend but how they hadnt played it so I wasn't going to hear it. Jarvis then introduced a song with the words "we've never got round to playing this" and..you know the rest. Finished with Common People which was even better than I could have imagined. 10/10, hell I'd give them eleven or twelve if I could.
Have to agree with Rhea with the
Chemical Brothers, was a very good show but was so similar to their 2007 display. Still you can't argue with most of the stuff they played, plus since I'd lost my friends by going off to see Pulp I met a Brazilian girl in the crowd which was pretty sweet. Good atmosphere in the crowd helped things but, and I never thought I'd ever say this, but after reading all the Coldplay reviews I sort of wish I'd gone to see them! 7.5/10
Went with said Brazilian girl to Shangri La, had to queue up for fucking ages but was worth it, then tried to go back to both of our tents but there were people in
Ended up at the Stone Circle again.
The excesses of the rest of the festival meant that Sunday had to be a bit of a rest day. My mouth was shredded to bits from the MDMA, I'd had about three hours of bad sleep each night and I woke up with the tent absolutely baking. Plus my tummy was playing up. Spent a lot of the first bit of the day milling round the site, enjoying the sunshine, had some brilliant Goan fish curry by the West Holts Stage. First band I really saw were
TV on the Radio who were good and Wolf Like Me got a great reception. 7.5/10 Shame that so many people left after the deeply average Bombay Bicycle Club and missed TVOTR and
Eels, who were even better. E was on top form and unlike some American acts they treated their Glasto gig with the respect it deserved. 8/10
And so, with the Sunday headliners, after initially not being too fussed about them, I found myself really wanting to see both
Queens of the Stone Age and The Streets. I was initially going to go see The Streets, but found myself chatting to my neighbours on the campsite for a bit too long and just arrived as QOTSA's set was kicking off. They were excellent and I'd forgotten just how many great songs they've got. Part of me sort of regrets not seeing The Streets but still, great end to the festival. 8.5/10.
Headed for one final trip to Shangri La after this but didnt stay for too long as had to head back to the tent, pack up and make it back for a seeing never ending journey back up north.
Overall great Glastonbury this year. Didn't see as many bands as usual but probably saw more truly memorable ones than I've ever seen. For all the complaints about the line up, that says everything, although obviously the two Park slots (and managing to be in the best spot for both) made a massive difference.
Made me sound like Nikki Six or someone. Never believe a word that cunt says.
