Why are you not going to Glastonbury this year?

shark jump = wifi, no?

rly tho

I think Jay-Z and other (c)rap music has no place at Glastonbury / am racist

Non-shock lurker-vote winner

haha

ah pronghorn

went for boring 'it's behind me' option - doubt i'll return now

i may actually be going to Primavera now tho - better line-up better weather etc.

I am hovering between "Not enough of my friends are going this year" and
"I have had two years of mud and don't feel like chancing the weather again". And also 'it is almost twice as expensive as it was 10 years ago'.

The last few years have been amazing regardless of the weather because of that 'knowing 40 people on site' big mob voibe and I'm not sure I'd enjoy it anywhere near as much without that.

Can't afford it, couldn't be arsed with the hassle of registering for tickets, my friends aren't going this year, in general it seems Glastonbury is SO OVER. Some of my friends are going to Bestival, I haven't decided if I'm going with them. For now I'm going to Rebellion in Blackpool to see a load of fat old men pretending to be punks, which I'm ridiculously excited about.

i'm as excited about Primavera as I am meh about Glastonbury. still haven't booked my flights though.

all of those perfectly valid reasons for not going to Glastonbury but fuck it. at least some of my friends are going and the weather might not be shit. in truth i'm sorta glad that there's this sense of glastonbury being 'over' because its descent in the last few years is a product of the opposite sentiment.

I am going, but there was noticeably downbeat Glastonbury coverage in the media this year.

Glastonbury has been in and out of fashion before. Back in the early 80s it was really unfashionable - the Face thought it was a laughable relic of the 60s and 70s.

i just don't think i could ever actually go to an event called 'Bestival'

Back in the early 80s it was really unfashionable - the Face thought it was a laughable relic of the 60s and 70s.

yes i often think about this - it's TV coverage just seemed to creep up slowly during the 90s - C4 didn't make that big a deal out of it, it's only when the BBC bought it up that it went super mainstream, or so it seems

this thread needs carmo- february callendar for some analysis.

Before C4 there was no real TV coverage at all. When did that start? About 1995, I think. I used to sit watching it in my mum and dad's house over a summer weekend with the windmills and the Tyrannosaurus Rex's Debora either side of the ad breaks.

'Cuz I'm a pompous indie-hating soulboy and a wannabe working class "socialist" who doesn't actually like people.

Yeah, I associate its rise in cultural capital with the height of Britpop, the Pulp and Elastica appearances etc, so maybe around 1995ish.

By 2003, the chief economist of a firmly right wing lobby organisation was spotted there - so it needs a bit of time in the wilderness.

It was 1994. C4 only did it for two years.

"Bit of time in the wilderness"

Like forever, amiright.

also it was only a few hours a day then. post-bbc3 bbc puts it on about three separate channels for the whole thing.

xpost

That's kind of the 00s malaise though, it'd be all over E4 if they had it.

Maybe only a few hours coverage in the 90s, but they had more focus/prominence maybe.

It was before youtube, so there was more urgency to see the clips on TV or you needed to make an effort to borrow videos etc.

i'm going to a secret invite-only glastonbury that nobody else knows about.

sorry. went for "i hate camping" but could also easily have been:

- The Pyramid headliners are generally uninviting this year
- I hate hippies
- I hate middle-class festival crowds
- I'd rather chop off my balls and bleed to death than go anywhere near it, ever

i'm going to a secret invite-only glastonbury that nobody else knows about.

ha ha, this is kinda happening tho with all these balkanised mini-festivals now happening all over the place. everyone trying to create their own UNIQUE vibe.

a two man tent, a 1/4 of skunk and some ipod speakers does not a "unique vibe" make.

It'd still be better than Glastonbury.

(am also toying with the idea of Bestival since the lineup for Connect looks shite)

the rumoured Glastonbury line-up does look shite and it seems perfectly pheasible that i could go and see Nick Cave, Rihanna and nothing else the whole weekend. but who cares? I never used to pay much attention to it anyway and it never factored into my decision to go before. if the weather's grim i will either go home early or pop to my friend's house for a shower. the only year i didn't enjoy it as much was the JCB through the fence festival. i'm gonna choose to look forward to it (and maybe resist reading this board).

i'm going, i'm very happy that the mad rush to register/buy tickets is down on the last couple of years, and i don't really care who's headlining. with that many stages there will always be someone decent on, and anyway i like wandering around the site running into people i haven't seen for ages. or people i see all the time in camden. whatever.

bestival is ace. as is latitude. except latitude clashes with truck this year (and camp bestival and benicassim but i wasn't gonna go to either of them anyway). what to do? try a day and a half at both and end up pissed off at spending the whole weekend travelling? maybe just go to slottsfjell that weekend instead.

Can i choose all of them?

I went for 'had two years of mud and don't feel like chancing the weather', because that's how I felt after 1998, the second year I went. I never really regretted the decision not to go back. From 1999 onwards I was a Camber kid, this year I'm splashing out and heading to Primavera.

Isn't Bestival one of the 'middle-class 30-somethings who don't really like music anymore' type festivals? (No offence to emsk, who clearly does love music, and I have no idea how old/what class she is.)

- I'd rather chop off my balls and bleed to death than go anywhere near it, ever

Please amend poll to include kthx

Also, "Would get my mod-suit dirty".

how about the less extreme, and less damning of others, "I've never been before. Just never really fancied it." ?

^^^ Hates peace and love.

JESUS CHRIST, MY BALLS! and this blood's never going to come out of this sof ... uuurgh

Where is the 'I am both incredibly hungover after 12hrs of drinking and coming down with a cold, and it's snowing outside and I can't even THINK about spending five days in a field getting off my tits' option?

Have never been to Bestival, but the lineup looks pretty good this year. Wanting to see George Clinton + MBV doesn't mean I can't be arsed with music any more.

Isn't Bestival one of the 'middle-class 30-somethings who don't really like music anymore' type festivals? (No offence to emsk, who clearly does love music, and I have no idea how old/what class she is.)

no it's cooler than that. i can see how it would look like that on paper, but it's more like predominantly-middle-class twentysomethings who like dressing up (as pirates mostly, but i don't think that's anything to do with bestival specifically) in the daytime and tripping their nuts off in the night. i dunno. everyone there seems very up for it, and the line up is always at least three-quarters good. also i've been the last two years and it's been FUCKING HOT AND SUNNY which obviously helps.

also, really, have never seen half the bands I intend to when I go to a festival, because festivals are so much more than that (man).

xpost

i like festivals where you have enough space for everyone. this is all of them except reading, i think.

JAY Z 'doing one' by all accounts.

overheard the next table at a pub in highgate who was excited about seeing jay zed in glastonbury

also: where is the "they sell brothers in pubs now, rendering glastonbury obsolete" option?

I like music but I don't like big crowds and not getting sleep. That is my reason. I also used to work at T in the Park and the litter really bothered me.

(So I can't say "I hate middle-class festival crowds" cos it's not the middle-classness of them that bothers me.)

My friends all went for the last time last year, when I could not go. Their reasons for not going anymore are:

- weather too terrifying last year to contemplate a re-run
- festival now full of coked-up wankers
- getting too and from festival a total nightmare, especially when coming from outside UK.

I think there is also an option 4 - friends getting old.

I am not going this year to save time and pennies, but I may go next year if I can find anyone to go with.

It still hasn't sold out.

Some would argue the contrary.

Bravo.

I just took a look on Seetickets and it looked like it had sold out.

hov.

How far did you have to get into it before it said that, Matt? Radio just said 40000 tickets still available.

The first page pretty much. I don't actually want to go I was just interested to see if they were still around.

This will all be blamed on Jay-Z won't it?

Refugee camp with bands

Yesterday, the organisers were putting it down to a new ticket handling system.

Today, I've just heard Eavis on the radio and his new main two reasons are "Three years of bad weather" (which is a bit of a stretch, seeing as 2004 was only rainy on the Sunday, unless he's including 2006, when the festival wasn't even on) and the fact that other big festivals are happening/going on sale before Glastonbury.

He seems to be backtracking on his earlier comments about Jay-Z not being a big name, saying what a "scoop" it is for them to have him, and denying reports that he may pull out.

He said 100000 were sold yesterday, but more interestingly, that 1000 this morning, so it does seem to have slowed to a trickle. I wonder if they'll open up registration again.

Editor of NME also on, giving moronic main reason in his opinion being that "People haven't bothered trying to get tickets because they just assumed it would sell out".

My friend's family have moved to Pilton so they can get free tickets. This probably does not account for much of the drop-off though.

Eavis is sucking up to Jay-Z quite embarrassingly at the moment - "he's the best thing we've had on in years" etc.

“He [Jay-Z] hasn’t liked all this talk of how Glastonbury is more urban and hip this year because of his appearance.

“He feels it’s a bit sad and he’s being used to make a point. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when he was blamed for the lower registrations.”

Where is "watching it on TV" band?

Re: Bestival... i can see how it would look like that on paper, but it's more like predominantly-middle-class twentysomethings who like dressing up (as pirates mostly, but i don't think that's anything to do with bestival specifically) in the daytime and tripping their nuts off in the night. i dunno. everyone there seems very up for it, and the line up is always at least three-quarters good.

Ah, that sounds better than I was thinking. I've developed the phear of 'no fun after dark' festivals, whether because of kids or general stuffiness.

As for Glasto, isn't part of the reason why it's not sold out that they have successfully made it impossible for touts? I bet it WILL sell out eventually. They could easily have spun this into a triumphant thing.

It used to not sell out till relatively close to the event, so yeah, what's the problem?

No problem, I was just interested as to why the dramatic change from last year (when it sold out in three hours or something, despite the same registration/anti-tout measures).

i'm as excited about Primavera as I am meh about Glastonbury. still haven't booked my flights though.

-- Upt0eleven, Sunday, 6 April 2008 13:01 (Yesterday)

i just booked my ticket for Primavera and if you want a tip re flights - Ryanair from Stansted to Girona on the 28th is only £14.99 TOTAL (not checked return) - annoyingly tho it declined my payment wtf

WO_oW. Hassle to get to Stansted but that's gotta be worth it. I'll deal with getting back later.

where are my manners? cheers for the tip steve :)

that flight is evening of 28th btw.

can we make this an official thread for other summer festivals now?

LOLRUS.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/article1006771.ece
That jay-Z rumour mentioned upthread

As an American, I would like to formally apologize for the rubbish that is "Rap".

Talking really fast is not singing. Repeating background music taken from other good songs does not make your song good. I'm sorry anyone here had the misfortune to listen to Jay-Z. Please understand that it's the music "industry" that force-feeds us terrible "artists". We have failed to bring the "industry" to its' knees. I'm sorry.

If you value your respect for music, please skip Glastonbury this year.

Corruptuser, United States

Recommended by 28 people

Most recommeded comment on HYS. Naturally.

Oh yeah, Alba, just in case you think I am a cockfarmer, I was saying "what's the problem?" to Michael Eavis rather than to you.

they should have invited john cena to start with.

Sure enough, registration has opened up again.

They've beaten the touts. The non-selling out should be a cause for celebration.

I've not been since 2000, natch.

Primavera for me this summer, because it's a lineup that's beyond superb.

up for it

The most depressing phrase in the English language.

closeley followed by up for grabs

Oh, I love up for grabs :/

Mad For It isby far the worse.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

i like up for it. and it's different from mad for it which is horrible.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

good old proletarian ilx.

Self-hatred, self-loathing, also sometimes autophobia refers to an extreme dislike of oneself, or being angry at oneself. The term is also used to designate a dislike or hatred of a group to which one belongs. For instance, 'ethnic self-hatred' is the extreme dislike of one's ethnic group. Accusations of self-hatred are often used as an ad hominem attack.

The term 'self-hatred' is used infrequently by psychologists and psychiatrists, who would usually describe people who hate themselves as 'persons with low self-esteem'. Some people think that self-hatred and shame are important factors in some or many mental disorders, especially disorders that involve a perceived defect of oneself (e.g. body dysmorphic disorder). "Ethnic self-hatred" is considered by some people as being a cultural issue, to which psychological theories have limited relevance.

hell is other people just like you

lol not all self-hatred

lol britain

only 3 racists tho, not too shabby

Really, I that full line-up is a shocker.

We are writing to let you know that there are a limited amount of tickets left for what's sure to be the party of the year - Glastonbury 2008 !

With The Met Office predicting a settled weekend for the festival and a line-up that has something for everyone, it's sure to go down in history as one of our best festivals yet. So don't sit and watch it on the t.v, wishing you were there, book now and make sure you are.

I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for them. "A line-up that has something for everyone" is so desperate.

i'm thinking i might actually go now, especially now quart the following weekend's gone up the swannee...

i'm confused. is it still de rigeur to be raving about NOT going to glastonbury? granted the line-up's shit but who the f ever went for the pyramid stage anyway?

^^^this

But it's not just the Pyramid stage! It's all shit. And anyway, I do like there to be at least one Pyramid headliner I can get swept up in.

i can't remember the last time i looked at the line-up before buying a ticket. glastonbury is the only festival i've ever treated like that though.

somehow i've been put off by the whole "the main stage headliners are rub" thing, but i've never actually given a rat's arse about who's headlining the pyramid so i'm not sure why it suddenly seems important.

I hate middle-class festival crowds

Hahaha, ILX is so full of self-hating bourgeoisie.

I guess people used to go to Glastonbury for the "vibe" or whatever, so the lineup was less important. Now there seems to be a sense that vibe has gone, whether because of lol middle class crowds/superfence or whatever, so now the lineup is important, and it's shit.

As I said on the other thread, next year they probably won't even bother with music. Book now for live Apprentice, live Grand Designs, live Phil & Kirstie, live Gok Wan, live Trinny & Susannah, live Gordon Ramsay etc., you know you hate it...

Hahaha, ILX is so full of self-hating bourgeoisie

Yeah no way are there 11 non-middle class people reading ILX. STICK IT TO YOURSELVES, GUILTBOYS

I think it clashes with something.

Also, ex-Skrewdriver roadie Mark Radcliffe would do well to stop his nightly jibes about Jay-Z headlining at Glasto just in case people might get the notion that he hasn't really changed his spots.

I guess people used to go to Glastonbury for the "vibe" or whatever, so the lineup was less important. Now there seems to be a sense that vibe has gone, whether because of lol middle class crowds/superfence or whatever, so now the lineup is important, and it's shit.

this is total sneery bollocks. the atmosphere is still always amazing at glastonbury. granted there are fewer fence-jumpers than before, but that hasn't killed it, at all. with a festival with the size and breadth of glasto there are always reasons to go; it's the only festival where you can wander around for a whole weekend and just keep discovering stuff, even besides all the music. and there are lots of great acts on the smaller stages anyway. as there always are. personally i'm looking forward to derrick may, hercules & love affair, rex the dog, the hold steady, dizzee rascal, booka shade... with 10 stages the 'something for everyone' cliché is actually true.

this
the atmosphere is still always amazing at glastonbury
is not really true, but then the glastonbury "vibe" thing was always a bit of a myth anyway.

everything else is pretty otm. i do think it's too big though.

Ding: He was the drummer, briefly, for the Sk. In their pre-fascist incarnation/ exhumation.

But you knew that, right?

i don't think it's too big, maybe it's not big enough, and never changes, after like going 4 times i feel i've seen everything that's there and kind of got bored of it.

i only go to see haggis and charlie at the circus tent these days

Every other festival I've ever been to hasn't had anywhere near approaching the atmosphere of Glastonbury. Roskilde, which everyone raves about, had an awesome line-up but just felt like a gigantic version of Reading when you weren't watching bands. In fact, there aren't many other festivals I can think of where you can wander around all day and not see any bands at all and still have an amazing time.

But the weather thing affects the atmosphere enormously, the festival has had to struggle through some horrendous conditions the last few years. Give them a sunny one and everyone will fall in love with it once again no matter how onerous the ticket-buying process or how shit the lineup.

I miss the hippies though. I think they should let a select number of proper dyed-in-the-wool hippies in for free.

At this rate, the organisers will be selling left-over tickets on ebay!

Just had a quick skim of the lineup, and if you can't manage to put together a fun weekend out of wandering around between Jay-Z, Goldfrapp, Martina T-B, Martha Wainwright, Massive Attack, Hot Chip, Hoodoo Gurus, Spiritualized, Jimmy Cliff, Alabama 3 (playing every half-hour on a different stage, apparently), Sinead O'Connor, The Blockheads, Dizzee, Edwyn Collins, CSS, Battles, Lykke Li, the Proclaimers, The Beat, Billy Bragg, Roisin, Fatboy Slim, Hercules & Love Affair, Rex The Dog, Booka Shade, Renegade Soundwave, The Black Dog, The Grid, Derrick May, System 7, Midnight Juggernauts (RIP Chaki), DJ Format, ILX's own Rollie Pimperton, Annie, The Presets, the Moody Boys, Alex Paterson, DJ Yoda, Hexstatic, Squarepusher, A Guy Called Gerald, Skream and the Silent Disco (not to mention different dance classes every hour) you are quite possibly too grumpy to actually respirate.

I've got a record collection, a bathtub and an imagination - I'm staying at home (apologies to Bill Hicks).

Just been offered a free ticket. I'm considering going but that forecast for Friday looks ominous.

It's more than just a forecast - Kings Of Leon really are headlining.

B'dum tish! Buy that man a perry.

I'm not going on principle because Eavis is such a bitch about ticket touts and since I'm too lazy to book on time this is how I always get my tickets and I've never had to pay more than the original price. Reading & Leeds have better line ups, better credibility, more forwards thinking are more interested in getting you drunk/stoned/off your face and on the 'whosethisloser' section of some music magazine than they are about touts. They get their money out of you through the food and booze.
Plus I swear down but I think Eavis has only just heard of Jay-Z and was all 'Word, this brother is DOPE. Lemme headline him. I got mad skillz for picking them new artists yo'

Decent weather (strong rumour)

might as well eh Matt?

im not going cos dame dash isnt jigga's hypeman anymore.

anti-Glasto / Brit music festivals rant

Tony Naylor - The Guardian music Blog
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/06/i_hate_festivals.html

We go to Glastonbury and live like 18th century peasants. And for what? To listen to crap bands and be surrounded by middle-class idiots

blowin' minds

brothers sending me two tokens for free pints at the brothers bar makes me kind of want to go now, just for that...

I'm going to go next year, 4real.

Dammit i'm SO CLOSE to caving in and buying a ticket but then i saw this. Four forecasts say it's gonna be shitty.

ARGH

Still looks okay according to Metcheck although Saturday morning is a bit of a worry. Got a bit more pessimistic since yesterday though.

My free ticket evaporated so I went down to HMV and bought one yesterday. In for a penny...

Essentially 'light rain' I can deal with, the last couple of years haven't been light by any stretch of the imagination.

They still have tickets?

LOL

yes they do. but they've already sold more thna ever before thanks to increased capacity.

am i the only person who thinks that rather than increasing capacity every year, the best way to improve/save glastonbury would actually be to halve the capacity?

but they haven't increased it every year have they? didn't they perform a massive cut after about y2000?

(coinciding with the new fencing and security)

well no, they stopped the huge annual influx of fence-jumpers/tunnellers etc (estimated to be 20-50k at its peak) with the superfence but the official capacity has still risen every year since then (i think).

yeah, eavis keeps borrowing land from his neighbours I believe. not sure how much of the festival actually takes place on worthy farm anymore.

why can't the weather just stay like this?

oh right, i thought they'd actually made the venue smaller too.

I still have my HUUGE poster of the helicopter photo taken of the 2000 event, and you can see my tent!

where do all the cows go when glastonbury happens?

xpost

haha i've got a few of them somewhere, but although i know i pinpointed my tent on each one at the time, i don't think i ever circled it or anything so i'll never be able to show my kids how daddy used to do festivals before the war...

They go to other farms, ken. A cow holiday.

Apparently Jay-Z has been covering Smack My Bitch Up live, which is a wonderful way to endear yourself to a sceptical Glasto audience.

I understand Duffy will be doing the wordless female vocal bit in the middle.

That heavy rain on Saturday morning has disappeared now, wish they'd make up their sodding minds.

one suspects we won't get a conclusive answer to the "will it rain on saturday" question til you stick yer 'ead out of yer tent in the morning.

one suspects we won't get a conclusive answer to the "will it rain on saturday" question til you stick yer 'ead out of the puddle you fell into on Friday nightyer tent in the morning.

from the Exeter MET, for SW region :

Friday
"Moderate southwest wind. Dry start, then thickening cloud will bring outbreaks of light rain from the west. Most of the rain will affect the north and west, while southern and eastern areas remain dry."

Saturday
"Light southwest wind. Outbreaks of light rain clearing away southeastwards. Dry conditions following."

but lets see what it says tomorrow..

fuck the forecast. I'M A' COMING!

Wow, the train is only £7 more expensive than National Express this year. Fvck a coach.

Also getting on the festival buses directly to Castle Cary is much easier than National Express and their beyond awful bus queueing system. Waiting outside the station is still grim but considerably less so, and you can get hundreds of people on a train.

i remember, weird moment, travelling down to glastos in the car. We stopped at a motorway services and a couple of vagabonds tried to talk us into giving them a lift (couldn't because the car was full) but they stayed and had a brew with us and it turned out the bloke had the same nickname as me - he even showed me the tattoo that proved it!

being my first (lol and only) glastos experience it was neat at the time.

Sure it wasn't Derren Brown?

http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/event_forecast.asp?eventID=559

I would be fucking overjoyed if it turned out like this, in all honesty.

Jeeeeesus that would be amazing. My friend who lives in Pilton informs me that the ground is rock hard and dusty, meaning a total slurryfest in the event of even the lightest shower. Banging in those biodegradable tent pegs is gonna be a bugger innit? Must remember a mallet.

Total slurryfest that is shallow and dries up quickly though. Looking at that forecast I'd say it'll be more like 2002 or maybe 2003 than any other year. Not baking, a few showers, but not a mudfest either.

I have now transferred my paranoia elsewhere and am now looking ominously at the wind.

I fully expect a torrential storm to suddenly pop up on that Metcheck page now.

Webcam

I have just added that to my Facebook profile. I haven't seen it looking green in four years.

I am excited about Matt's Glastonbury adventure. I will be living out my weekend vicariously through him.

My last four festival experiences -

Reading 2003 - Worked behind the bar. Free ticket, free transport to-and-from the festival, free booze, showers, 6 hours work a day. Weekend ended in a massive staff party in a private marquee. Watching teenagers scrabbling around in their own filth made me realise that I will never ever pay £100+ for the privilege of visting a British Festival ever again.

Glastonbury 2004 - much the same, had a great time, pitied the paying customers

Primavera, Barcelona 2007 and 2008 - 3-day festival that starts at 6pm and goes on till about 7am the next morning. Not a Kaiser Chief in sight. Few irritating teenagers. Relatively cheap tickets. Better weather. Outstanding festival site on concrete grounds (NO MUD!), non-camping (hostels, but these included with the ticket cost about the same difference as paying the full price on Glasto), well organised (but without tons of securtiy nazis walking around), general better quality of festival-goer. You can also see and hear the bands wherever you stand (or sit) as it is held at the former Olympic site - much better than straining to see around some massive dreadlock giant who stands infront of you while you get kicked in the head by crowd surfers because you had to stand at the front just to get a glimpse of the band).

If you're bored this weekend you can play Vaesectomy Cluedo on the Pronghorn website.

having seen the day/stage breakdown, i have to say friday main stage and sunday other stage are two of the most horrendous collections of the world's worst music i've ever seen in one place.

ah well.

the Primavera site was a bit...sterile? also there's no point listening to bands by the sea if you can't have a paddle in the process. it's as good a location as an urban festival can have tho i suppose.

also we know that rain or shine Matt will come back proclaiming it BEST GLASTO EVER

the Primavera site was a bit...sterile? also there's no point listening to bands by the sea if you can't have a paddle in the process. it's as good a location as an urban festival can have tho i suppose.

-- blueski, Wednesday, 25 June 2008 13:41 (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Maybe lacking a bit of the so-called Dunkirk spirit of an English festival, but then I'd happily forgo my fun in the mud for half-decent toilets, dry feet, a good view of the band, excellent sound quality and the option to go for a dip first thing after watching Holy Fuck finish off the night.

yay Blueski's back! and i would agree with you about the sterility of the site. it was fine but it was still a car park. loved the fact that it was no more than ten minutes walk b/w stages and there was so little bleed as well.

and if the weather's stays as clear as the met forecasts it everyone - including me - will be proclaiming it the BEST GLASTO EVAH. but y'know people's memories are for shit.

I don't think I said that last year. I really hope not.

Concrete festival sites = suckage. Mud is a risk worth taking for being able to actually sit on grass if it's nice.

what i especially liked about primavera is you could sit way way way back from the band and still hear and see them loud and clear due to the raised concrete. in a field the sound gets absorbed by the front row and you can't see what's going on because everything's just flat. sometimes i feel like i may as well be listenign to the cd when all i'm looking at is the back of some sweaty dude's neck while listening to a muffled soundsystem.

not sure what you mean re Dunkirk, but I like trees and grass and that's always been a huge virtue of rural festivals obv. can't say i noticed any real improvement in view or sound quality at Primavera compared to Glastonbury tho. toilets may be better just due to fewer numbers. i did not use a cubicle toilet on site so can't comment on their condition.

but where did you go for a dip?

Concrete festival sites = suckage. Mud is a risk worth taking for being able to actually sit on grass if it's nice

Doesn't bother me. Much easier to walk and dance on, drier, you can still sit on the amphitheatre seats, plus many stages have grassy areas to chill on.

our campsite was by the beach and had a pool. although was fuckin' miles from the centre of Barca.

xpost

I don't think I said that last year. I really hope not.

i think you said you had a great time in spite of the weather which is A Good Attitude esp. as some were saying what a horrible time they had entirely for that reason (but that's fair enough too).

but where did you go for a dip?

Admittedly I didn't, but there is a nearby beach where afterparties often take place that i've been invited to a couple of times.

stevem, i see what you mean about the rural setting but when you're slogging through puddles of mud with burger van generators whirring, filth all over your hands and face, and having to deny yourself the voiding of the bowels for four days for fear of your cubicle being tipped over by idiot teenagers, it can hardly be described as an idyllic country setting. Personally if I want to see some nature I'll go for a ramble in the country, not to Glastonbury or Reading.

The only thing missing from PRimavera is admittedly some of the hippier type things like the whigwam field and stone circles and stuff, but these are exclusive to Glasto (as opposed to V or Reading) and the general spirit of Glasto being a hippyish 60s experience is being into every year.

y'all saw this?

http://music.guardian.co.uk/festivals/glastonbury2008/story/0,,2286999,00.html?commentpage=1

apparently primavera this year so many people were smoking so much dope you can get stoned just through walking through the place - is that actually true? sounds awesome, in a way. but maybe not amazing in others.

I'm actually already going to a beachside festival in Portugal this summer but I bet I end up enjoying Glasto more.

slogging through puddles of mud with burger van generators whirring, filth all over your hands and face, and having to deny yourself the voiding of the bowels for four days for fear of your cubicle being tipped over by idiot teenagers, it can hardly be described as an idyllic country setting.

poor you! this never happened to me

apparently primavera this year so many people were smoking so much dope you can get stoned just through walking through the place - is that actually true?

not true. you could OD on cute indie spaniards tho.

and Jager

omg i want to bone cute indian spanirds

OH oops you said indie spaniards

i thought *you* said indian Spaniels.

apparently primavera this year so many people were smoking so much dope you can get stoned just through walking through the place - is that actually true? sounds awesome, in a way. but maybe not amazing in others.

-- ken c, Wednesday, 25 June 2008 14:23 (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

ummm.. if you happen to be hanging out with the jammiest dude ever (which i was) who was able to score pretty much anything at any time for next to nothng and then make super duper good mates with whoever he just scored off of then yes, you can get proper mashington with very little effort. cue my other mate walking down la ramblas at 8 in the morning reciting an entire episode of dangermouse to himself at high speed.

It's no DJ Pikey Clothing Stall but it's up there.

isn't anyone going to one of the many festivals in Eastern Europe?

there is talk of going to Sziget in Hungary, which I have heard is amazing. supposed to be visiting my mate in romania soon but have been told this may involve a trip to a 5-day psy trance festival which i would rather allow thank you v.m.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/611375305_005ba2b89f.jpg?v=1199424781

Glasto '71. This must be up the top of the Pyramid hill somewhere, right?

looks like it. ah how those trees have grown.

you have a usual camping spot Matt?

this year's map: http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/uploadedImages/Information/FineGuide/fineguidemap2008-1280(1).jpg

Should be camping in the Park field this year I think, first time on the South end of the site though. It kind of suits the sort of Glasto I'm planning to have but to be honest anything but fucking New Bands again.

New Bands is rotten. The worst decision the hivemind ever came to.

it was fine!

maybe i just enjoyed the novelty

The Novelty Bands field would probably have been better.

I stand by Pennard Hill as the best spot.

If you're at the top. Also it has a proper view, which is always nice. The good thing about New Bands is that you pitch in the first place where you can fit a group of 15 tents. Less of a problem this year.

I have a residual soft spot from the old days, for right at the top of Pyramid hill as well, in line with the stage. After nine Glastos I'm a bit too old skool for that now.

Have you ever camped in the Greenfields bit? I've always fancied trying the hippie-civility of that, but it's always the first to fill up.

Umm, just checked my new tent and it appears to be flysheet and groundsheet only. Like, single sheet, none of that white cloth sheet in the middle. Is that going to be okay?

Pray for no rain and don't touch the sides.

That's what she said

Fuck this, it's going back to the shop. Anyone know how on earth I get a tent back into that pouch thing without it looking like it's been opened?

text from friend already there: fucking campsite already virtually full - HURRY UP!

i don't get there till 9.30pm thursday :-(

I believe my friends have done something un-communally minded with a big tarpaulin to ensure there's enough space for our tents. I find it hard to believe it's that full on the Wednesday though.

esp. when they have tickets spare

it's always "virtually full" though.

we usually have a place somewhere near "top webbs ash" or "michael's mead" usually the least smelly and doesn't flood.

only trouble is long walk to brothers bar

from mdc: Big fire closes off one of the main roads to the festival, and all the buses are stuck. Oh fuck 37 minutes ago

woah it's lashing down today, oooh will this move southwards ooooh

it'd put out the fire i guess

haha ken, always positive :-)

more on the fire
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7473289.stm

and large clouds of smoke can be seen drifting across the area

nothin new

see you on the other side, fellas x

is jay-z going to get bottled?

That fire is probably just Jay-Z smoking a blunt lol!

Sharon Stone has apparently claimed it's karmic retribution for polluting the festival with hip-hop. I phoned Glenn Hoddle and he agreed it was ridiculous.

i'm hearing serious mud rumours already from work colleagues, anyone confirmed the weather situation?

Mud rumours every year. But they never play.

im liveblogging from the green field and it's totes sunny, wtf.

have fun at your desk jobs suckers.

i will roast said co-worker accordingly, thanks

woooo, kate nash soon

woooo

Preparing your Fran Healy impression?

o noes the rumour is babyshambles have pulled out ;_;

if only

http://www.scarpaz.com/Napalm/napalm.jpg

"A suspected thief was also detained by festival-goers after allegedly disturbing two women in their tent overnight. "

Could it be Doherty?

Dear 'Lauren Laverne', you know fine well that a line-up consisting of Panic At The Disco
The Enemy
We Are Scientists
Foals
is pretty much the antithesis of 'eclectic'. I'm sure that's what you actually meant when you said that it was eclectic.

Regards
Bocken.

ps please give me my show back. I threw it into the tv.

shoe

not show.

fucks sake.

prefer "show"

blogger Kid Shirt anti-Glasto rant

http://kidshirt.blogspot.com/2008/06/glastonbury-festival-can-fuck-off.html

I wouldn't mind, but Pilton's a corporate shite fest. these days. They dish out tickets to middle-management dickheads as incentives/prizes/jollies like it was fucking Wimbledon or the Rugby Finals. And this year's line-up was spectactularly bad, even by Eavis' lame-ass standards. Three days spent under the same sky as the cream of manufactured indie-bullshit and a couple of 'classic rock' acts, plus the chance to eat at any one of 300 identikit ethnic-food franchaises and recharge yr phone on site! I wouldn't even write about the bloody thing, but if you live dn here you can't avoid the fall-out or, in fact, partially paying for the festival. Good ol' Glasto -! Fuck off...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/noodle_vague/raheem.gif

Glasto 2008 = THE WORST LINE UP EVER ! of the modern era [defined as 1994 onwards, i.e since 'orrible Oasis]

it's okay to be jealous.

im having the time of my life.

los campesinos! this afternoon!

when is that wanker Blunt on?

i dunno, but i've got a blunt right here amirite.

Hope that's an organic blunt.

ya crazy for this one eavis

lolololol

oh snap

not since shaun ryder did 'pretty vacant'...

lol jay-z doing an oasis song

they like im aight

too busy watching the dulcoease advert to change channels

the hits of 1995-7

-06

lol Damien Hirst = Beefeaters/Routemaster buses etc

I heart Jay-Z.

what'd he do

he sung 'wonderwall'

lol i just heard about this

There was just a big pic of Hirst's diamond/platinum skull on the back projection while he was doing his "Rehab" thing, I'm assuming he's paying tribute to our world-class culture.

He did six London Posse covers back-to-back, and ended up by bringing a reunited Hardnoise up onstage to do "Mice In The Presence Of The Lion". Fucking awesome.

He just shouted out Jimmy Bullard.

he's wearing a scarf in tribute to dom.

"signin' off as the hood's barack"

Why the fuck are you people watching this instead of Zoolander for the twelth time?

glastonbury is shit ffs everyone, better zinging target required

hahaha XPOSTS!!!

played domenico

BUSH

katrina montage sequence

are the nme.com reports of new supergroup jay-z and the jing jang jong confirmed?

Now he's eating jellied eels off of Amy Winehouse's tits o_O

yeah i think the whole glasto liveblogging thing will go better if we're not actually watching it

He just looked at the heavens and shouted "John Inman, I'ma keep you alive with this set"

He appears to have got his foot tangled in a mulberry bush that was left over from Sunshine Underground's set

Who'd've thought he'd know so much about Bullseye?

Offering that goth heckler his "bus fare home" was classic tho.

^^^this. I thought Tony Green was dead, totally shocked to see him on stage

'i predict a riot' cover is actually kinda dope.

lol @ footage of dancing coppers from Brixton Carnival

lol at "Y'all voting for David Davies?" banter with crowd

Sweet Wurzels sample tho, for a second there I thought he was gonna do "Zoider Drinker".

Who knew Lorraine Kelly could pop-lock??

Someone should let Zane Lowe know that "spearchucker" isn't really the kind of language he should be using on the BBC.

I was fucking wincing when Jay wiped his arse on the Welsh flag tho.

I heard a rumour that Hamit Altintop will be joining him for a duet a little later on, but that could all be fabricated.

I heard they could only get Colin "Kazim" Richards in the end.

Apparently the guys a massive Wishbone Ash fan.

Holy fuck, a _NINETY_ percent stake in Gainsborough Trinity? What the hell is he going to do with that?

lol gobbing snakebite and black at the crowd

Tell ya what there's gonna be kids getting home on Sunday night and throwing out their Radiohead CDs

Only 80,000 people saw Jay-Z perform at Glastonbury, but every single one of them went home and recorded a guest verse for a Memphis Bleek mixtape

So pleased Brighton and Hove Albion have an alumnus onstage at Glastonbury; back in '06 I hear Bobby Zamora was all set to line up alongside a young Amy Macdonald but his Fiesta broke down just outside Tiverton and the AA took him to the wrong music festival :(

Got to say Lauren Laverne's KKK outfit was ill thought thru

Really don't know why Peel chose _now_ to reveal that his death was a hoax.

Oh man! There's BEEF with Crystal Castles! REAL fucking beef! This is gonna rumble...

Thought it was dece of Biffy Clyro to refuse to play at the same time so everybody had to watch Jay-Z.

not heard this song before. ben somebody 'in platforms'?

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci reforming for one last hurrah I notice, they're all at the front in their ITV Digital T-shirts.

Is it me or has Ian McKellen put on a shitload of weight?

Nah, that's his handicap. They're running the actors during the interval.

Just took this pic of the crowd on my Nokia, dunno if I can direct link to Flickr on here?

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/06WQeey2gadIT/610x.jpg

Oh wait, that's not the crowd, it's Win, Lose, Or Draw funnyman Bob Mills and two friends

Ah, good old Nicky G. One of the silent geniuses behind happy hardcore, dontcha know.

Wheeling all those disabled kids on for "Hard Knock Life" was a nice crowd-pleasing touch.

Shame that kid had to have the seizure and spoil it, really.

Shit, did that dude just break his arm? I knew the crowdsurf groynes were a bad idea :-/

So is that effigy hanging from the noose at the side of the stage meant to be Rhymefest?

I thought it was Rebel MC

OH SHIT CARMODY

Damn, security's got him already

lol I just saw Richard Hawley chucking a half-eaten veggie burger

xpost Certainly never dreamed I'd see that dude's schlong

Singer Amy Winehouse has taken to the stage at the Glastonbury Festival and appeared to throw a punch at a fan.

At the end of an unpredictable hour-long set she left the stage and in the pit beyond the front of the crowd, she seemed to lunge into the audience.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44788000/jpg/_44788511_amypunching_bbc226.jpg

Winehouse - in a blue sequin-covered dress - is due to return to hospital to continue treatment for a lung problem.

US rapper Jay-Z followed her on stage, poking fun at detractors Oasis by singing their track Wonderwall.

Winehouse appeared to lunge into the crowd near the end of her set
Oasis star Noel Gallagher recently said hip-hop at Glastonbury was "wrong".

Jay-Z's booking as headliner has caused consternation for some, but Winehouse said he had "got front to come here... with tunes you don't even remember".

She was disparaging about rapper Kanye West, repeatedly using four-letter words while talking about him during her set.

Yeah but nobody expected her to be such a whizzbang Vortex thrower!

this verne troyer cameo is another level of meta

yeah i mean i draw the line at autofellatio but he's just gone and blown that line to smithereens

speaking of smithereens, morrissey looks like he's carryin a leng under dat jacket. someone outta tell westwood

Oh dear God ...

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44787000/jpg/_44787820_placard_bbc226b.jpg

Oh, and I was wondering what would be more irritating than Guardian bloggers being snarky about Crowded House.

That fucking door isn't green anyway.

for the merkins who can't use the beeb website: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=00B50EA8EBA2DC72

Verdicts?

All hail, Leonard Cohen!

He is pure class.

For those cunts I hope that lurking behind the green door is a fucking gas chamber.

Seconded. Leonard Cohen rolling through Hallelujah was one of the most amazing musical experiences of my life. that sunset.... the way he called the crowd "friends".... sheer class.

apparently Cohen refused to be filmed, so no part of his set can be played on BBC TV and radio.

He seemed genuinely taken aback by the affectionate crowd reaction. I just wanted to hold his head in my hands and say "don't worry mate, everyone really does love you!".

My Cohen experience was only partly ruined by the group of old-enough-to-know-better-than-to-be-so-selfish-shouty-and-fucking-obnoxious cunts screaming at each other, doing handstands and taking 473763643 pictures of each other "FOR FAAAACEBOOOOOOK" throughout his set, 7mm from my chosen spot.

dude, you should have chosen another spot. big fuckin' field.

so what else (musical or otherwise) floated thy boat?

Never before have I see someone move so little on stage and yet totally dominate it with his presence. Every time he doffed his hat and smiled this huge cheer went up.

He timed his set perfectly though, Hallelujah just as the sun went down = marvellous. Definitely one of the best sets of the weekend.

Also Booka Shade doing this huge, epic In White Rooms in the bigger dance tent = real shiver down the spine moment.

Is anyone going to Wild In The Country in Knebworth? My mate is selling two ticks for £50 each which is a bit pricey in my book, but the lineup looks quite good. Should I go?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1030641/Shes-terrified-germs-wears-outfit-twice-So-DID-fashionista-LIZ-JONES-survive-Glastonbury.html

Nice Marcello-esque edit in the URL

kill. kill. and indeed kill.

Even for her it's playing to the galleries, mind

Still better than (insert name of current LBZC beatdown target)

dude, you should have chosen another spot. big fuckin' field.

well yes, but they arrived at Our Spot where my friends and i had been for hours, and where we traditionally have met all other friends regardless of prior planning since about 1995, and then proceeded to act all cunty. we were determined to man it out and wait till they got bored and fucked off, but instead they got drunker and worse till one of our group upped and left (to stop herself lamping one of them), another had a quiet word which worked for about 5 minutes, and finally i flipped my fucking lid (haha hello, comedown stormclouds) and got into a huge argument and they somehow flattened my defence with slurred non-existent logic about me being "prejudiced" against other people "having fun"...no YOU CUNTSTICKS I'm prejudiced against selfish obnoxious FUCKBUBBLES with no whisp of a care for the people around them, ruining a unique and rare majestic gig experience.

apart from that, it was ace :-)

Well, what do you expect? Free for all (OK, £150-odd for all) Glasto and you're wanting "Your Spot" like it's got your name written on it or something? You want "Your Spot" pay land rent then you can fence it off etc. If that doesn't appeal then it's Henley Regatta time, I'm afraid.

Alexis Chancellor for the Grauniad was arguably worse than Liz Jonezzz who's only writing to the Mail gallery.

No sympathy on ILX shocker

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512514JRBYL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

we were just pissed off they decided to pitch up next to us when they had the whole place (and indeed many noisier gigs where their racket wouldn't have mattered at all) to fuck around in, is all. just one of them things. still a wonderful performance.

wow, i look a bit insane up there...

haha thanks dom, i was thinking more along the lines of Star Trek IV:

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/3/3b/Vulcan_nerve_pinch_punk.jpg/410px-Vulcan_nerve_pinch_punk.jpg

who is the bigger cunt: the cunt or the cunt that yells at the cunt for being a cunt?

(kidding, we were also sat near some obnoxious fucks at Leonard so i do understand. but rather than have the show spoiled for the sake of "our spot" we just, y'know, moved 10 feet to the left)

best flag: "fist me jesus", as seen at Santogold.

this is why i lost the battle, i think. it had been a loooong day. i should really have just followed my mate who'd voted with her feet, but somehow there was A Principle At Stake. gah.

fist me jesus flag was right at the front for god-botherin' neil diamond too! i'm sure their mothers were proud.

apparently Cohen refused to be filmed, so no part of his set can be played on BBC TV and radio.

for this alone he is now my hero. I am fed up of the endless mediation of concert experiences.

although after his accountant fleeced him perhaps he could do with putting out a tour dvd

looking forward to that 'leonard at glastonbury' dvd: ker-ching.

ha xp

Oh God, that Liz Jones article is like reading The Lex on home decorating.

Not only that, the stupid layout means I can't Babelfish it properly.

Also Booka Shade doing this huge, epic In White Rooms in the bigger dance tent = real shiver down the spine moment.

I hate you.

I just re-watched some of Amy W's performance and it was very, very bad. It's as if she's channeling Kim Gordon sometimes. She knows she can sing it right, or well, or hit the notes, but then she perversely fucks it up on purpose. It's like she's mocking herself.

I am fed up of the endless mediation of concert experiences.

Yeah, I'm sick of people being able to watch sport on TV too. If you can't personally attend an event then you should never be able to see it ever, it belittles the efforts of those who do attend.

Well, what do you expect? Free for all (OK, £150-odd for all) Glasto and you're wanting "Your Spot" like it's got your name written on it or something? You want "Your Spot" pay land rent then you can fence it off etc. If that doesn't appeal then it's Henley Regatta time, I'm afraid.

-- Dingbod Kesterson, Tuesday, 1 July 2008 14:42 (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

tell that to bus mp3 kid haters.

I just re-watched some of Amy W's performance and it was very, very bad. It's as if she's channeling Kim Gordon sometimes. She knows she can sing it right, or well, or hit the notes, but then she perversely fucks it up on purpose. It's like she's mocking herself.

i just assumed that she was pissed.. looked at the BBC website footage while the sun was still out she was singing pretty good but then the later it got in the footage the more it was like "theyadakrito maketjlme to rebaita aa nooo o no o nooo"

She knows she can sing it right, or well, or hit the notes, but then she perversely fucks it up on purpose. It's like she's mocking herself cracktarded.

"I guess this is what the last days of Judy Garland/Janis Joplin/Edith Piaf must have been like" - see every hackbrained Radio 2 DJ.

Wild In The Country has been cancelled i see

wha

Poor ticket sales plus a key investor pulling out at the last moment.

Incidentally, did anyone else at Glastonbury see Franz Ferdinand do the unthinkable and actually turn up for a rumoured secret gig? I didn't think they could possibly be that good live but they were, new stuff sounds great as well, very big chunky choruses.

But the best thing of the weekend was Annie doing this extended, housed-up version of Heartbeat at the end of her set, it was like its own Jacques Lu Cont remix - so euphoric!

I am rewatching Jay-Z's set on the iPlayer right now and reminiscing.

I missed Annie :( so am going to try and see her next week at Cargo instead. Speaking of sexy scandinavians though, Lykke Li pwned the park.

xxpost

Saw FF play in Hull the week before. New stuff sounds completely brilliant, analogue keyboard noises and big fat 70s-sounding riffs and all. Album not til next year, apparently.