Glastonbury 2013: the Rolling Stones, Mumford & Sons and Artic Monkeys

Just found out the headliners for this years Glasto. How do those headliners appeal to you?

*drones launched* Sorry, what?

Glastonbury attenders kinda get what they deserve by definition

This is the first time I haven't been able to get a ticket in the first round and I'm hoping the mass 'who gives a shit?' will make the resale easier in April.

I'm not exactly sure what they did to fail to get Kraftwerk given they're seemingly playing every other festival in Europe but srsly Eavises...

Kraftwerk are playing Latitude but they're basically the only music on the line-up that i give a shit about

I actually bought a day ticket for Latitude purely on the basis of Kraftwerk but I would happily watch most of the rest of that day's line-up anyway. Conveniently the organisers have put all the good music on the same day, which was nice of them.

Would totally see Portishead at Glastonbury but their presence is basically a guarantee of it shitting with rain all weekend.

Lol I saw Portishead at Glastonbury 95. Obviously when they booked them not that many people had geard of them because they were playing in the acoustc tent. We got there early to get near the front and had to endure a mediocre country band. By the end of their set the tent was packed and people were even out in the field behind all because of Portishead.

Just found out the headliners for this years Glasto.

Mud in the field, shit on the stage, lovely...

So we'd endured the country band and the anticipation was palpable, next on the bill Portishead. After tge band had finished the curtains were drawn for some time. Suddenly an announcement came over the PA. "Due to his none appearance yesterday, we present to you.. Mr Evan Dando."

Didn't he basically turn up on every stage he could find that year whether they wanted him or not? I kind of think of him as the Florence Welch of the mid-90s.

xp Curtains open, tent is suddenly empty.

Crowd weren't happy. As curtains opened crowd began shouting stuff like "Dando shit!" During about the fifth song he got really angry and started playing his guiitar stupidly, before shouting "i didn't want to come to this fucking hippie fuckfest anyway!" and walking off.

xps Evan attempted to compensate afterwards by playing what in another era would be called 'guerrilla gigs' in the middle of fields, obv off his tits. I sat right next to him at one of these and aged 15 it was the first time I'd been in proximity to anyone remotely famous

I'd like to think that this was the difference between me going on to be 'a celebrity-obsessed habitual TMZ refresher' and 'someone who posts lazy zings to ILX'

i've been to about seven glastonburys and only seen three headliners in total, so never too fussed about it
some real great stuff elsewhere, very much stoked for chic with nile rogers, tom tom club, phoenix and goat.

Arctic Monkeys were really good at Orion.

Lol Mumfords though. Are they playing every festival in existence this summer (except Orion)?

There is probably no band who sum up the most annoying aspects of modern Glastonbury more than Mumford & Sons, in fairness.

rolling stones

Trying hard to figure out which of those three acts will have the most tired old shit in their set.

A Stones greatest hits set in a festival atmosphere would still be great, I'd be willing to bet. Not new or surprising obviously but probably a lot of fun.

True, that would work. The Stones being the only one of the three who have enough old shit that isn't tired. But if their set is made up of Voodoo Lounge and onwards, then... that's still be better than Scumford & Co.

Are the Rolling Stones opening for the Arctic Monkeys? (judging from the poster)

it's written as headliners by day, ie the Stones are on Saturday

Headliners are always a red herring at Glastonbury and there's only a limited pool to draw from. OK, Kraftwerk would have been good but who else? Prince? Too expensive/ornery. Daft Punk? Not touring. Kanye? See Prince, and I'm not sure his current me-and-my-madness live show would work at Glastonbury anyway. Stone Roses? I'm sure they asked. I could see Depeche Mode, the Cure or Madonna working but I don't think the list of potential headliners is ever very long.

Mumfords are as inevitable a booking as there has ever been - you could see it coming two years ago. Stones will be fun, otherwise several alternative stages await.

The pool of potential headliners is much shallower than it was in the 90s as well, you have to be bigger to headline now, and fewer bands get to that level (or even late 90s level frankly).

Looking back, any old chancer could headline in the 90s. But when you've had Beyonce! Jay-Z! U2! you can't be dicking around with the equivalents of the Levellers or Skunk Anansie. Obviously on one level Mumfords ARE the Levellers, but they have Grammys.

lol was just about to mention Skunk Anansie

Skunk Anansie piss all over the likes of the Arctic Monkeys

Both terrible bands but I think DL's point was more about how big you needed to be to headline. Skunk Anansie didn't actually sell that many records as far as I know, they wouldn't get near the top of the bill now.

Would they even get in the acoustic tent?

didn't Skunk Anansie fill in for someone else at the last minute? p sure I was there whatever year that was. could look this up I guess

It's not so much Skunk Anansie's relative merits as compared to Arctic Monkeys (not keen on either band) but the fact that they actually headlined Glastonbury which I find unbelievable- and did at the time too, given that the other two headliners were The Prodigy and Radiohead. I seem to remember you're right DJ Mencap, but can't seem to find anything online...

I might be conflating it with Ash in 1997 (subbing for Steve Winwood of all ppl), this comes courtesy of an aged ILM post from DL hisself

Was it the final night? There's a history of headliners on the final night being a case of "it's only xxx, if you want to leave early to avoid the crush, no biggie"

Also, what's a headliner? When they boldly stated "Beyonce, the first female headliner", I thought "um, Susanne Vega? and, yes, Skunk Anansie?"

Listening to 6Music over breakfast this morning, there was a record by the Wonder Stuff. I forgot they had a fiddle player. I blame them for Mumford & Sons really.

Did they ever? "Hey, compare us to Slade, everybody! Look, look, we're doing "Cz I luv u"..."

xxp Skunk Anansie were on the Sunday night, yes. Given the atrocious conditions that weekend I recall a fair few people had given up already.

Skunk Anansie headlined in 99, same year as REM and the Manics, it was boiling and completely dry that year.

hah correct what am I on about, it was Ash headlining that year, sorry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Festival_line-ups#Pyramid_stage_10

Kula Shaker (replaced Neil Young)

So which year was it when the stage started sinking into the ground while Echo and the Bunnymen were performing?

1486

'85 IIRC.

No it was during their post Electrofixion comeback

Ah, I'd stopped going by then.

I could totally see Mumford & Sons doing Size of a Cow for Comic Relief.

Glastonbury 2013: Old Men, Old Man Hat, and Old Hat

xxp saw it on the news

Stage sink year was the first if the 2 insane mud fest 90s years; 1997. Second stage as good as sank.

*of

Anyone else going this year? I got tickets in the final wave of release and after initially being less than bothered I'm now at the requisite level of giddy excitement.

Still holding out for Mumford & Sons pulling out at the last moment though.

If that list for 2014 was the line up, I'd actually make sure I was there some way or another.
4 Glastonbury's was enough, I lucked out on the weather and thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them. I doubt very much I'll ever go again.

Kasabian??!?!?!? Are they really that popular?

yes

but... why

mate of mine is considering going with a (yet-to-be-born) baby. I immediately thought this was the worst idea ever (the facilities! the noise! the muggings-at-knifepoint-in-your-tent! the twats!) but then realised I haven't been since 1999. What's different? Is it safer just because it's properly middle-class now? Taking kids to Glastonbury seems like a recipe for having all the worst bits hit hard and missing all the good bits, but what do i know?

I never understood kids when I was one so I sure as hell cannot understand them now. However they are remarkably popular with the over 30s too but I still cannot explain it.

didn't people always take kids? those late 90s are supposedly very different to what it was before and after since the fence. Matt will know

the muggings-at-knifepoint-in-your-tent

as someone who went to only an early-00s one of these ever this seems ... weirdly hysterical and unlikely. but i don't know, i could have just been oblivious.

?

am I seriously having an actual mugging mansplained away as hysterical

We've avoided that heavy American rock like Offspring

lmao

I don't think thomp realised you were talking about an actual mugging, kinder. Those stories go around all the time, it's one of those 'Scallies will steal your shoes' things that always happens to friends-of-friends or is written about moral panic style in right-wing papers ('hysterical' also being non-gendered when aimed at that form of story, regardless of its etymology).

The BBC iplayer seems to have loads of these live sets in full.

e.g.Portishead's set seems to run to 70 mins on there.

re muggings etc, late 90s/ early 00s pre-superfence era could be scary, 2000 was notoriously horrendous (quote from Eavis; "At one stage after the 2000 festival I thought I would never get a license again.. ") a proper amount of erberts knocking about, record crime etc. our kid had her phone nicked out of her hand that year, mate had his tent ransacked as he slept, people stamping through camping bits on the rob left right and centre, the dance tent bit in particular was just horrible. after the fence was built in the 2001 year off it was safe as houses, course you heard folk say it was 'sanitised' and had lost it's 'edge' but i knew which i preferred.

I was there most years from 1998 onwards for a while, and there was definitely a big change the first year the fence went up, mostly because it felt a lot emptier. I never found it scary before then, though, and I knew people who had babies with them and it never seemed to be a problem.

Portishead were amazing in 1998, first time I ever saw them and they blew me away.

We've avoided that heavy American rock like Offspring

lmao

― "If you like the Byrds, try Depeche Mode" (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, July 1, 2013 10:43 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

first pit I was ever in age 15 was Offspring at Glastonbury when 'Smash' was blowing up and it was pretty brutal tbrr

Kasabian??!?!?!? Are they really that popular?

― Chewshabadoo, Monday, July 1, 2013 9:26 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes

― Algerian Goalkeeper, Monday, July 1, 2013 9:38 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

when that bookie is talking about headliners does that not imply Saturday night headliners...? like I get that Kasabian are hueg in an ignorable/insidious kind of way but they're an arena sized band and it seems like the stakes have been raised so that Gloastonbury's flagship act for the year has to be a stadium kinda deal

the extra O in "Gloastonbury" is quite satisfying to say out loud fyi

Do people really mosh these days, outside punk or metal gigs? I know people would mosh to pretty much anything in the 90s but you barely see it at Glastonbury now. We walked past the Smashing Pumpkins playing Bullet With Butterfly Wings and there was barely anything going on. Plus there's an enclosure near the stage to protect people at the front in the event of a big crush.

I highly doubt Black Sabbath is the kind of thing Eavis was talking about when he made that statement at the height of the nu-metal era. He's prepared to book Zeppelin after all, but I'm not sure they'd have much interest in Sabbath either.

Any crush danger is more likely to come from putting massive draws in tents that can't cope with them (ie Disclosure) but I think security are pretty good at dealing with that now.

FWIW I think kids are an integral part of Glastonbury, they've been there as long asd I can remember, and there are two kids fields, one of which they don't let people into without a child. The Green kids field had a big pirate ship and kids on spacehoppers. It looked pretty idyllic to be honest. Plus the area around the circus and theatre fields are really kid-friendly.

You definitely see more babies these days, usually wearing big ear protectors. Can't say I'd consider taking one, but friends of ours brought a one-year old, although we didn't see them past Wednesday.

It was definitely crazier pre-fence, because pretty much anyone could get in, but I feel like the craziness has ramped up in the last few years, since the Shangri-La field became a big thing. But there's been a family camping field for years, which looks pretty sedate.

Is there a "field where people get a good nights sleep" yet?

(it's not for me...)

when that bookie is talking about headliners does that not imply Saturday night headliners...?

I assume it means on any of the three days. So Kasabian or Kings of Leon are quite likely to do Friday

as a non festival attender i guess the point is that they can have despicable shitbags like Kasabian headlining to draw in the drones and you're quite free to go and watch something musical instead

The BBC iplayer seems to have loads of these live sets in full.

they will vanish after 7 days though. http://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury has approx. 1 hour highlights for each act that last for 30 days (UK only obv)

Will have to grab 'em while I can..

Didn't bother to watch any of this, but did have a look at the line-up over the three days and quickly found that there would have been only about 3 or 4 bands I would have wanted to have seen, anyway. Pretty taken aback at how much the line-up doesn't reflect what I'm actually listening to in 2013 for the most part, even on the smaller stages.

Yeah, but even when it did, I'd spend more time on the 'comedy' stages and the other places than the main / 2nd main stage..

Actually, I was dismissive about Glastonbury this year as I am every year but the line-up looks pretty great to me. I don't know what the West Holts stage is but looks like I could've just hung out there every day and had a reasonable amount of fun.

It's a good field to hang out in, in general, not usually too packed and also surrounded with good food and drink places.

just watched the portishead set on my big tv.
f*ck.
not that much of a fan, but that was brilliant.
intense.
love love love the way beth turns her back while the band get into it, and just soaks up the noise.
thought i would get bored.
but no ... mesmerising to the extreme.
lucky you matt.
(mate at work also said they were his fave of the weekend ... hence the double nudge)

they were amazing when i saw them at the barras in 97 or 98

Will have to save a bunch of these to DVD before they go..

taking orders? :)

Hmmmm. ()

I saw Portishead at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool in '94. Place was full of idiots who wouldn't shut up. Final 20 minutes were glorious though.

Their headline set at the ATP they curated was probably the best gig I've seen. It SOUNDED incredible.

Not managed to find the full portishead set on BBC catchup or iplayer yet. So far my highlight is Bobby Womack. I love him anyway, but he was on fire.

^^^ amazing show

Their headline set at the ATP they curated was probably the best gig I've seen. It SOUNDED incredible.

― kraudive, Tuesday, July 2, 2013 9:15 PM (Yesterday)

Same here. Their first night at that was especially spine-tingling, I thought.

I went to Glastonbury in the early '90s when the crusties/ravers were climbing over the fence in their droves, but I don't remember it feeling particularly dangerous.

Dr X, it's here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ej58q9/acts/aqnv4f#p01c2ftd

pretty intense Savages show in a third-full John Peel tent

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p01c3hyb/Glastonbury_2013_Savages_Glastonbury_2013/

I saw their Friday afternoon in the smaller William's Green tent and it was magnificent. Surprised they didn't get a better showing on Saturday.

Just watched Portishead now, brilliant. Beth seemed so nice at the end as well, really humble

yeah .. that was a real eye opener for me.
after the cold distance of the performance, the 'hope that was all right' outburst was totally unexpected.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ej58q9/performances/lg49mb

Really nice page with all the links!

You have until 30th July to fill your boots before it's all gone.

(Well, the performances, I mean. I daresay the pics will be there forever)

sorry, that date is the 29th July at 01:51, certainly as far as the Portishead foorage is concerned.

rokia traoré! oh wait it's not actually on there :-(

Thanks Tracerhand, I found Portishead footage, which was amazing, and am about halfway through Savages now