Yes bloggers- I am one of those lucky gits that spent the last 5 days in festival fever- covered in mud, immersed in music and taken back by the spectacular awesomeness that is the Glastonbury Festival. From the glorious sunshine to the pouring rain- the deepest mud to the greenest field- the heaviest rock to the gangsta' rap- I can say: I was there!
I have showered and slept and I can divulge into the highs, lows and mind blowing events of Glasto 2k11. The biggest festival has done it again- with 175 000 muddy campers arriving home as happy as larry.
On arrival you are thrown straight into the outdoor life- hurded through the Glastonbury fields like a cattle. Seas of people like pack-horses buckling under the weight of everything plus the kitchen sink. And let me tell you- when your brother dishes out 4 years worth of Festival experience and suggests you "take two trips from the car"- LISTEN! The walk was, in a word, agony. A camping bag nearly your size strapped to your back and a bottle of Ashbeck in hand as you treck through foreign fields for 2-3 hours desperately trying to find a pitch- is not fun. But what follows makes the gruelling pain entirely worth it.
When a pitch is found- and the tent is up (thanks to the boyfriend) a well deserved nap is on the cards. At £700 plus for a tipi, glamping was not an option but our four man tent provided all the shelter we needed from the pouring rain and beaming sun that followed. It was goodnight Sienna as the journey turned our afternoon nap into a 14 hour sleep.
Thursday was the perfect day for some sight seeing at Glastonbury- walks around the campus-- through the stalls of food and festive clothing, to the healing fields and the stone circle, the Holywood-esque 'Glastonbury' sign and when the sun goes down a trip to Shangri-La. It was the perfect time to check out the Post Apocalyptic design of Block 9. A late night wonderland of breathtaking creations and serious soundsystems including bars, nightclubs, a restaurant, huge art installations and extremely alternative cabaret. This grunge-heaven included taxi cabs and tube trains smashed into buildings and actors scattered everywhere to "infect" you with UV paint. In many ways, Glastonbury is like loads of different festivals converging on the same gorgeous countryside for one blissful weekend. Each area of the Festival has its own character, its own loyal fans and its own special attractions: so the Dance Village is as distinct from the Green Fields as the Circus & Theatre fields are from The Park.
The line up Mike Eavis had in store for us lucky campers was incredible- but the clashes made the choice incredibly difficult! My Friday kicked off at the Pyramid stage with The Two Door Cinema Club. Set to complete a few summer appearances before heading back into the studio, the Bangor boys warmed up the Glastonbury crowd as the weather stayed surprisingly warm and the trickles of rain didn't seem to spoil the atmosphere as the crowds joined in with What You Know and Undercover Martyn. Next to appear on the Pyramid Stage was the Wu Tang Clan- there I was- the least gangsta' of the lot, at the front of the crowd with my 'W' sign bowing in the air as the bass blew from the speakers. What I thought would be a bit of a giggle actually turned out to be unbelievably enjoyable- and while I question some of the things said by the clan (about us being brethren whether we are black white or yellow-risqué) the energy omitted by the rappers was incredible.
A visit to the Acoustic Tent to see Newton Faulkner was the perfect remedy to the rainy blues. Newtons charm teamed with his beautiful performance of Dream Catch me and infamous Bohemian Rhapsody cover left me with a smile the size of Jupiter. While Biffy Clyros performance wasn't all I hoped it would be they saved face with their last few songs including Mountains and Collide. Then it was straight to the Other Stage for a set made of dreams by Mumford and Sons. The folk bands rabble rousing set had us singing, dancing, cheering and generally falling in love with their every move.
It was back to the Pyramid for Fridays headline act to top off the 'Beautiful Day'; U2. Ego and frontman Bono, briefly dropped the social crusade and appeared to evoke The Fly rock star persona with a leather outfit that would make Morrissey physically sick, and the traditional sunglasses which provoked much the same reaction. He removed the iconic eyewear once to ‘wipe the tears away’ during a crowd pleasing rendition of Sunday Bloody Sunday. U2 will never fail with a greatest hits set that had the entire crowd crooning. Bono apologised for 'phoning in sick last year' and even played homage to fellow headliners Coldplay with a cover of Yellow and a less advisable cover of Destiny’s Child chart hit Independent Women.
Saturdays acts kicked off with a breathtaking set by Jessie J. I was in awe as the injured diva performed flawless vocals while sitting down! Jessie had the crowd laughing, singing and dancing with her incredible stage presence- she invited fans to dance on stage with her, one lucky little girl to sing "Price Tag" with the star while cuddling up on JJs thrown- and the down to earth Jessie even covered her face with mud to feel closer to her fans. Jessie J was definitely a highlight.
The days acts remained at a high as Tinie Tempah took to the Pyramid stage-the current golden boy of UK hip-hop. The time was ripe for the rapper to supply Glastonbury's big pop moment and he happily obliged. There is something in the 22-year-old's lyrics -- a sense of humour, some hints of self-doubt -- that reaches people through the usual rapper bravado, though of course it helps that 'Wonderman', 'Written In The Stars' and 'Pass Out' are all impossible not to dance to. He had the crowd crouched down low and going crazy as he performed not only his tunes but a medley of the biggest pop music of 2010/11. Tinie Tempah passed the Pyramid test with flying colours.
Paolo Nutini was next to grace the Pyramid stage- he was his usual drunk and drugged- but his songs were as always catchy- so the set wasn't a complete let down. The next band surprised me and had possibly the anthem that I'd take away from this years Glastonbury as the crowd repeatedly sang for several minutes "one day like this a year will see me right." Yes- Elbow rocked Glastonbury 2011- the reverse Mexican Wave was epic and ultimate lad and frontman Guy Garvey gave into the DOWN IT peer pressure and storpeedoed his beer to celebrate the bands 20th anniversary. The perfect band to gear-up the audience for Coldplay.
Headliners Coldplay, now old-hands at this Glastonbury headlining lark, showed newbies U2 how it's done with lasers, flares and pyrotechnics aplenty, and a fair few tunes thrown in to boot. Chris Martin even apologised for playing new songs, including single, 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall', saying "Please forgive us for playing new songs, one day they'll be your favourites." He needn't have worried even with new song blunders -- with a set which included the singalong power of 'Fix You', 'Yellow' (to which I made my TV debut on BBC 2- full face shot: see 4:07 on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhko_rOF6Uo ) and 'Clocks', Coldplay made sure the amassed Glastonbury crowd didn't leave feeling short-changed.
Sunday began with welsh band Joy Formidable taking to the John Peel Stage- an amazing rock set of a lesser known band which could only end in the complete destruction of the stage set and instruments complete with wailing and lead singer Ritzey trashing on the floor. It was then on to the front of the Pyramid Stage for a non movable 6 hours worth of bands and waiting for Beyonce. During the wait was legend Paul Simon whos 'throat infection' paired with an audience who really wernt there for him left the set with alot to be desired. While renditions of 50 ways to leave your lover and slip sliding away got the audience singing and spirits flowing-something was still missing. However, short, unassuming, in jeans, a T-shirt and an open shirt, Simon had few words and fewer grand gestures. He wasn’t there to play the superstar, he was there to sing and play with his band. And there can hardly be a more musical collection of hired hands on the superstar circuit.
Next to proceed Simon was Plan B whose ascendency to pop fame is confirmed by the size of the crowd he drew. It's hard to work out what's more striking: the way he manages to project emotional fragility to such a huge audience, or the sight of such a vast crowd cheerily singing along to Prayin' (a song about a prison murder.) While it wasn't my favourite set of the weekend the duet of stand by me, kiss from a rose and my girl between Plan B and his beat-boxing support act FX was just incredible. The sense that Plan B is a unique artist is heavily underlined throughout the set. Now what follows, was probably the most horrific part of the weekend, and an error on Mikey Eavis' part. Why anyone would chose Pendulum to support act Beyonce is beyond. Dont get me wrong- Pendulums music is amazing- and their live set was outstanding- or it would have been if I had time to catch my breath and unlodge myself from between two overly large ravers, soaked in sweat- not entirely their own. I literally went through blood, sweat and tears to keep my front spot for diva Beyonce Knowles. The amount of girls that had queued hours for B- who were heaved out by security men throughout Pendulum was ridiculous and the constant water dished out by security was wasted- ending up over my head several times.
Alas!-the wait and sweaty pain was worth it- as Beyonce ascended through mists of smoke to join her all female band on stage for her opening number Crazy in Love- which feaured giant fireworks on each side of the stage in time to the track's signature trumpets. She told us: "I always wanted to be a rock star, and tonight we are all rock stars, I want to make beautiful memories and be free tonight.” And what memories we have to take away fellow Glastonburiers! After a raunchy performance of Naughty Girl she brought out British rapper Tricky to guest on Baby Boy, while he seemed a bit lost, his microphone non-existent and almost like someone who had won a competition to sing along side her B brought the temperature right back up with a series of mash-ups – 'Alanis Morrissette's You Oughta Know during If I Were A Boy before her own Sweet Dreams slid into Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by Eurythmics. Along with new breathtaking songs Beyonce also heralded back to her nostalgic Destiny Child past with a medley of their best- as all 175 000 of us shouted hello to Kelly and Michelle. Not to mention the intersperse of her and Lady Gs 'Telephone'. 'Irreplaceable' saw a mass singalong in the crowd as we took the lead on the entire first verse with Beyonce standing in awe. As her set came to an end with 'Halo' Beyonce told the crowd: "A girl, a woman, a young lady has not headlined for 20 years. This is history for me." She did herself proud, she did Glastonbury proud- what a finale to Glastonbury 2011.
Now- sitting back home with a bronzen glow, a UV Glastonbury 2011 band on my wrist and a pair of very muddy wellies in my garden I can smile and say- I was at Glastonbury 2011.
-ZB
1 comments:
I was at Glastonbury 2011!
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