Last Glasto was an introduction to the festival, it was overwhelming and yet spectacular. I was in great company and of course there was Neil Young and Blur! This year it was about random connections, new friends, incredible music, sunshine and so many laughs (I think I spent 95% of the festival in a fit of giggles).
We were back on the bus this year. Thankfully it was a much smoother and less stressful journey than last glasto and we arrived at Pilton farm at the very socialable hour of 4 in the arvo. The sun was strong and I was already sweating and smelly… and I still had 5 shower-less days ahead of me.
We had planned to camp in the Park area and even though the info maps informed us that The Park was already full... we were determined ladies and decided to try our luck anyway. We treked through the Glasto jungle and found a spot quite quickly, but thanks to Nikki's insistence, me and Simone continued to search for a potentially better location. We found one. Strategically, it was right next to a gazebo... Awesome…this could come in handy when we needed some respite from the sun! It didn't take long for us to meet our neighbours... a crew from the west midlands with very strange accents! But more on that later.
We were in set-up camp and explore mode. First stop, buy hats and chill out at the stone circle. We eventually found ourselves at the Big Easy Jam at the Park stage… where anyone can pick up an instrument and jam to the likes of Blur, Radiohead, Oasis, Bob Marley (of course). I even learnt how to blow a conch! (not a euphemism).
As predicted, Thursday flew. There was more exploring, more befriending our neighbours and I got my Greenhouse Backpacker fix at the Small World Stage where me and Tristan met up for some beer and chai tea (not at the same time). That night I dragged Nikki over to Queens Head stage to see the Local Natives. Unfortunately they were kinda disappointing, but I’m putting that down to the fact that we couldn’t get into the tent, and listening from outside was never going to be much fun (I still love you Local Natives).
We had heard that Fat Boy Slim was DJing the silent disco at the Dance Village so we headed over to meet Simone and the BC boys. Fat Boy Slim didn’t materialize and the silent disco lost its charm fairly quickly. We tried and failed to make it to Shangrila and me, Nikki and Simone called it a night. Even though the days were hot, it was antarctic at night... there’s something particularly special about going to bed cold knowing that you’re going to wake up in the sun and sweating. Good morning Glastonbury.
I did fancy seeing Rolf Harris open the festival with ‘Tie me Kangaroo Down’ at the Pyramid stage… but I also fancied breakfast… and breakfast won. I heard that he pulled quite the enthusiastic crowd though. Me and Nikki met up with her Triple R friends by the Other stage and enjoyed Joshua Radin and the Stranglers. I went for a wander and caught some of Willie Nelson by the Pyramid stage and returned to the Other stage in time for Phoenix – the first band I was really keen to see of the fest! They opened with Liztomania – BRILLIANT, and kept the energy high all set. Really, really enjoyable.
Whilst Nikki and Simone made the journey over to Pyramid to catch the end of Snoop Dog I decided to get some rest under our, (erm, I mean our neighbours) gazebo before heading back to the Other stage for Florence and the Machine UNTIL… I get a phone call from a sly and excitable Nikki informing me that her and Simone are heading to the Park stage…. eventually she tells me that Radiohead are rumoured to be playing a secret gig. No.Fucking.Way! My first thought was that there are a lot of glasto rumours and most of them tend not to eventuate. My 2nd thought was I would never forgive myself if I missed Radiohead! I decided to catch the beginning of Florence, which would still give me plenty of time to get to the Park stage for the gig. Apparently Florence pulled the biggest crowd the Other stage had ever seen, she was a great performer, theatrical, giggly, fun…the only issue was my mind was preoccupied by Radiohead...so I cut my quality time with Florence short - and swiftly made my way to the Park stage.
By the time I got to the Park stage Nikki and Simone were up by the barriers and there was no way I was going to reach them. Not to worry, I was still close to the front and had a good view of the stage. I quickly befriended my excitable Radiohead enthusiast neighbours (except maybe for a Brazilian guy who I’m pretty sure just happened to have passed out there, and awoke to find himself at a Radiohead gig. When I told him who was playing he looked puzzled and was like ‘oh yeh, I think my ex-girlfriend use to like them’ DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST STUMBLED ON?)
Michael Eavis walked on stage and said something along the lines of ‘these guys don’t need any introduction’ and out walks Thom York… Cue grown men crying, crowd going crazy and strangers embracing like long-lost lovers. Even though most of the crowd already knew who was playing… there was still a collective gasp when Thom York appeared.
Thom York performed some of his solo stuff and was then joined by Jonny Greenwood for some Radiohead classics like Ideoteque, pyramid song and some more recent stuff from In Rainbows. There’s something so incredible about the collective energy of a crowd who refuse to let a song end. Very reminiscent of Blur playing Tender last year, the crowd continued to sing Karma Police ‘For a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myseellllf’ until Thom was compelled to join in again. It honestly felt like such a privilege to be able to see Radiohead play an intimate gig where they were clearly so thrilled to be there. The guy next to me (not the Brazilian clearly) declared it the best day of his life. It was easily the musical highlight of my weekend/(life). Do I want to get t-shirt that say ' I saw Radiohead at a secret gig at Glasto and now my life is complete' ? ... Yes. I really, really, do.
We hung around for Broken Bells next… but respect to them… Radiohead was never going to be an easy gig to follow! I’m not sure who could pull it off…
except.... maybe...the Flaming Lips !! Even though I’de heard over and over how amazing their live show is, I was still completely mesmerized at their production. They had lasers, streamers, giant inflatable balls, people dressed as animals on stage, smoke … and of course some proper awesome songs! Got to hear the classics, and they ended on a ‘Do you realise’ which was beautiful and emotional. DAMN this festival is good!
Saturday was hot, so maybe having porridge for brekkie wasn’t the smartest idea (that’s me, I live on the edge). Never mind, there was a basin with running water and a half hour line to wait in for our morning 'shower' ... special thanks to the girl who actually stood at the basins shaving her legs !!!!
Reef were there to give me my Sat morning 90s rock fix. The sun was draining our energy a little and so some shade at the Glade area was sought. Even though it was tempting to spend the arvo with a beer in the shade, I had been too excited about Jackson Browne to miss it and so I made the long walk over to the Pyramid stage solo. Jackson Browne was great but didn’t play any of the classics which was a little disappointing. As I headed back to the camping area I stopped off in the Dance Village to wash my hair (oh yes I did… and I’de do it again!). And then popped into the Pussy Parlour – a kind of Spiegeltent with burlesque dancers and red velvet booths, for a pint and some random chats before heading back to base camp. I had ended up spending a good deal of time in the sun afterall and so instead of seeing the National I lazed about listening to them from the peaceful shade of our gazebo (yes by this point I think I can start calling it ours).
Sat evening was starting to pose a very difficult decision…. leading up to glasto i was determined to see Parliament headline the West Holts stage at all costs (those costs being Muse and Pet Shop Boys). My reasoning was that George Clinton is surely going to collapse, die, cause a minor earthquake and maybe take some of us out with him and I will have missed my chance to see my favourite obese 70s funk pop star. BUT everyone kept banging on about how good Muse was going to be! And by this stage I was starting to grow quite fond of my new crew and *cough* may have been enjoying their company immensely (and no longer just using them for their shade, beer, food, chairs and other festival comforts). I even started to understand some of what they were saying!
Everyone else was going to Muse and I couldn't help but think it would be really fun for us all to be at the headliner together...In any case we made our way to the Pyramid stage for the Scissor Sisters. We got there just in time to see 'our' Kylie make a guest appearance. Gooooooo Kylie (she looked/sounded hot). Scissor Sistors were (of course) really fun, and I had one of those random Glasto moments where I bumped into someone I didn't know was at the fest (actually I didn't know they were in the country) and the conversation goes along the lines of 'you're here.... but i'm here!' ... etc.
And so...I stayed for Muse and I missed Parliament .... and I.am.so freakin glad I did! Muse were amazing ! You could feel the energy through the 100 000 odd crowd. Muse are just built for playing live ... or maybe it was just one of those gigs were everything comes together and just works. They gave Glasto that really big, showy, rocky headliner, going off slot which, from what I heard Gorillaz hadn't, and Stevie (whilst loads of fun) was never going to. The Edge encored with Muse to play Where the Streets Have No Name (c'mon a great U2 song) and I had this feeling that so far, somehow, i've managed to find myself at the right places at the right time. And, as I had presumed, being there with my new bffs just made the experience even more fun/special.
We were all on a massive high after Muse and were determined to finally get to Shangrila. It only took about 5 hours...(Glasto has its own space/time continuum - i'm sure of it... I have no idea where those hours went). We danced until it was light before managing a couple hours sleep.
And like that, it was the last day of the festival! 4 days in the sun, sleep deprivation and a touch of over-indulgence the night before took its toll... and I was forced to take it very easy Sunday morning. Me and Nikki lazed about in the Green Fields unable to face the harsh English sun (did you ever think you'd see those 3 words together in a sentence?). I missed Paloma Faith in the process, I think I would have really enjoyed her. Eventually I caught the Temper Trap at the Other stage - having seen them at Glasto last year with about 30 of Temper Traps nearest and dearest...it was kinda cool to now seem them with more like 30 000 other people. But it was pretty much the same set as last year, and the lead singer seemed to be struggling with those falsettos his songs so heavily rely on.
I hung around for Grizzly Bear, who unfortunately for them were playing during the England V Germany match which seemed to have reduced the crowd considerably. Still, they were very personable and even played some of the match over the radio during their set.
At this point I really, really wish I had gone to see Slash at Pyramid. He played 'Knockin at Heavens door' and 'Sweet Child of mine' apparently .... but it clashed with lying in the shade passed out....daaammmnit. I awoke in time for MGMT and LCD Soundsystem at the Other stage. The last time I saw MGMT at Meredith fest they were disappointing... but their songs represent a really fun/happy time in my life, and I wanted to give them another chance. Turns out they're just a bit of a shit live band. Don't think I'll be giving them any more chances. LCD on the other hand more than made up for it. Lead singer was hilarious for starters... (who knew singing about human faeces was so funny?) and they were perfect for that sun setting, pre-headliner, last night of glasto, time slot.
AND FINALLY there was Stevie Wonder, a proper legend! Me and Nikki were a little late and so it was very difficult to get any view of the stage whatsoever, but we could see the screen (at times). I knew I really wanted to see him, but I really didn't know what to expect. Stevie turned out to be really charismatic, totally kooky and quite funny! He preached peace and respect between songs but by saying things like 'All the haters of the world should just drink some hatoraid and die!' RESPECT! I can't promise that I didn't shriek like a 16 year old when he sung 'I just called to say I love you' (reminds me of my childhood!) and 'Living for the City'. And yes, of course, hearing 'Superstition' was a special moment, as was Stevie singing 'Happy Birthday' with Michael Eavis on stage (FYI Eavis is completely tone deaf!). Stevie was completely different to anyone I had seen at Glasto (or any festival) before, but seeing someone who's so super talented and who has overcome hardship/disabilities to become a music legend made my soul happy.
Again, on a massive high, we re-joined our new Glasto bffs and found ourselves at Arcadia. We got our drum and bass shoes on (it's been a while since i've done that) and danced under a structure that looked like it was out of Tank Girl, complete with fire shows and acrobatics. Possibly one of my most fun dances of the fest actually. Well exhausted we thought we'd watch the sunrise from the stone circle (major glasto cliche). But as was becoming a common occurrence, I fell asleep at the stone circle and missed the sunrise anyway.
Monday was a mix of extreme emotions... I was still riding the high of the festival and I had absolutely no desire for Glasto to end! I was also really depressed to be saying goodbye to the lads...who I had grown so fond of, and who had filled my festival with laughs and adventures and friendship. It had all just been too much fun. This was obvious when our bus had an accident on the way home...and me and Nikki STILL couldn't wipe the grins off our faces.
It's like those rare moments, where you catch yourself, and realise all of sudden... that everything has just gone right, and you are just completely blissfully content and you never want that moment to end. That is how I felt...but for 5 days. Like I said last year, this festival is so much more than just the music. Thanks for sharing it with me!
