venta | Entries tagged with glastonbury

It's time for the annual mega-bulletin from actually-not-at-all-muddy Glastonbury. Food-related reports will appear in a separate post, just for

lathany. Photos are on Flickr (though heavily overcast skies mean a lot of rather flat-looking snaps this year...)

If you're not familiar with my Glastonbury write-ups, they're mostly for the reference of my future self. They go on and on.

Wednesday
3 Daft Monkeys

( Haven't you always wanted a monkey? )

Thursday
Andrew Maxwell-Morris, New York Brass Band, Elle & the Pocket Belles, Rusty Shackle, Napalm Death, [Mik Artistic], The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Oh My God! It's the Church

( A heavy bassline is my kind of silence )

Friday
Hacienda Classical, The Pretenders, Rews, Black Honey, Nothing But Thieves, First Aid Kit, The Young 'Uns, Kris Kristofferson, [Royal Blood], Ride, [Clean Bandit], The Flaming Lips
( I know a girl who goes to shows )

Saturday
The Bootleg Beatles, Afriquoi, British Sea Power, The Egg, Ralph McTell, singer-from-She-Drew-The-Gun, Steve Knightley, Billy Bragg, Kaiser Chiefs, The Avalanches, The National, Father John Misty, The Foo Fighters
( You get a tan from standing in the English rain )

Sunday
She Drew The Gun, [Marsh Fires], [Sound of the Sirens], Noble Jacks, [Cassetteboy], Dropkick Murphys, Beans on Toast, Perhaps Contraption(?) Barry Gibb, Blaenavon, Chic, [Courteeners], London Grammar, [Ed Sheeran], Metronomy
( How long until they build a wall and call it a private city? )

Crossposts: http://venta.livejournal.com/544332.html

It's time for the annual mega-post reporting on Glastonbury. If you dislike words (or dislike an excess of words) then try the nearly word-free version on Flickr instead.

Also, a disclaimer: my legs are still not working properly. I was aware before I set off that this year was going to be quite a minimalist festival for me. Usually we rack up miles and miles each day walking backwards and forwards across the site, and I just wasn't going to be up to that. In addition, the weather was unfriendly and it was one of those years when everyone finds it difficult to get around; walking in thick, sucking mud is surprisingly hard work. Accordingly, there is much less serendipitous weirdness below than in other years.

Wednesday
( The West Country's always been good to me )

Thursday
Tankus the Henge, The Smyths, Mr B. The Gentleman Rhymer

( Smiling makes the day go quicker )

Friday
James, Blossoms, Christine & the Queens, Beans on Toast, Billy Bragg, a couple of not-quite-sure people on Leftfield, Two Door Cinema Club, Editors, Explosions in the Sky, Bastille, Sigur Ros.

( I'm doing my face with magic marker )

Saturday
Palace, [Inheaven], Anna Meredith, Odissee & Good Company, Hurts, Madness, John Grant, Chvrches, Mercury Rev, Adele

( You could be laughing 65% more of the time )

Sunday
She Drew The Gun, Tired Lion, [Matt Corby], Mystery Jets, Bat for Lashes, Jeff Lynn's ELO, Fishermans Friends, [Bootleg Beatles], PJ Harvey, Jake Bugg.

( Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race )

And that's that, for another year. I intend to do a separate post about food. And I intend to get tickets and have a much more reportable festival next year ;)

I've got a bit behind... This post relates to the day 110 days after I fell down a mountain and bust my knees.

( Day 110 )

I promised, a few days ago, that I would do a separate post about the food I ate at Glastonbury. In some ways, this wasn't a great year to do it. Hot weather and a slightly dicey stomach meant I probably ate rather less than usual - in ordinary years, the net effect of being surrounded by amazing food stalls is that I have about five meals a day.

I endeavoured to take a snap of everything I ate, but be warned! They really are snaps. Food photography is hard, and due to feeling like a massive idiot taking photos of my food, I tended to get it over with as quickly as possible. There are also a few where I only remembered half way through a meal, and it's pretty much impossible to make a half-eaten dish look nice.

( To The Food! )

Right. It's been a week since I got back from the greatest performing arts festival in the world / that shithole in Somerset (delete as applicable). I've just about caught up on sleep and sorted out the photos. So!

(As usual, a band in [brackets] is one I either saw very little of, or heard vaguely in the distance while I was doing something else.

Also as usual, this entry is far too bloody long. Read at own risk.)

A lightweight, largely text-free version of what I did can be found on Flickr.

Wednesday

Big Beat Junk Band

( Like the legend of the Phoenix, all ends with beginnings )

Thursday

Wilco Johnson, New York Brass Band, [Gecko], Rory Mcleod, [Showhawk Duo], Beans on Toast, Mik Artistic, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing

( Come rain or shine I'll deal with it )

Friday

Charlatans, The Egg, Bastille, Other Lives, Stornoway, Stealing Sheep, [Mary J Blige], [Motörhead], [TOY], The Libertines, Mark Ronson, Florence & the Machine, [Super Furry Animals]

( The storm has broken, heavens opened )

Saturday

Frank Turner, Everything Everything, [Burt Bacharach], Thee Faction, Paloma Faith, Todd Terje, Suede

( It’s a lovely sunny day )

Sunday

[Rival Sons], SOAK., [Unknown band], Cassetteboy vs. DJ Rubbish, Patti Smith, Alvvays, Django Django, Future Islands, New York Brass Band, Unknown-band-in-Engine-Room, [fka twigs], Idlewild, FFS, Slamboree, Gaudi

( You don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows )

Monday

Monday was shamelessly lazy; we walked about a bit as the site began to be dismantled, packed up our tent, and observed that both the human and avian recycling crews were moving in to deal with the shocking mess left behind. Our coach departed smartly at 4pm, but bad traffic meant it took until nearly 10pm to get back to the O2.

I really should have taken Tuesday off work :)

Hello. It's July. And at the end of June you know what happens, right? I go off to the world's greatest performing arts festival, and then drivel on for pages and pages about it.

So here we are, Glastonbury 2014. If you are allergic to words, you can find the pictorial version on Flickr.

Wednesday

( Can't get a gig at Glastonbury this year )

Thursday

Gaz Brookfield, The 1975, Metronomy, Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer

( There's a festival in Pilton where I need to sink a beer )

Friday

Kaiser Chiefs, Alabama 3, [Blondie], Rodrigo y Gabriela, [The Young 'Uns], [De La Soul], Kevin P Gilday, Abe Nouk, [Fishermans Friends], The Tuts, Foster the People, Interpol, [Elbow], Lykke Li, Arcade Fire

( What do you want for tea? I want crisps )

Saturday

Nick Mulvey, Balina Whalers, Prof. Elemental, The Riptide Movement, Warpaint, Courtney Barnett, Clean Bandit, [George Ezra], Manic Street Preachers, [Goldfrapp], Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, Metallica

( Thou shalt not question Billy Bragg )

Sunday

Billy Bragg, English National Ballet, CC Smugglers, Attila the Stockbroker, [Billy Bragg], [Soak], [White Lies], Public Service Broadcasting, Dolly Parton, Jake Bugg, Bombay Bicycle Club, [Kate Tempest], Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit, Kasabian

( Theirs is a land with a wall around it, and mine is a faith in my fellow man )

Current Music: Foster the People [BBC Glasto coverage]

Yesterday was the annual F5-fest of Glastonbury tickets going on sale. Which was made considerably more protracted because Seetickets were having "technical issues" for the first 30 minutes of the sale period.

I was also watching #glastonbury on the twitters. Lots of people berated Seetickets for their poor timing in having "technical issues" the day Glasto tickets go on sale. Er, y'know? I don't think it's coincidental. I think we, the Glastonbury punters, pretty much are the technical issues.

From the numbers I've seen, there were a million people registered to buy 135,000 tickets. That means a lot of disappointed people. And that's not Seetickets' fault. Once the issues were resolved, Seetickets were churning through 3000 ticket sales a minute on servers that were being hit by many times more people than that. Servers really aren't my specialist area, but I'm pretty sure that's not a trivial problem to solve. Compared to a decade ago, the ticket sales are incredibly smoothly handled.

( Does anyone know much about large-scale servers? )

You know the drill by now, don't you? I go to Glastonbury, I come back, and then I write about it at phenomenally tedious length. The bands I saw are listed at the start of each day. []s denote a band I either saw only a little of, or wasn't paying much attention to.

Wednesday

De Fuego

( I'm glad I'm on the right side of the fence )

Thursday

[Keston Cobblers Club], [Balina Whalers], Gaz Brookfield, Tankus the Henge, Ed Gerhard, Sieze the Day, [Django Django], Alt-J

( Oh, the west country's always been good to me )

Friday

Jupiter & Okwess International, Teleman, Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra, Peace, [Rita Ora], [Savages], Tribes, [Palma Violets], Dinosaur Jr, Django Django, [Billy Bragg], Portishead, [The Horrors]

( It's always weirdness while you dig it much too much to fry you )

Saturday

The Staves, [The 1975], Beans on Toast, Slamboree, [Bombay Royale], [Azealia Banks], The Strypes, Daughter, Johnny Marr, Primal Scream, Savages, [The Beat feat. Billy Bragg], The Rolling Stones, Hurts.

( You've got soul, jazz, ska, punk, classical guitar... )

Sunday

[Zulu Winter], Bridie Jackson and the Arbour, The Demon Barbers XL, [JJ Grey & Mofro], Vampire Weekend, Editors, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Smashing Pumpkins, The xx, The Egg.

( Where secrets lie in the border fires, in the humming wires )

Current Music: Expensive - Always Want Us To

So, anyone else playing the F5 game this morning?

F5

F5

F5

Glastonbury tickets have just gone on sale ;)

Current Music: Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

If you've read my Glastonbury write-ups before, you'll know that bands are listed at the start of each day. []s denote a band I either saw only a little of, or wasn't paying much attention to.

If you haven't read them before, then you won't know that they're best avoided due to extreme verbosity.

Wednesday
unknown band

( I've got 99 problems, but a pitch ain't one )

Thursday
Mojohookers, unknown pianist, various poets, The Mandibles, Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer

( Do we have Surrey in the house? )

Friday
Danny and the Champions of the World, [Chipmunk], Brother, Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines, Cage the Elephant, The Wombats, BB King, [Radiohead], [Morrissey], Billy Bragg, U2, Barenaked Ladies

( Call it impulsive, call it compulsive, call it insane )

Saturday
Stornoway, unknown skiffle band, Steve Knightley, Gaslight Anthem, Brandt Bauer Frick Ensemble, DeVotchKa, Tame Impala, Pulp, [Coldplay], Deacon Blue

( I seem to have left an important part of my brain somewhere in a field )

Sunday
Fishermans Friends, [The Low Anthem], Bang On, [Jamie Woon], Don McLean, [Jah Wobble and the Nippon Dub Ensemble], dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip, Paul Simon, TV on the Radio, Go! Team, The Low Anthem, [Bellowhead], [Beyoncé], Queens of the Stone Age

( How that music used to make me smile )

Current Music: The Wildhearts - News of the World

You know what happens in early July, don't you ? Yes, that's right, you get me writing at mind-numbing length about Glastonbury festival. And this year you won't have to hear me complaining about the mud. No mud! NO MUD!

Usual convention applies: bands are listed at the start of each day. []s denote a band I either saw only a little of, or wasn't paying much attention to.

Wednesday

( ...when things hadn't even started )

Thursday
Unknown girl with acoustic guitar, My Luminaries, Chapel Club, Being Human Collective.

( In which, mostly, I eat things )

Friday
Rolf Harris, Femi Kuti, Hazah, Goldheart Assembly, Josie Long, Al Pitcher, La Roux, Vampire Weekend, Nouvelle Vague, [Reverend and the Makers], [Hot Chip], [Gorillaz], Flaming Lips, New Model Army.

( Do you know the sign language for London? )

Saturday
Rob Chapman, John Niven, Peter Hook, The Ambling Band, [Drugstore], The National, [The Cribs], Editors, The xx, Pet Shop Boys.

( Gosh, isn't it hot? )

Sunday
Aisle 16, [Norah Jones], These New Puritans, [Slash], Portico Quartet, Gang of Four, MGMT, Broken Social Scene, Faithless, Alabama 3, Stevie Wonder, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip.

( Can you dance to a poet? )

Bored of sunshine ? Don't worry, I'm about to head to Glastonbury so it'll start tipping it down any minute. Expect ridiculously verbose updates upon my return (but not during, as I can't be bothered with all this phone-charging nonsense in a field, so will not be online until I'm back. I might twitter occasionally, but since sms_to_lj seems to have stopped working I'm not sure how to update here by phone any more).

On account of being in a field, I won't be furnishing you all with a cover on Friday. Those who need musical inspiration could try instead listening to Worthy FM.

brrm, I don't know if you saw my message - I'll hang around in TAFKAJazzWorld at tea-time on Thursday in case :)

Yes, it's late. Life's been getting in the way. I know a fortnight ago is so over but really, if I don't write up what we did at Glastonbury ChrisC and I will spend most of next summer arguing over whether or not we actually saw Ebony Bones and what that band on the bandstand were called.

Everyone who does not need a lengthy exposition on a performing arts festival for their own personal harmony may move along now.

( This is very long. You have been warned. )

Current Music: Piano Magic - Part Monster

So... Glastonbury. Anyone going ? Anyone fancy meeting up ? Anyone got any recommendations of things I should particularly make an effort to see while I'm there ?

Current Music: Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister

Glastonbury tickets go on sale (way earlier than usual) today. Other years, buying tickets online has involved spending hours glued to a browser which won't load pages, complicated phonecalls to people who've been able to load the buying page, all manner of things.

Last year four of us made a concerted attack from four locations; despite having been up very late at a hen night in Henley, I was in the office in Reading before 9am. ChrisC was in his office. Carolyn was at her home. Simon went to a friend's. We were ready... in the end, of course, the tickets didn't sell out til well into the actual festival. We didn't know that, though, and we had an hour or so's frantic communication on ICQ and phones until Carolyn bagged our tickets.

This year's plan was a bit calmer, since we weren't expecting a rush. Less go-to-the-office and more reach-out-of-bed-for-laptop. We got a call at half past eight: Carolyn had already bought the tickets, half an hour before the official start-time of the sale.

I hadn't even woken up and reached for the laptop yet.

Actually... I feel kind of cheated. I think I might go and find a webpage which times out and try to load it for a while.

Well, it's now over a week since I got back from Glastonbury, which is an aeon in blogworld. Still, here we go.

First, let's get the headline news out of the way. It didn't royally piss down the entire time! After a rather damp patch on Thursday evening and Friday morning, it cleared up and became bright, breezy and positive balmy. I think the weather was late - the Glastonbury downpour certainly seems to be here now.

If you want to know at greater length, keep reading. Don't say you weren't warned... it really does go on a bit.

( Glastonbury 2008 )

Current Music: Revere - Maybe In Time

I feel it should be red wine today, but actually it's local cider. Watching Leonard Cohen and the sun is still shining. LEONARD COHEN!!

My goal for Glastonbury was to sit on grass in front of The Pyramid, in sunshine, drinking champagne while watching a band. Just achieved it :)

My apologies for the mind-numbing length... this has been growing over the last few days. I like my past write-ups (2004, 2005) because I forget stuff and go back to check and end up thinking "good lord did I really voluntarily watch Keane?" and so on. So, this entry is really for my benefit. Read at own risk!

( Glastonbury 2007 )