And at Glastonbury 2008......The sun shined!!! Mostly

Yes, Friday was waterlogged, and I was forced to dance in wellies (my dogs are proper barking this evening lol)* I've had a super long soak in the bath, and a nice beer to unwind with, checked my 77 emails(!!), and started to upload my photos. Can't believe the crazy is over.
*it means my feet are killing me :)


I went with my friend Francis from Canada, who is over for a month long trip of Europe. Mainly dance festivals in Holland, Berlin, and UK it seems, lol, but good for him!


Being a proper dance kid, Francis didn't see one band not in the Dance Field, so I mainly stayed with him - but I did catch Neil Diamond who rocked!! I love the main stage on a sunny afternoon, everyone singing along with some master of their craft in full swing. Love it! And the crazy costumes, and good naturedness of everyone there make it a perfect, if fairly surreal experience :)


But I mainly danced. Hence the dogs! lol

Saw some fantastic DJ's and acts. Friday night was perfect (wellies or no). X-press 2, James Zabiele, Roisin Murphy, and the Stanton Warriors were all perfect. Then onto the after hours acts. There is a new field called Trash City, up by the Green Fields and Avalon fields. It is where all the crazy modern sculptures, fire dancers, nightclubs that look like half and airplane, and get this, a 1970's New York gay disco run by transvestites called NYC Downlow. It was bloody fantastic!!! lol. Still classic Glastonbury, with loads of mashed ravers looking for a last dance, but was also pretty full of loads of other gay clubbers too - and played an fast house/disco mix that was brilliant. Went back on Saturday night too. Fantastic place lol.


Saturday night was more so-so until the headline act of Dance West - DJ Dave Seaman (no, not the footballer lol). I have fond memories of Dave as he is a Leeds DJ, and used to play at all the clubs and raves I went to in 1991/92. I havent really seen him since, so it was great to hear him play. And he was plain amazing!! A few of the acts had been a bit up-their-own-arses and pretentious, but Dave Seaman played a perfect big set, full of anthems and classic, to very receptive crowd!

But I leave the final word to Mr Seaman, who really was the act of the festival for me.

Glastonbury Festival 2008

Yup, I'm going again! Oh please, Gods of the Weather - can we have sunshine this year? I have a horrible feeling that we wont, but I can only hope!

But at least I still have my wellys from last year. See you in the mud!


FRIDAY

Pyramid Stage:Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, The Editors, The Gossip, The Feeling, KT Tunstall, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, The Subways, Kate Nash

Other Stage:Panic at the Disco, The Enemy, We are Scientists, Foals, The Hoosiers, Ben Folds, Vampire Weekend, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Be Your Own Pet, Hilltop Hoods

John Peel Stage:The Cribs, Reverend and the Makers, The Kills, MGMT, The Ting Tings, The Young Knives, Lightspeed Champion, Make Model, Glasvegas, Patrick Watson, Royworld

Jazz World Stage: Jimmy Cliff, Estelle, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Very Special Guest, Candi Staton, Alabama 3, Very Special Guest, Phantom Limb, Mankala

Acoustic Stage: Seasick Steve, Sinead O'Connor, Newton Faulkner, Arno Carstens, Eddi Reader, Camille O'Sullivan, Eleanor McEvoy, Devon Sproule, Acoustic Stage Blues Club With Grainne Duffy

The Park Stage: Pete Doherty, Dizzee Rascal, John Cale, Very Special Guest, Edwyn Collins, The Duke Spirit, Operator Please, Sons & Daughters, Santogold, Beggars, Magic Wands, Island Line, The Langley Sisters

SATURDAY

Pyramid Stage:Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse, Manu Chao, The Raconteurs, James Blunt, Crowded House, Seasick Steve, Martha Wainwright, Shakin' Stevens

Other Stage:Massive Attack, Hot Chip, Elbow, Duffy, The Wombats, Neon Neon, Black Kids, The Golden Silvers, The Travelling Band, Los Campesinos!

John Peel Stage:Biffy Clyro, The Futureheads, Band of Horses, The Black Lips, Vampire weekend, The Courteneers, British Sea Power, Holy Fuck, The Teenagers, Hilltop Hoods, Emmy the Great, Dogtanion

Jazz World Stage:Ethiopiques, Buddy Guy, Imagined Village, Joan Armatrading, Eric Bibb, Massukos, The Blessing, Very Special Guest, Bedouin Jerry Can Band

Acoustic Stage: Gilbert O'Sullivan, The Swell Season Featuring Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers, Seth Lakeman, Andy Fairweather Low & The Low Riders, Thea Gilmore, Sid Griffin & The Coal Porters, Emily Maguire, Acoustic Stage Blues Club with Grainne Duffy, The Travelling Band

The Park Stage: CSS, Battles, MGMT, Very Special Guest, Music Through Unconventional Means with Shlomos Vocal Orchestra & Special Guests, Kool Keith & Kutmaster Kurt, Special Guest, Alphabeat, St Vincent, Jape, Eugene McGuinness

SUNDAY

Pyramid Stage:The Verve, Leonard Cohen, Goldfrapp, Very Special Guest, John Mayer, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Martina Topley Bird

Other StageGroove Armada, The Zutons, Pidgeon Detectives, Scouting For Girls, Mark Ronson, Jack Penate, Newton Faulkner, Black Mountain, The Hoodoo Gurus, Black Cherry, Emmy the Great

John Peel Stage:: The National, Spiritualized, Crystal Castles, The Long Blondes, Brian Jones Town Massacre, Stars, Rocket Summer, Friendly Fires, The Whip, Yeasayer

Jazz World Stage Very Special Guest, King Solomon Burke, Eddy Grant, Dub Colossus, Asere & Billy Cobham, Balkan Beat Box, Almasala, Portico Quartet, Sense of Sound

Acoustic StageJoan Baez, Suzanne Vega, The London Community Gospel Choir, Stackridge, Tom Baxter, Tift Merritt, Foy Vance, Acoustic Stage Blues Club With Grainne Duffy, Amsterdam, Lazenby

The Park Stage My Morning Jacket, Tunng, Vetiver, Caribou, Laura Marling, The Mystery Jets, Kathryn Williams & Neill MacColl, The Cave Singers, Alberta Cross, Mumford & Sons, Alan Tyler & The Lost Sons, Redbridge Brass Band

Plus loads more live acts, DJs, entertainers and performers across Avalon Stage, Left Field, Queens Head, Dance Village, Lounge Stage, G Stage, Pussy Parlure, Silent World, Igloo, Glade, Late N Live, Poetry & Words Tent and the new late night Shangri-La Stages

Mud, (not so) glorious mud.

But maybe I am getting a bit old. The mud was either 12 inches deep or ankle-breaking treacle. It was not much fun walking around, and as the farm is about 5km from side to the other (you could spend an hour just walking to another stage), walking in mud is not fun.



And I am too old to stand in the cold rain for hours too. And £6 for a snack is ridiculous!

It was great fun, honest; but Bah Humbug!!

Dame Shirley Bassey

And possibly the highlight of the festival was Shirley Bassey belting out her Bond classics and others.

She owned the crowd from start to finish, and they loved her of it. It was fantastic!

The Marley brothers present the 30th anniversary of Exodus

The sons of Bob Marley (Damian, Steven, and Julian) presented a tribute to their fathers groundbreaking album Exodus on its 30th anniversary.

Fantastic stuff!

Amy Winehouse

Didn't know much about her before, but she has a fantastic voice.

Very good!

Glastonbury Festival 2007

I have returned from a VERY muddy Glastonbury festival. It was, however, fantastic as per usual.

I shall do a few posts on the bands I saw. Stay tuned!

Glastonbury Festival 2007

Horray! I got tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2007.

Glastonbury is the greatest festival in the world, with no other festival since the 60's capturing the fun and excesses of an outdoor music festival. And as one of the biggest festivals in the world, it offers some sights and sounds that are un-paralleled.

It has the whole hippy vibe going on that can be contagious. You cant beat sitting in a glade, or my the stone circle getting all at-one-with-the-universe. Cant wait!


Unfortunately, Glastonbury Festivals would only sell us tickets that had a mandatory coach journey attached to them. I had to pay £50 extra as the normal tickets were sold out. Now the website says the tickets will only be given out on the coach trip itself! They wont give the tickets to us before.

We were hoping to have a few extra days down south, but if we can not take a car, then how can we have a holiday? Public transport all the way? Fuck that! I have fired off an angry email. We will see what happens. As I have paid for these tickets, I firmly believe that these are my tickets to do with as I see fit. Not to be doled out to us like presents for good little boys when the organisors see fit!