Garage_Doors
Originally the Swankers
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Glastonbury
- Thread starter nick c
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The Modfather
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I believe that it is a 100k
Garage_Doors
Originally the Swankers
Thanks.
It's 177k.
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And I understand there's around another 75k of various workers, artists, volunteers etc on top of this bringing the grand total on site to around 250k.
Bear in mind, that a large part of what makes a good showing is how the artist gets the crowd going. I am not especially a fan of any of these bands, but Coldplay, Beyonce & Elbow got the crowd going & as someone who has always (& still does) dismiss Coldplay as boring & a bit insipid, I have to swallow my pride & say they put on an excellent show that was very well received. Other bands that did also, Tiny Tempah, Biffy Clyro, Pendulum. U2 - decent set, but not especially well received - but to be fair to them it was pissing down, & as one of the net reviews put it perfectly, "by then the happyness of being at Glastonbury has subsided & the rain ensues a grim fatalism sets in"
Of my favourite bands there, Vaccines, Gaslight Anthem were superb, but on earlier - missed Galsvegas, 2 door were OK. Radiohead was a nightmare, a trek up to the park stage in the rain through the mud, with a 6m pregnant wife!! only for them to play the new album only - well for the 7 songs we stayed for, especially annoying as they had won the tricky Mumford/Morrissey/Radiohead conundrum.
Despite everything, the whole thing was as absolute quality as ever, & as many people say (& trying not to sound like a wanker) there really is a lot more to it than just the music, it is simply a wonderful 3 days where you can do as much or as little as you like - One thing final I would say, as above, not really the ideal place for a fairly pregnant woman - the mud, the rain, the distances & the heat. that said, most of Sat & Sun, we set ourselves up on the hill of the Pyramid stage & had a cracking time, but was different to previous years & saw a lot less of the smaller stages, if she wasn't such a tropper, I think we'd have been heading home on the Sat!
Bring on 2013 - although that said, what experiences of people had of children at festivals? think Glasto would be fine as kids well catered for but gearing up for next year, Camp Bestival seems to be a family orentated one - anyone been?
Of my favourite bands there, Vaccines, Gaslight Anthem were superb, but on earlier - missed Galsvegas, 2 door were OK. Radiohead was a nightmare, a trek up to the park stage in the rain through the mud, with a 6m pregnant wife!! only for them to play the new album only - well for the 7 songs we stayed for, especially annoying as they had won the tricky Mumford/Morrissey/Radiohead conundrum.
Despite everything, the whole thing was as absolute quality as ever, & as many people say (& trying not to sound like a wanker) there really is a lot more to it than just the music, it is simply a wonderful 3 days where you can do as much or as little as you like - One thing final I would say, as above, not really the ideal place for a fairly pregnant woman - the mud, the rain, the distances & the heat. that said, most of Sat & Sun, we set ourselves up on the hill of the Pyramid stage & had a cracking time, but was different to previous years & saw a lot less of the smaller stages, if she wasn't such a tropper, I think we'd have been heading home on the Sat!
Bring on 2013 - although that said, what experiences of people had of children at festivals? think Glasto would be fine as kids well catered for but gearing up for next year, Camp Bestival seems to be a family orentated one - anyone been?
Got there early on Wednesday to enjoy a couple of days of lolling around in the sun before things ramped up on the Friday.......which due to the weather became a Thursday afternoon.
Frida was good, Metronomy was a good starter then moved onto Naked and Famous and Vaccines...wish I'd stuck to my plan and gone to see Wu-Tang though instead of hanging around for a few more beers with a chum I'd arranged to meet. Sacked Jamie XX as it was too far in the mud and saw Moz who put on a great performance; he has beefed up his sound somewhat and reworked a few tunes..and he seemed to enjoy himself, puff his chest out and actually be proud of his back catalogue as opposed to the usual (and I must say slightly tedious now) appologies. Enought has been said about U2, if you liked them they will have more than satisified you.....if you dislike them little I say will change your thoughts. One thing which did start to grate is the number of people over-intellectualising why they dislike Bono. Yawn yawn yawn. Dislike him for his Cuban heels or wrap-arounds .... but please do not give me some lengthy diatribe which you think sounds profound but could actually be distilled into 'he's a bit preachy.'
Saturday, Fujiya and Mayagi, a rest, and then up to Shangri-la, Block 9, Unfairground and The Common. Saw a great DJ set by '2 Bears' which is the holy alliance of Jesse Rose (Berlin via Bristol and on the Get Physical label-anyone into their minimal, tech, fidgit will prob know this guy) and the fat one from Hot Chip...cracking short set in the sunshine on the small Hub stage, cocktails and cabaret in Fish and Tits, NY Downlow, other stuff, and then ended up at the Orbital set at (or is it on?) Arcadia. We wandered around for a bit more and then staggered home at some silly hour with the birds tweeting.
Sunday took it easy but did catch some dub at Cubehenge, and Herve's wonderful set at The Glade. A nice opening of squeelchy big beats, then a trip through the world of early Detroit house, acid and rave. Had a goat curry, fell asleep then went and danced around to Beyonce. Job done. Feel a bit spaced out and wonky today though.
Frida was good, Metronomy was a good starter then moved onto Naked and Famous and Vaccines...wish I'd stuck to my plan and gone to see Wu-Tang though instead of hanging around for a few more beers with a chum I'd arranged to meet. Sacked Jamie XX as it was too far in the mud and saw Moz who put on a great performance; he has beefed up his sound somewhat and reworked a few tunes..and he seemed to enjoy himself, puff his chest out and actually be proud of his back catalogue as opposed to the usual (and I must say slightly tedious now) appologies. Enought has been said about U2, if you liked them they will have more than satisified you.....if you dislike them little I say will change your thoughts. One thing which did start to grate is the number of people over-intellectualising why they dislike Bono. Yawn yawn yawn. Dislike him for his Cuban heels or wrap-arounds .... but please do not give me some lengthy diatribe which you think sounds profound but could actually be distilled into 'he's a bit preachy.'
Saturday, Fujiya and Mayagi, a rest, and then up to Shangri-la, Block 9, Unfairground and The Common. Saw a great DJ set by '2 Bears' which is the holy alliance of Jesse Rose (Berlin via Bristol and on the Get Physical label-anyone into their minimal, tech, fidgit will prob know this guy) and the fat one from Hot Chip...cracking short set in the sunshine on the small Hub stage, cocktails and cabaret in Fish and Tits, NY Downlow, other stuff, and then ended up at the Orbital set at (or is it on?) Arcadia. We wandered around for a bit more and then staggered home at some silly hour with the birds tweeting.
Sunday took it easy but did catch some dub at Cubehenge, and Herve's wonderful set at The Glade. A nice opening of squeelchy big beats, then a trip through the world of early Detroit house, acid and rave. Had a goat curry, fell asleep then went and danced around to Beyonce. Job done. Feel a bit spaced out and wonky today though.
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Wozza
Shite Supporter
Yep, spot on. The headliners (inc Elbow as the fourth) did GREAT this year compared with Arctics, Killers, Gorillaz etc from recent years.
U2 were very unlucky to be playing in that weather. 10s of thousands were unlucky to traipse all the way to The Park to hear a self-indulgent set from Radiohead.
I didn't see that many bands as I spent a lot of time just hanging with friends, but away from the Pyramid stage, I loved Warpaint and the v amusing Eels.
That was my 8th or 9th Glastonbury (really do need to work it out) and I reckon half have been v wet. It's hard work to have fun in crap weather. Gonna leave it to the kids from now on, but it's been a blast...
Well there's a thing. Who'd have thought that?
When baby arrives, be sure not to bother taking it shark diving in the first couple of years of its life. Honestly, the youngster will get nothing out of it, and it will prove to be a complete waste of money.
Wozza
Shite Supporter
BTW, the excellent Anna Calvi (who I heard at Glastonbury, but didn't see) is playing Concorde 2 in October. Tickets still available.
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Had a great time once again. Could not have picked two better special guests at the Park stage in Radiohead (my favourite band) & Pulp (one of the few bands I didn't get to see in their pomp).
Disagree with a lot of criticism of Radiohead's set list. They were only ever going to use this secret hour slot to rehearse the new album and at best throw in a few fan favourites. I still loved the performance and was grateful to see such a big band in close proximity at the Park.
Pulp were the highlight of the weekend. A set full of hits belted out by one of our finest ever frontmen. Pulp had no new album to promote or rehearse and that was the difference between the special guests set lists.
The rest of my week looked like this:-
Friday
Metronomy - Excellent album and sounded just as good live.
Two Door Cinema Club - OK album but sound better live.
The Vaccines - Decent album, but didn't impress me massively live. If this is supposedly our next big guitar band, than we have a few problems in my opinion.
Warpaint - Superb
Big Audio Dynamite - Didn't know anything about them apart from Mick Jones was in the band. Enjoyable show whilst manouvering to get to the front for Radiohead.
U2 - Was absolutely smashed by this stage so memories are a little hazy, but from what I recall they sounded fine.
Saturday
Yuck - Loved this performance - One of the best new bands around at the moment.
Graham Coxon & The Walkmen - Heard about Pulp and wasn't about to take any chances, so watched both of these acts who are both big indie acts.
Pulp - My personal highlight. Do you remember the first time was a great start to the set and the hots just kept on coming.
Chemical Brothers & Wild Beasts - I split my time evenly between these two headliners. Chemical Brothers played a really hard set and unfortunately the two people I were with were not on the right 'spiritual' level to fully appreciate the show. Wild Beasts were excellent and closer the end comes too soon was superb.
Sunday
Laura Marling - Very polished performance.
Paul Simon - Had a bad throat and didn't do a lot for me - I only watched the first half hour to watch TV on the radio.
TV on the radio - A band I have wanted to watch for a long time and they didn't disappoint. Tiny crowd meant I was able to get almost to the front and they were excellent. Closed with a cover of the ghostbusters theme which was excellent.
John Grant - I love the Park stage and was able to get some shade up here close to the stage. His voice is amazing and he played the majority of his new album which was well received by another small crowd.
Robyn - Turned up late and had massive sound problems. She threw an absolute hissy fit which was amusing. The songs I heard were excellent, a really good pop artists.
Beyonce - Not my choice would of preferred QOTSA or Kool and the Gang. Good show too many covers and asking the crowd to sing the words for my liking. But no doubt she is a great performer.
As always the brothers cider was great a long with the Pyramid & Otters ale. Enjoyed the silent disco up by Park on Saturday night. All the great bars and mini clubs add to the feel of the festival.
Negatives were the queue's for Arcadia and Shangri La which meant for the first time ever I didn't get to see this area of the festival. Too many people especially on the Pyramid stage treating the festival as a picnic/family day out. Chairs and blankets should only be used at the very back of the stage as they take up too much room for people who want to get to the front.
Disagree with a lot of criticism of Radiohead's set list. They were only ever going to use this secret hour slot to rehearse the new album and at best throw in a few fan favourites. I still loved the performance and was grateful to see such a big band in close proximity at the Park.
Pulp were the highlight of the weekend. A set full of hits belted out by one of our finest ever frontmen. Pulp had no new album to promote or rehearse and that was the difference between the special guests set lists.
The rest of my week looked like this:-
Friday
Metronomy - Excellent album and sounded just as good live.
Two Door Cinema Club - OK album but sound better live.
The Vaccines - Decent album, but didn't impress me massively live. If this is supposedly our next big guitar band, than we have a few problems in my opinion.
Warpaint - Superb
Big Audio Dynamite - Didn't know anything about them apart from Mick Jones was in the band. Enjoyable show whilst manouvering to get to the front for Radiohead.
U2 - Was absolutely smashed by this stage so memories are a little hazy, but from what I recall they sounded fine.
Saturday
Yuck - Loved this performance - One of the best new bands around at the moment.
Graham Coxon & The Walkmen - Heard about Pulp and wasn't about to take any chances, so watched both of these acts who are both big indie acts.
Pulp - My personal highlight. Do you remember the first time was a great start to the set and the hots just kept on coming.
Chemical Brothers & Wild Beasts - I split my time evenly between these two headliners. Chemical Brothers played a really hard set and unfortunately the two people I were with were not on the right 'spiritual' level to fully appreciate the show. Wild Beasts were excellent and closer the end comes too soon was superb.
Sunday
Laura Marling - Very polished performance.
Paul Simon - Had a bad throat and didn't do a lot for me - I only watched the first half hour to watch TV on the radio.
TV on the radio - A band I have wanted to watch for a long time and they didn't disappoint. Tiny crowd meant I was able to get almost to the front and they were excellent. Closed with a cover of the ghostbusters theme which was excellent.
John Grant - I love the Park stage and was able to get some shade up here close to the stage. His voice is amazing and he played the majority of his new album which was well received by another small crowd.
Robyn - Turned up late and had massive sound problems. She threw an absolute hissy fit which was amusing. The songs I heard were excellent, a really good pop artists.
Beyonce - Not my choice would of preferred QOTSA or Kool and the Gang. Good show too many covers and asking the crowd to sing the words for my liking. But no doubt she is a great performer.
As always the brothers cider was great a long with the Pyramid & Otters ale. Enjoyed the silent disco up by Park on Saturday night. All the great bars and mini clubs add to the feel of the festival.
Negatives were the queue's for Arcadia and Shangri La which meant for the first time ever I didn't get to see this area of the festival. Too many people especially on the Pyramid stage treating the festival as a picnic/family day out. Chairs and blankets should only be used at the very back of the stage as they take up too much room for people who want to get to the front.
The best way to now visit the late night area is to sack off a headline act and get there for 8-9pm and stay there. Originally this area was not even on the official map but it has now grown and grown and it an important and very very popular part of the festival. The problem is that once the headliners have finished a lot of people still want to carry on...and they simply cannot all fit into Shangri-la, Arcadia, Block 9 etc. The good side of the new post-11pm entry route and queing system is that the area never gets too crowded and those that are in can enjoy the area better. Me and the wife had a blast there on Saturday night and to a lesser degree on Thursday.
One of my highlights was seeing a couple of elderly rambler types bowl into a mental D&B session and start dancing.
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Were they? Is this sort of thing common? I cannot think of any bands which use festival slots to rehearse.
They were not advertised to play the festival, they played on a small stage as special guests. For that reason I expected the kind of set which they played. If they were advertised headliners and played for two hours then yes I would expect them to cater for the crowd and play more well known songs.
They used this slot as a warm up slot to try new songs live, whilst also giving people a chance to see them (remember they haven't toured for 2/3 years). I for one was just really pleased to see them perform and in no way expected them to play a greatest hits set.
Didn't watch much of the coverage this year as it's got worse AGAIN. Was very impressed with how good Two Door Cinema Club sounded though, they were probably the best of what I caught.
Did any of you lot spend much time in the dance area? The line up was crazy good.
Did any of you lot spend much time in the dance area? The line up was crazy good.
The Tranvestite Line Dancing in New York Downlow would probably give them a good run for their money.
Neither of use will know their intentions but I find it very hard to believe that a band would use Glastonbury as a warm up whether they were officially announced on the line up or as a secret gig. And the whole festival seemed to know who The Park special guests were by Friday morning so how secret was it? In fact, I was told via this site shortly after I suggested Artic Monkeys on the 'chit chat' thread. Thanks Jimmy Saville.
But let's not detract, its was great to have Radiohead and Pulp play on smaller stages..and another example of the brilliance of Glastonbury.
Believe it or not The Sun website had the Radiohead secret gig announced on their pages the day before it happened.
Crouch End Seagull
Active member
- Oct 7, 2003
- 255
Wore my 83 shirt at Glasto. There was a lot of love for the Albion there. Sometimes I get the impression we have become the opposite of Millwall - everyone likes us - number of shouts and pats on the back you get is weird.
Anyway music-wise John Grant, Elbow, Horrors. Bono's phone call to the International Space Station was good, Coldplay made me change my mind about them. Paul Simon was the most boring thing I have ever seen.
Nice to meet you in the field Tubthumper. sorry i was so zoned out! I still am.
Anyway music-wise John Grant, Elbow, Horrors. Bono's phone call to the International Space Station was good, Coldplay made me change my mind about them. Paul Simon was the most boring thing I have ever seen.
Nice to meet you in the field Tubthumper. sorry i was so zoned out! I still am.