> Reviews > Reviews 2005 > Glastonbury

Review by Rob.

The sad news from this year's festival was of course the withdrawal of Kylie. I'm sure all on this site will wish her a rapid recovery from her illness. Not withstanding this, the bill was another cracker this year with the best of the new acts (Magic Numbers, Hard Fi and Kaiser Chiefs), some big names (Coldplay, New Order and The White Stripes), old timers (Elvis Costello, Van Morrisson and Brian Wilson), and even some bellydancers. Also the festival saw the appearance of the legendary Chas n Dave sure to pack out the Acoustic tent, as well as a rare acoustic appearance by The Beautiful South. Add in the usual mix of comedy, cinema, cabaret, theatre and dance and you are not even halfway to appreciating the festival.

Tour de France - Glasto style

Of course in the event the main talking point was the storm in the early hours of Friday. Almost one month's worth of rain fell in 3 hours, causing the stream which runs through the site to burst its banks sending a heady mix of mud, water, and raw sewage into a couple of unlucky camper's fields. Though the pictures in the media looked bad, they were confined to one small area of one field known as Pennards. Our campsite for example was on a hill and remained grassed and dryish for the whole festival. However most of the busy areas were transformed into liquid mud again and there were some definite no go zones. None of this of course went anywhere near to spoiling the occasion,in fact it seemed to enhance it as the punters adopted the attitude that we've been through it, now lets party. Aside from this mad 3 hours the weather was pretty good, glorious in fact on Thursday and Sunday, as some of the Gallery Pictures show.

Finally the other main event at this years Glasto was the symbolic linking of hands which took place at 3pm Saturday. Michael Eavis made a rare appearance on the Pyramid Stage along with Sir Bob Geldof to publicise the forthcoming Live 8 and the Make Poverty History campaign. Thousands of white wristbands were given away to the entrants and there were plenty of video reminders throughout the festival.

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Nine Black Alps - Insert moving mountains caption here

You all know what happened in the early hours of Friday morning (i'm referring to the weather here not the activity in certain people's tents). If you want you can read about it Here. However this is a music review not a weather report so we move on. Where the storm and the music crossed was with the possibility that the festival could be delayed or seriously disrupted. In the event the only notable casualty were The Subways, a pity as I was looking forward to seeing them. In their absence the Pyramid Stage rumbled into life under threatening skies at about midday with The Undertones. Though they surely owed their main stage appearance to the untimely passing of the great John Peel (more of which later), they reeled out their greatest hits with no lack of enthusiasm despite the rain. 'My perfect Cousin', 'Its gonna happen', and 'Jimmy Jimmy' all sound great but the large attendance has really only come for one song. Put in towards the end of the set, 'Teenage Kicks' is monumental and for some, emotional. True to form, the rain stops and the sun peered out into the valley where it remained for the rest of the day. A good start then.

The monsoon had done a good job of turning the whole site into a sea of liquid mud for the second year running. This made the transfer between stages a little harder so timing arrivals to see band's sets became much more difficult. It was time to take the first long walk to the John Peel stage to see Nine Black Alps. They are making quite a splash with their Nirvana influenced grunge but it is strange how they are becoming popular when this genre had its peak glory more than 12 years ago. One clue may be the tunes, the likes of 'Shot down' and 'Get your Guns' simply scream out 'Get up on that stage and dive off', and 'Surf that crowd dude'. So its a packed and rapturous tent that receives them. Their set is short but explosive and everyone is very happy to have seen them. It is also a very nice touch renaming the tent to the Peel Stage. Nothing much has changed save a couple of quotes from his favourite song pinned to the back wall. There's still some of the best new bands playing great new music. Which is exactly what he would have wanted. Out of the tent and its getting back to summer now and appropriately Hot Hot Heat take to the Other Stage. They opt for a low key show plugging the best of their new album, Elevator, with classics from Make up the Breakdown. They didn't really connect with the crowd today but I enjoyed them, and new single 'Goodnight Goodnight' gives 'Bandages' a run for its money in the tunefulness stakes.

The left hand side the Other Stage is a lake where only those with wellies dare to tread. As a consequence its packed on the opposite side. We find a vantage point amongst the lake to watch The Others play to a steadily increasing audience of Babyshambles fans. I really like this band, especially the respect and time they have for their fans, but a soggy field in the middle of the afternoon is not the place to see them. Having said that, 'Stan Bowles' still sounds fine, and 'This is for the Poor' actually sees some crowd surfing break out. I decline Babyshambles but most of the festival wants some of the Doherty mania that has been recently whipped up by the tabloids. As a consequence there is loads of room back at the Pyramid as Elvis Costello plays a rare show. Now I have heard he can be a bit self indulgent but today the bespectacled one wanted to play the hits. 'I can't stand up', 'Olivers Army' and 'Pump it up' all get an airing and there's even time for the number one hit, (possibly not written about buying tyres for Ian Brown) 'Good Year for the Roses'. Excellent stuff.

Hot Hot Heat - Or is it Plumby?

Its eight o clock now and a day of standing up and hiking through thick mud means that pre arranged plans to see the Secret Machines are abandoned, sorry lads. Instead most of group gather up to watch Doves. I must confess that they are a band I have only really got into in the last year or so and even missed their headline slot on the Other Stage a couple of years ago. However on the form of this gig, I have been missing out. Glastonbury was in need of a pick me up and they provided it with some superbly uplifting music. The opening salvo of 'Pounding', 'Words' and 'Black and White Town' are worth it alone, but the whole set somehow keeps up this level of quality. It peaks with 'Snowdon' easily the best song on the new album and a real epic sounding festival anthem. They end as expected with 'There goes the fear' and its amazing how flagging spirits have been rekindled.

Last year they were the big draw in the new bands tent, now the meteoric rise of The Killers goes on with this second on the bill appearance on the Main Stage. The problems with such a rapid promotion is that often the band isn't ready for such a big audience. We need not have worried. The band possess at least 5 genuine stadium songs in their armoury and by the end of second song 'Smile like you mean it' they had the festival in their pockets. Everyone, and i mean everyone, sings along to 'Mr Brightside' and its quite a moment. Unbelievably they top this with set closer 'All these things i've done'. Punters would be found later in a vegetative state staggering round the site but still managing to sing the "I've got soul but i'm not a soldier" refrain perfectly in tune. Almost a perfect show, and the water and mud of earlier is now a distant memory.

The White Stripes - The evidence in red and white

Its now 11.00 and when a lot of festivals are starting to wind down, Glastonbury is just springing to life. After the bands have finished, the the club scene takes over music wise, or you can just wander around the site, get some of the Greenfield's atmosphere, play at the casino, go ballroom dancing, take in a movie at the open air cinema, or sit up at the stone circle. But before we confront these choices there is the business of the headliners. The headline bands generally play from 11.00 ish until 12.30. The White Stripes kept us waiting until 11.30 to make their entrance. I have seen this lot before and know they are usually a plug in and play their songs kind of band with little in the way of gimmicks. To their credit tonight they try a few different things. There is a light show, a bit of a stage set and even some percussion instruments that Jack White plays around with. Musically they are enchanting, and play bits off all their 5 albums. The new album is not a great departure and thus the new songs sit nicely in the set. If truth be told it does drag a bit, there are a lot of folk around me who are not really into it, which was definitely not the case with the previous 2 bands. They play around 25 or so songs in their hour and a bit and finish with 'Seven Nation Army' so at least they go out on a high. After the show opinion is divided, some thought they were poor and not really into it, others said they really enjoyed it. Again, it was the sort of show that would be awesome indoors, here it was just pretty good. When compared to other headline shows at the festival perhaps that is not good enough.

In the end its a triumphant day though given what had happened and the spirit of Glasto again proved it could rise above anything the big fella could think of to throw at the festival. Next year watch out for a volcanic eruption under the Tor. Or it could just be the organic lentil curry.

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Includes Rob's Fitness guide to Glastonbury

Martha Wainwright - About to use the work Motherfucking

For those of you who have yet to sample Glastonbury, the first thing you will notice is the sheer size of the place. This is especially the case when attempting to lug your belongings from the car to the camp site. This is also apparent when attempting to walk between the various stages. At Glastonbury there are, perhaps, 10 stages staging music simultaneously, as well as theatre, cabaret and comedy. Going from, say the acoustic tent to the Peel stage will take about 20 minutes or so. Add in a couple of feet of liquid mud and this time goes up considerably. As does the physical effort. Follow this guide to the amount of effort and calories burned* during an average day at the festival, Who needs the f**king gym?

The first act on the Saturday was reasonably easy warm up, watching Hayseed Dixie from the tent then a gentle amble across one field to the acoustic tent and Martha Wainwright. The Dixies play bluegrass cover versions, mainly AC/DC but also a bit of Motorhead and Metallica. Its ok but its gimicky and I reckon I would get tired of it after an hour or so. It would be good in a small club when hammered though. Effort rating (out of 10): 2 Calories burned: 5. The walk to the Acoustic Stage is fine, especially when using the shortcut through the kids field and we are there in 5 minutes. The tent is packed for the midday show. Martha Wainwright may well be the most talented member of the family and she dusts down superb renditions of 'Far away' and 'Factory' from her album. However most of the crowd is here for one song and 'Bloody Motherfucking Asshole' is given an airing near the end. Its a great show but very mellow and no one breaks out in a sweat just yet. Effort rating: 3, Calories burned: 20.

Sir Bob - "If you really want to hear swearing, wait until Bobby Gillespie comes on"

Its time to nip back up to the tents, a little more arduous as its uphill. Goldie Lookin' Chain have been granted a Main Stage slot. I conserve energy and stay at the tent to watch them. They are a good laugh and play 'Shit to me' but a bit is lost this far back, I should have gone down the front. Effort rating 3, Calories burned 30. From here on though things pick up as its time to go to the Pyramid to see Kaiser Chiefs. I think its fair to say that we didn't really know what to expect, I had seen them a couple of times before though not the whole set and have had the album for a few weeks playing it a lot on the journey to Lloonstock. I did toy with the idea of going to the Peel Tent to see The Rakes but I'm glad I didn't. The boys from Leeds played a blinder kicking off with a molten 'Na na na na na' and running through most of the album at a frenetic pace, even watching Ricky Wilson jump about burned off a few more calories. Highlight of the set is 'Oh my God' when they are joined by a dinosaur (not a real one - David Attenborough shouldn't get too excited) who sits there and almost steals the show. Its a mark of how good the show is that it doesn't quite manage it. As their backdrop proclaimed, everything indeed was brilliant at Glastonbury, even the mud. Effort rating 5, Calories burned 400.

There's a pause in musical proceedings whilst Sir Bob Geldof gets us to hold hands for the Make Poverty History campaign. Then its over to the Other Stage for me, though most go off to see Chas n Dave. I would have liked this, but The Futureheads were one of the bands on my 'must see' list for the weekend. There is a healthy crowd there to see them too. They are a very entertaining band live and their quirky tunes get everyone bopping. They even indulge in Heavy Metal Pose number 6, splitting the crowd into two for a singalong to 'Hounds of Love'. At the end of an energy packed hour, Im fair knackered. Effort rating: 6, Calories burned: 300. Somewhat surprisingly Echo and the Bunnymen are on the bill this high up. They do nothing wrong and play most of the hits (yes Tim they did play 'The Cutter' ). No one seems that bothered though, and its a pretty laid back affair. Still enjoyable though. Effort rating: 2, Calories burned: 100**.

From here on I forget about the fatigue factor as one of the best 3 band salvos I have seen close Saturday, and, bonus, they are all on the same stage. No more walking except to the toilets or bar which both involve a lot of mud and puddle walking. A quick refuel to replace those lost calories and Interpol take to the stage they last graced 2 years ago. Second album Antics was superb, one of my favourite records of the last year, and they are in the big league now. Its an excellent set chock full of great songs that you can sing along to, and, surprisingly, jump up and down to. Highlights are 'Slow hands' and 'Evil',but every song is great. Effort rating: 4, Calories burned: 500. Kasabian are even better and there is a huge crowd there which thins out only slightly towards then end when the lure of Coldplay arises. They were way down the bill on this stage last year, but surely will be on the main stage in 2007 with a new album behind them. For now its the songs from the superb debut that excite everybody. By now my calves are giving me some gyp but no matter as I jump up and down to 'Club foot' Effort rating: 6, Calories burned: 750. I wanted to see both the Magic Numbers and New Order but another long trek through the mud is too much to bear and i stay put.

Johnny Borrell - The contract with Persil is surely just around the corner

Last year I came down to this stage at the untimely hour of 11.00am on Sunday to see a hotly tipped new band called Razorlight play. It was immediately apparent they had something, mainly great songs and a top showman leading them. The small but enthusiastic audience went away feeling they had seen something special. Ever since its been a meteoric rise for them with top 10 singles 'Golden Touch' and 'Somewhere Else', an album seemingly resident in the top 20 and a place assured on the forthcoming Live 8 bill. And here just 12 months on from that Sunday morning they are headlining. I'm not sure any band has done this at Glastonbury, not even Oasis. Tonight they are up against Coldplay on the Pyramid, a daunting task but a very big crowd assembles in front of the Other Stage nonetheless. Now a lot of people don't like Johnny Borrell mainly for his perceived arrogance and control freak nature, but to me he is a great songwriter and his band are a really tight unit. Plus he's a showman in an industry where this is becoming a dying art. The songs from 'Up all night' feature heavily here, but as they have an hour and a half there are some new ones aired which all sound pretty good. Its the hit singles which steal the show, 'Vice' sounds like the rude song it is and we are informed 'Golden Touch' is actually about anal sex. However its 'Somewhere Else' reserved for the 1st encore which is immense, its a song I didn't like at first but its a great tune which is meant to be played live. At the end of a top headline set people were asking 'Coldplay who?' . After the next album they could well be replacing them at the top of British rock's tree. Effort rating: 7, Calories burned: 850.

So that's the music over its time to party. Just one problem,the body didn't want to tonight. So whilst most go off to see the Lost Vagueness attractions or to see 15 Pete Dohertys. I check out the music in the Crown for a bit then take one last weary walk through the markets which are starting to resemble the Somme in places, and head to the tent, light some candles and chill out listening to the general mayhem all round. The camp site is really busy and I think a lot of people had the same idea as me. The campsite banter is pretty good and its a blissful end to a happy day.

Oh by the way I lost about 3000 calories, pity I put it all back on with beer and Welsh Oggies.

* Possibly not very accurate.

** Reckon i'm burning more calories at this time by simply being on my feet for a long while.

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The Common Ground - Great food served by god botherers

As is now tradition, Sunday starts with my breakfast date with Shorty at the Amish cafe and their rather fab pancakes. This year we were gatecrashed by most of the team and it was a very pleasant breakfast in the morning sunshine. An added bonus was that we could sit down as the ground was starting to dry in places. After perusing the morning guide from those nice chaps at Q Magazine I decided on an easy day. Thus I saw a bit of the Bellydance Superstars, some of James Blunt playing some very nice tunes and a rather good Pixies cover, too much of Jools Holland but not nearly enough of the Dresden Dolls. They are a band for whom the description 'different' was made for. A boy girl duo, they look like something from a thirties cabaret show, you know the act before the strippers come on. The music is similarly eclectic ranging from electronic to grunge. Highlight can only be Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' played entirely on piano almost jazz style. Some of their own songs are excellent too, notably the infectious 'Coin Operated Boy' Definitely worth going to see in 2006.

I walk across the site passing Van Morrison wowing the middle aged families at the Pyramid Stage, and decide of a tour of the site, thus missing Brian Wilson, my biggest mistake of the festival. I end up at the Other Stage in time to see The Bravery. All clad in black leathers, they turn out to be nutters of the highest order with a couple of good songs, notably 'An Honest Mistake'. They banish any comparisons to Coldplay when the bassist decides to play the last couple of songs naked. I wanted to see Rufus Wainwright but I had a date with Shirley Manson by the pyramid, ahh. Garbage play almost the same set as at Download but with the song they did for the Bond movie 'The World is not Enough'. The highlight is when Shirley plucks a blow up doll from the audience and makes out with it onstage during 'Why do you love me?'. (It could have been me Shirl). Its a difficult act following Brian Wilson but they pull it off easily even, putting in a tribute to him mid set. Of all the songs tonight its 'Push it' and 'Paranoid' which hit home most. A successful date then but its time to love and leave.

Bright Eyes have eluded me on a couple of occasions previously, but tonight's the night yes? Well no actually. Turns out the running order in the Peel tent has been changed and we arrive to see LCD Sound system take to the stage. However this is not the disaster it could have been as they prove an excellent act, mixing dance in with rocking riffs to provide some top tunes, and I will be checking out more of them in the near future. I cut their set short though as its time to see some true Scouse legends. The Las provided one of the great albums of the nineties, then it all went tits up for them. However they are now back playing shows and may be recording again soon. Sadly the new stuff sounds dull on first listen and who knows maybe time has passed them by. The songs from that debut though still sound fresh and relevant so you never know. A quick dash into the Crown for a drink sees me stumble across the Paddingtons, Hull's finest playing a chaotic set full of 2 minute punk pop classics. An unexpected bonus.

You never really know what you are going to get with Ian Brown. Previews for this show range from rumours of a full on Stone Roses reunion to a hopelessly out of tune gobshite who can't cut it live. The crowd is expectant too, its huge and we sense something special is about to happen. First song 'I wanna be adored', then 'Sally Cinnamon', 'Waterfall', and 'Made of Stone', Roses classics all. The crowd goes nuts and hangs on every word. Its like, fucking hell this could be the best gig ever. Then he slips into several solo songs, but sings them really well and no one complains, especially when 'My Star' makes an appearance. Then midway through he plays 'She bangs the drums' and off we go again. The show climaxes with the superb F.E.A.R and the crowd demand an encore. The only problem is its on curfew at 11.00. Browny reappears with no less than Mani in tow and everyone cranes necks forwards trying to see if Squire and Reni are there. Sadly they are not and even worse they are prevented from playing any more by the organisers. So its a case of who knows? but there's one thing, those Roses rumours won't go away.

So that's it then, all over until 2007. Tell the truth i'm knackered and need a wash and a sleep but there's just time for one more trip to the Green Fields and one more Welsh Oggie. As always it was a fantastic week and I'm sure we are all counting the days down to the next one already. We sneak out at 3.30 in the morning and traffic chaos is avoided. After last years 5 hour wait to get out, we are on the main road in 5 minutes and, sadly, heading back into the normal world once again.

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