Glastonbury! How good? Well Good! It is an integral part of the slightly scruffy indie
student experience; the yearly festival round. And none more stereotypically free and scruffy than Glastonbury! Mud, sweat, dirty clothes, cheap cider, awful smells, loud music, takeaway food and funny substances, and that is all before leaving the house! Myself and three mates took it upon ourselves to
journey down and "live the Glastonbury dream"! For some it was the first time, for others it was a return to something we know and love. To the lucky 120,000 that got a ticket, I dedicate the memory to you. To those that tried for hours to get through on a clogged website and an eternally engaged telephone system, I say "hey ho, better luck next year"'. The journey and the pitching of the tents is of little importance, suffice to say by the time everyone was in and set up guy ropes became a major source of injury!
The real interest is the music and, above all, the
electric atmosphere. Everyone is in love with everything at this place, whether the sun is out and faces are burning, or the rain is pouring and mud is all you can see. There is such a feeling of love and enjoyment, and it feels like a privilege to be a part of it. To have to cut what could be a very long story
down to a manageable short-cut, I feel a brief review of the good, the bad, and the plain awful is called for:
Act of the Weekend: Morrissey, without a doubt. I am, and always will be a huge fan, and his maudlin melody and deliciously witty lyricism perfectly complemented the mud in my shoes.
Ones to watch: Hope Of The States. My mate watched their whole set and claimed it was the best gig he had ever seen. Keep an eye and ear out for these superb angsty indie boys, with a hint of something special.
Best Stage Act: British Sea Power. A superbly lively set, complete with bird calls, showmanship and crowd hopping, and of course the compulsory giant bear!?!
Most Emotion: Damien Rice. Never seems to give less than 125% every time, and never seems to want to leave the stage. The only non-headline act to do an encore as well, which shows how much support has grown for him. Epic, mesmerising, magnificent.
Rekindled love affair of the weekend: Mine with Gomez. I had lost interest in them after the
disappointing 'In Our Gun', but seeing them live for the first time in ages reminded me of just how clever and versatile a band they are.
Unexpected Surprise: Elbow doing a minimal 3 song acoustic set in a small tent housing no more than 150 people. It was superb, no more needs to be said.
Biggest Let-down: Paul McCartney. Yeah, so he was in the most influential British band of all time, but that doesn't mean he can rock a Saturday night festival crowd, nor does it mean he is cool. Excellent at times, but hideously embarrassing at others. So, that is a brief round up of what was hot and what was not and, despite it taking 4 hours to get out of the car park, and despite the fact that we all ended up covered in mud, Glastonbury is definitely the place
to be!!
Cheers to you,
Henry. Could you be a student diarist?
If you hail from North Yorkshire or are studying in the county and think you could squeeze out a few hundred words about once a month (more if you want to!) get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]
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