[Closed] glastonbury... up it's own ar$e?

Reading kicks it's arse all over the place IMO (well it did when I were a lad)

It is what you make of it really.

If you don't think Glastonbury is a life-changing event, then your clearly not taking anywhere near enough drugs! 😀 Everyone should do Glastonbury at least once.

I didn't really like Reading Jason. I went a long time back at the height at the height of the Criminal Justice Bill nonsense. The Policing was outrageously heavy-handed I lost count of the amount of times i got searched

When I'm there it's the best thing in the world, this year not going, I'm all "mleh..U2?"

Dad was talking about it, but we never got round to getting it sorted. Coverage is sooo good for bands though.

Prob go next year

I grew up in Pilton, used to get free tickets every year to the festival. Could also just about see the pyramid stage from my bedroom window. Ah, good times 🙂

While there are good points about watching the (top notch) BBC coverage from the comfort of my living room, it's a dagger through the heart every year I'm not there.

The other festivals can't touch it when it comes to all the madness that goes on up the back after hours. IMO.

Went once, in the early days (the next year someone got stabbed, and the year after there was a gun scare). We paid some dude with huge dredds £5 to crawl through his hole (oo-er) under the fence 🙂

Lifechanging? Not sure, but it was most certainly a new experience - just being able to smoke with loads of other folk with no fear of arrest was extremely uplifting...

It's probably quite a good experience for the children of middle england so that they can get an experience of some extremely good quality anarchic chaos and a taste of the counter culture which I believe is still very much present and thriving beneath the corporate shell....

It was frowned upon in my family to attend the festival after the Hells Angels lost the security contract as it was too commercialised after that.. 🙄

I went for a few hours in the late 90s but the choking smog produced by 3 million burning plastic water bottles soon had me beating a hazy retreat.. 🙁

It is a brilliant festival to attend, which you are pretty much left to your own devices unlike other festivals like v, which is just a mass cash till constantly trying to take take take.

Im not there this year as i broke my leg last wk in spain, i have my ticket sat next here, seven of my friends went on tues night. The best weekends i have ever had. class

never been interested, but then again these kind of things are clearly not aimed at people like me...

I like the comments about smoking weed etc and endorsing it. Kind of ruins it for anyone who isnt into that doesnt it?

double post!

Eh?! Your experience of a festival would be ruined by someone else getting high?!

Glasto just got to big and weary for me. I needed a week off after going.
Been checking out smaller fests the last few years, big chill and green man notably.

Going to Latitude this year.

If you really want to feel the chaos take some strong acid on Saturday night and take a walk about. I was chased by a fire breathing dragon, danced with jay k, made up a new language and ended up in a naked sweat lodge then onto a tent with a festi chick, sunrise with some random sound system....
My dad has sold his pots there since nearly the first one and still loves it. Not for me anymore

whay yunki said it used to be real now it is for straights to be crazy for a weekend like they are all counter culture...that said I am old and cynical but U2 headlining FFS they would have been a riot at the very thought of this

I've still got the 1982 poster.8 quid for the weekend with U2 playing!

it's certainly a big logo money spinning cash money maker. I'm not sure how much it is about good music.

I'm not sure how much it is about good music.

For nearly all of the acts it's going to be one of the highlights of their career.. if not THE highlight to date.. a lot of the acts are there to have a good time too so they end up giving an extraordinary performance.. and the buzz of being amongst that many buzzed out people is pretty electric..

I would say that you'd have to be pretty shallow not to find it at least inspiring if not life-changing..

i would say you'd have to be pretty shallow to assume that everyone will feel the same way you do about everything...

Went a few times in the early 90s....memories of sunburn and baked earth rather than the mudfest you sometimes see.

Couldn't stand Reading - a big gig rather than a festival.

Nowadays, it's the likes of Beautiful Days/Bearded Theory/Endorse it/Rogues Picnic for me...

Most of you aren't in the demographic any more. You've all got old and dull 😉

Hell on Earth. In fact that's my view of all music festivals

i would say you'd have to be pretty shallow to assume that everyone will feel the same way you do about everything...

yeah man.. you're probably right.. although with the quantity and variety of diversions available at the festival I'm sure most people could find [i]something[/i] to gain from the experience if they were willing to apply themselves to the task..

that is really unfair yunki is totally shallow not just a little shallow

I couldn't have put it better myself junkyard.. 🙂

I went a couple of times in the early 90's had a great time, dont take drugs anymore though so doubt I'd enjoy it now.

If you don't think Glastonbury is a life-changing event, then your clearly not taking anywhere near enough drugs!

😀

If you love music and have never been then that's a shame.
If you're just going to see the crusties and set up your chair at the back of the Pyramid Stage and watch effing Mumford and Sons on the big screen, then you'll have a great time, but no, it won't be life changing.
If you're on drugs then good luck finding your tent or your mates!

I want to chill for a weekend in a tent with Ferne Cotton thats for sure - mud or not im not bothered...

'95 was my one and only year, baking hot and all for free 😉

Pretty sure it's just media, there's probably a good festival there beyond what the beeb decide to show you...

I went in 1989, Suzanne Vega, Elvis were the big names, but it was the summer of love and we were groovy. Had my cider glugged by by a giant biker, paid over the odds for fags and ran out of money.

Reading kicks it's arse all over the place IMO (well it did when I were a lad)

I think you're probably right now, so I'm staying at home with a good book

Radiohead have just turned up on the Park Stage for a surprise gig! 😯

Its full on money spinner, once TV got involved in round the day coverage they became all about being there. But then let the kids and others enjoy themselves.

Then again last big one i was at was Reading '93. New Order, Evan Dando, Juliana Hatfield 3, Dinosaur Jnr. and some recreational pharmaceuticals. So i'm not one to talk.

So old now that the people i was at Reading with have kids a caravan and she is a Tory Councillor and they're at "Glasto" in a caravan.

Some of the beeb coverage better improve. Bloody Chimpunk I hate that p###k!

These vaccines are fairly lame too - hopefully it will get better later.

Only been the once and i was working, was an experience!

It was 1992 and i got involved with a group called the 'Dogs of Heaven'. They were the ones who built the 50ft-high, 5 ton Wicker Man and burnt it on the Sunday night - i originally signed up as a backstage crew type but soon found out i was expected to be a performer as well...

...So spent the three shows naked apart from a coat of fire-painted body paint, a pair of para boots and a horned helmet! 🙂

Christ, was it nearly 20yrs ago now?

I dont think Glastonbury is up its own arse, but the bbc coverage certainly is. Just play the bands & stop the w@nky presenters ruining it.

If Jo Whiley is wheeled out Im switching over.

That burning man was fantastic!

Went in '97, one of [i][b]the[/b][/i] muddy years.

Spent the weekend hiding in bottles of vodka to numb the pain of the mud. Not been back, but I have it in the list of "things to do (again) before I'm 40".

I always preferred Reading, the line-up is usually more my sort of thing and if the weather's gash at least you're only a 20min walk from a pub...

Doing Latitude this year, although the music's largely not my cup of tea, the comedy line up's fantastic and it's on my doorstep. Also I'd say it's the closest thing to Glasto outside of Pilton.

Tang -
I remember having to stand guard over/under it all Saturday night after they stopped us burning it 'cos the pyro boys set fire to the Acoustic tent nearby!
I also remember looking out on the Sunday evening at what looked like 20'000 faces all waiting for us to start the show - my bum dropped i tell you!
Apparently we got the 2nd biggest crowd of the weekend, 2nd only to Tom Jones 🙂

Bah, double post...

From what i've seen so far, Glastonbury is all old bands - hardly rock n roll! It's like Simon Cowell arranged the line up!

IOW was way better!!

have glasto ever had any metal bands play there? get slayer to play there,that would liven things up 😀 i'd actually like to go then.

I dont think Glastonbury is up its own arse, but the bbc coverage certainly is.

I suspect that is the correct answer.

The big festival lineups also generally seem to be abysmal these days. Usually a bunch of reformed has beens topping the bill. Surprised the kids of today put up with it really.

From what i've seen so far, Glastonbury is all old bands - hardly rock n roll! It's like Simon Cowell arranged the line up!

IOW was way better!!

there's over sixty stages.. what you've seen on telly is about 0.1% of what's happening up there..

anyhow.. I've rejoined this thread as I have found out the definitive answer to the OPs question.

I've just been contacted by a Glastonbury veteran who is also a veteran of the free festivals pre CJB.. he's attended the Pilton festival from being taken as a child.. through to taking his own kids and now his kids are old enough to go on their own..
So his qualifications are good.. and his integrity beyond reproach..

He has just reliably informed me.. from the festival site.. that:

'It's all about the love..'

and I believe him..

Nice to see U2 are sprouting their own bullsh!t already...

I dont think Glastonbury is up its own arse, but the bbc coverage certainly is.

+1, It is on BBC 2, 3 and 4 at the moment, I always thought radio was the medium for music.

[i]That burning man was fantastic! [/i]

In my day it was the rental vans that got them there they used to burn.

always enjoyed the times i went, and the main stage was always the last place you would go if you were interested in good music.

but i'm a jazz loving, chin stroking snob.

'It's all about the love..'

and I believe him..

Indeed. 🙂

But we're not there... we're at home sat on out sofas... endulging in our own blends of mediocrity... we need to think it was better when we were there... when we could be there... we need to hate it now... we need to feel better about ourselves and our own shitty existances... haterz need to hate.

Just tuned in - has Mark Thomas done his tax protest thing at U2?

This Nobo fella seems a bit of a prick

been several times; before the fence went up it was a life changing experience
now its just an experience

that and the bbc hammering it home that you must attend have turned it into a shadow of its former self

and dunno bout metal cant see slayer being appreciated fully - but saw rage there in 94!

we need to hate it now... we need to feel better about ourselves and our own shitty existances... haterz need to hate.

ach... my bad.. sorry folks..
it's this damned [i]passive aggressive[/i] form of bitterness that I subscribe to..
I'll get the hang of this grumpy old man thing if it's the last thing I do.. must practice more vitriol.. I'll go and wake the Mrs..

😀

have glasto ever had any metal bands play there? get slayer to play there,that would liven things up i'd actually like to go then.

you would have liked clash of the titans in 91 then with anthrax, megadeath, slayer, suicidal tendencies and testament it was ace, although testament were a bit ropey!

last time I was at glasto the cure were headlining 94ish from a very drug addled memory

Latitude is even more middle class than Glastonbury.

I overheard my favourite ever festival based chastisement there...
'No India, that's daddy's Yakult!'

I'd like to try Glasto one year for a chilled fest. But there's never going to be enough on the line-up for me. I normally go to Download and Sonisphere, with the occasional trip to Bloodstock too.

Download used to be great, really friendly and chilled. But now the atmosphere tends to be ruined by metal elitist twunts shouting "Machine-****ing-head." even when they aren't playing and trying to intimidate emo kids. Which is ironic as the line-ups have softened significantly.

Sonishpere is a little dull for atmosphere, but picked up last year over the first year. Hopefully be even better this year, with many people disappointed with Download this year and Soni become the main metal fest for this year. Excellent line-up for me too, can't wait.

stone henge now that was life changing

hawk wind live

efaceec90 - Member
have glasto ever had any metal bands play there? get slayer to play there,that would liven things up i'd actually like to go then.

From what I recall, Michael Eavis vowed never to book a 'heavy' band at Glastonbury ever again after the fatal incident at Roskilde when some fans were crushed to death watching Pearl Jam. I realise Pearl Jam are hardly Lamb of God, but it seemed to turn Eavis/Glasto again anything from the heavier side of the sonic spectrum.

Rage Against The Machine, Senser and a few others played in the early 90's, but nothing really since then.

I guess Reading and latterly Download/Sonisphere and on a far smaller scale Hellfest cater to that market.

tazzymtb would definitely have loved to see that 😀

Latitude is even more middle class than Glastonbury.

Absolutely, it's the M&S of festivals.

Senser

The best line up of any opening day. On the NME stage...The Sea, Back to the Planet, Senser, Chumbawamba...were RDF there as well?

Then the Saturday, Senser were in some little clearing. Ace.

Latitude is even more middle class than Glastonbury.
I overheard my favourite ever festival based chastisement there...
'No India, that's daddy's Yakult!'

I reckon that's the fifth time I've seen you write that. 😀

@racefaceec90

Sonisphere in 2 weeks has Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax on the same stage for the first time in the UK. As well as Slipknot, Motorhead, Mastodon, In Flames, The Cavalera Conspiracy, Killing Joke & Sisters of Mercy to name a few.

I reckon that's the fifth time I've seen you write that.

There's only one thing for it... a where does your username come from thread 😉

I used to have the right hots for the girl in Senser. Happy days.

It really is what you make of it. It's definitely not for everyone but no matter how much it's changed you can't really say there's anything like it anywhere else in the UK or anywhere really.

The BBC coverage with Fearne Cotton and lord knows else does take the shine of it now somewhat but then the BBC coverage is only showing the smallest, thinnest slice of what goes on and what it's like.

Some people will go and only watch the big bands at the Pyramid Stage and maybe the Other Stage which is missing the point somewhat imo, whereas others will go, get in the spirit of it, lose themselves for 4 days across the whole site and these will be the people proclaiming it as a life-changing experience I suspect.

As someone else has said, when I see it on the TV always feel a pang of regret that I'm not there but then it's easy to forget the painful bits 😆

themanfromdelmonte would have loved to have gone to that.didnt have the money for tickets though (as was buying some rush tickets for nec gig they did (cost £210 for my friend and me 😯 was a great gig though 😀

deadlydarcy - Member

Latitude is even more middle class than Glastonbury.
I overheard my favourite ever festival based chastisement there...
'No India, that's daddy's Yakult!'

I reckon that's the fifth time I've seen you write that.

My apologies, it's my favourite ever quote. As such, my repetitions of it are as inevitable as Glastonbury headliner induced controversy!

@racefaceec90

Rumour I've heard for Soni next year. Soundgarden-RHCP-Rush.

themanfromdelmonte 😀 it's good to hear that soundgarden are to start recording together again (were a great band 😀

Re: BBC comments - don't they organise every festival going in the UK? No, oh sorry, by the way they bang on about it, you'd think they did.

As for Glasto, it disappeared up it's own backside years ago and hasn't peeped back out yet. Can't think of a muddy field I'd like to be in less.

Toadfish, I wondered if there'd be anyone else here who remembered [i]proper[/i] festivals.
I was at Stonehenge in '81, '82 & '83 and Glastonbury in '84.
I also went to Stonehenge for the Winter Solstice once around that time.
There were three of us watched the sun rise that year, me, a girl who's friends were still asleep in their camper and the security guy.

Back to the Planet

Arh those were the days!!
I was driving home last night put the radio on Radio 4 was talking politics and a bit dull so I switched to Radio 1 and it had some daft bint from the US playing shite, radio 2 had U2 from Glastonbury so I turned the radio off. I think this nicely sums up whats happend to Glastonbury and me since the early nineties.

As for Glasto, it disappeared up it's own backside years ago

Which year would you pinpoint for the final disappearance? I assume you went lots and finally one year you thought to yourself, "this has disappeared up its own backside". Which were the good years for you?