Festival review by : Jakkii Mickle

Glastonbury Festival 2000

Hi, well 2000 was certainly a lot easier on the legs than 97's mudbath... but give me a sea of mud, over the rubbish festooned fields~anyday! It was soul destroying to witness the total lack of thought given to the fact that the site is usually a working farm , and although a lot of the people attending were from U.K. cities (or beyond) perhaps they should stop and think what exactly goes "into" that pint of milk downed after a hard nights partying !!

But at least it did'nt rain eh?!

One guy who has to be worthy of a mention has to be that old 'fire starter', Arthur Brown.. What a set! What an amazing voice !!Character with a capital "C", he has style, panache oozing from every pore!(What more can I
say?!)Flaming hot!! "Shooglenifty"...rhythm!, crowd sweating ,foot stomping rhythm ..and all with real instruments.. not some computerised ,managed ,beat box sound!

Sat: "Toploader"...they were worth a look or two! "Coldplay"..a lovely, laid back,talented band, with syrup smooth vocals poured over the crowd from the heart of Chris Martin..(criticized in several write-ups for being too weak in his spoken chat to the crowds... I would rather have "weak" replaced with "Modest", something we would all benefit from a dose of!).."David Gray", another great vocalist!"Semi Sonic", did'nt disappoint, great sounds, some great songs... "Rolf Harris" we got there early, but so had the rest of his fans!!at least
we were near to the Avalon tent..but not near enough to hear him!! "Nick Harper"...Twang! there goes another string!! Great acoustics, wonderful vocals .."John Martyn".. my hero! so laid back, the night became horizontal, spoilt by some prats shouting at him to "Get his finger out", and "Get on with it"("polite Type" version!) ..I say "Get You to the dance tent ,and ROT there...!".The set could have benefitted from a few more of his older songs, but heck, who cared!!that 'syrup smooth 'voice mentioned earlier, could have been sunk in the "barrel of treacle " vocals that John treated his crowd with! Glastonbury was made for me with these seemingly
"effortless" croonings!

Sun: "Blue Aeroplanes"..under-rated, and underplayed..keep on chugging lads!!"Jools Holland".."Sit down Glastonbury"(+ we did) "and on my signal..." and we all did ! The crowd was 'licking the palms' of those talented hands...never mind 'eating out of them!'..Very impressed. Giant dragon parade...ace..stilt walkers...the insects, the cannabis leaves..and of course the 'Tea ladies'..the dance of the 'Cholmondeleys and the Featherstonehaughs'..timing was spot on!! and the frightening set of the 'Bastard son of Tommy Cooper'..scary, when your not exactly in the realms of normal brain function!! "Kangaroo Moon"...wow!! But who in their right minds, would dare to miss "GONG"?! Surely any "treww festival goer,my dear, could not have rezisted the deliciousness of this bands judderrrrsss!!" Daevid Allen,a visionary wizard at the head of the stage..the sounds unreal, ethereal and , and well, it was "Gong!", a band I never dreamed I'd ever see live..and a better end to the festival I could'nt have wished for ...!

I have written this long writeup of our time at the festival because all the reviews I have read have been dedicated to the" main stages" area,and contrary to popular belief, not everyone wants to hear about 'Macy Gray' and the 'mainstream bands' featured down there,(although they are good ,the opportunities to see them again will present themselves..to see Arthur Brown or Gong..(or Rolf Harris !~ might not!!)

If anyone ever reads my little account ,and "Thanx for a great time", please think twice, or even once , about the poor old cows who graciously lent you their pastures for a mad few days, and who most of you repaid with nothing but a sea of rubbish.

review submitted by
Jakkii Mickle