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  1. The diver, the jar, the stick and the cow “I am so small” said the Diver. “Yes” said the Cow “ but you are a huge dick” The weather reports in June, from the heart of Pilton, will contain: Rainfall in the last 24 hour period courtesy of the RAM jam jar and the latest scientific depth assessment. Water table height provided by the diver and Sticky Stick mark II Daily outside temperature and humidity taken at the la tour aux oignons Wind direction and cloud cover from Pilton Pat the weathervane Ground moisture levels (new addition this year) using the latest technology from the Pokey Twins. A weekly weather interpretation and graphs sent in from our local weather experts A haiku Stick - A Haiku Meandering thoughts where a pointed, dry stick blows betrayed by the cow This thread is dedicated to Big Dog, who is very much missed, the big sh*t.
    80 points
  2. Yep, I can't believe it either! Ten short years since I did the first SOTG report. Well here it is. I'll be updating more frequently as we get closer to the festival. Special thanks to a new cameraman, @Crazyfool01 who did a sterling job.
    65 points
  3. Two female headliners - lineup out next week. no names given
    58 points
  4. I hope this is ok to post here, please delete if not. Since the early days of The Thingy being drawn up on eFestivals, it developed from this to this https://theglastonburythingy.weebly.com/ Now, thanks to the absolutely amazing design and build efforts of @kalifire, a new website has arisen. Remaining advert free, with no money being made off the back of it, and including many links back to eFestivals news articles, I present to you the all new Glasto Thingy website. https://theglastothingy.com/ Now much more user friendly and optimised for mobile, you can quickly select info by year, by month, by subject (When Does?) or still view the old full breakdown from 2000 to this year if you prefer. Thanks again to Kalife, I'm sure anyone who uses the site will appreciate his efforts.
    57 points
  5. “home isn’t always a place” said the Diver, “home is where you love” said the Cow “and it appears we all love the Farm”. Temperature at 0717 am is 15.5 C and humidity is 92%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is recorded as about 10mm in The Ram Jam Jar. It is up to Michael's ankles, he is de-laminating from the Aldi Frosties packet and won’t survive another night. The ground has a bit of give but that is all. I blame all those concerned about tent pegs, next year the massacre will have to be more impressive to assuage the gods. The ribbon tower has its party hat on, it is Tuesday after all. The Well is damp but only from falling moisture, groundwater wouldn’t show after that little and would take some time to rise. The diver left at short notice yesterday, apparently there was a chance to see the Titanic and as a professional underwater dude it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Not heard from him since. The duck is happy that their undercarriage is moist. Here are the bar prices from the Bread and Roses. Finally something useful. Pilton Pat is indicating Red Gate, where you will be entering site. Cloud 8/8. The sky gloomy grey, Leyland Trade Smart Light Grey, 750ml, £12 at B and Q. It will be improving later. Pokey Twins still read no.1 on the moist-o-meter. The ground has sucked it all off, no apparent change in moisture levels 2 inches below surface. The building work has stopped as the builders were offed in a Tarantino-esque style yesterday. A series of shallow graves marks the end of our journey. There was weather of different kinds, that happens each year and is not meant to be taken seriously. This nonsense is done to try and give a bit of perspective, life is hard but there is light if you look for it. Be safe everyone, see you on the Farm. Haiku Meandering thoughts Heavy bags, queuing, waiting Here at last, our home
    44 points
  6. GUESS WHO IS GOING TO GLASTONBURY 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️
    40 points
  7. So as we approach the 5 weeks to go marker , it’s time to set up a traditional meet up for efest members . This will take place at the ridge and furrow bar on wed 21st June from 6pm. It would be fantastic to meet all the people that contribute to making this such a great place for info and chat the whole year round. Past and Present members of course . I will be there from 7 and for now we can use the pyramid stage hat as a meeting point . Hopefully someone might have a more distinguishable target . See you in June … enjoy the build up and don’t be shy
    33 points
  8. “What do you think success is?” asked the Cow “ a dry longdrop seat” said the Diver. Temperature at 9.57 am is 20.2 C and humidity is 50%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is 0mm. Mickey E’s boots are dusty. Water table height in the well is 0mm. Diver can’t be arsed to stick his head in the hole. Pilton Pat indicates a fresh breeze towards Glastonbury reclamation. Cloud 2/8 broken Cu Pokey Twins read no.1 on the moist-o-meter. Even less moisterer than yesterday. Haiku Thirsty break of day A saggy michael grinning after the onion
    33 points
  9. Well sometimes you cant hide it. Like the Vodaphone how many phones competition on Twitter that my wife has won 🤯 Cant quite believe that after all the ticket dramas that we ended up winning two tickets and will be on the farm. Has not quite sunk in yet and until the tickets are in hand wont quite believe it.
    30 points
  10. Well, I’ve prepared a super brief summary of the artists playing (a couple of words for each one) sorted by genres to make it easier to find performances that might interest you. I skipped most of the headliners and 2nd line names because I consider everyone knows already about them, and also I skipped as well some djs I didn’t know very well. If you want to listen to the music of any specific artist in the list I suggest you this Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2yq4iaXGrLa69oHXGm9olQ Here we go! Indie (and shoegaze, dreampop, psych..) Yo La Tengo is one of the festival's main names. The New Jersey trio has had a practically impeccable discography since the late 80s if you're into indie/noisepop. Blonde Redhead could be considered as one of the comebacks of this edition. I lost track of them in the 2010s after amazing dreampop albums like 23 and Misery Is a Butterfly but with their work in 2023 they still seem to have it. Slow Pulp is one of the bands I'm most looking forward to seeing in this genre, as I don't think they have ever come to Spain and they will finally do so with one of the albums of the year, created in a cabin in Wisconsin. Yeule is another expected artist for me, I’d call her music something like glitch-noisepop, synth-shoegaze or chill-dreampop-wave. Ethel Cain is a young dreampop singer-songwriter gaining a lot of hype lately (from sitting in the front row at Florence & The Machine's concerts to opening for her). The Last Dinner Party, with only 4 songs (when this is being written) are probably the it-band of the year. Kind of a Fleetwood Mac-esque indie rock with some drops of glam. Nieve Ella, despite her name, isn’t Spanish but a young UK debut artist who started out by uploading her music to tiktok before making the leap to the indie scene. The Lemon Twigs is a duo formed by prolific and all-rounder brothers Michael and Brian D’Addario, who are truly enthusiasts of the late 60s and 70s music. Crumb is a psychedelic pop band based in Brooklyn who have recently collaborated with Melody’s Echo Chamber. Silica Gel is also good neo-psychedelia but from South Korea, anyone said K-Psych? Whatever. Water From Your Eyes were the supporter band from last Interpol tour here, but they are more into something we could call “hyper-rock” (experimental+artpop+postpunk+psych). Model/Actriz will bring to the Parc del Forum that dance-punk we don’t see since the last DFA days in the late 2000s, but with more noise on it. Sophia Chablau e Uma Enorme Perda de Tempo is a funny indie and postpunk band from Brasil. Another comeback is that of the underground band Voxtrot, jangle-pop for Belle & Sebastian and Smiths fans. Royel Otis were the authors of the soundtrack of the line-up video, fresh indie and jangle-pop from Australia in the vein of The Drums. Ratboys is like a hidden piece of indie with a little bit of country. And not precisely indie is Dogstar (Keanu Reeves’ project, yes, that Keanu Reeves), post-grunge if any, or “alternative” rock (maybe even without the “alternative”) but I had to sort it somewhere. Not my cup of tea but some may find it interesting. Last, but not least, if you don’t mind the language but the indie spirit, here you have a few acts from Spain and LATAM that you’ll like to discover: Aiko el Grupo (twee pop-punk with guitars and synths), Depresión Sonora (coldwave and postpunk revival), Él mato a un Policía Motorizado (Argentinian noise pop à la Pavement, Primavera Sound trademark), Ferran Palau (catalan bedroom pop), Lisasinson (noise pop-punk) and Viuda (profane and dark postpunk). Punk / garage / hardcore / metal Girls to the front! Bikini Kill are riot grrrl legend commanded by Kathleen Hanna, we’re waiting their gig in Primavera since ¿2020? and I even doubted about skip listing them here as I did with the headliners. Mannequin Pussy ingredients are “riot grrrl, indie punk, hardcore, powerpop, kim deal, may contain traces of noise (more)”. Amyl & The Sniffers, thrashing and energetic garage punk from Australia. Mujeres are also one the festival’s regulars, not a female band despite their name, but a garage and power pop act from Barcelona. Militarie Gun will be filling the Turnstile’s post-hardcore slot this year. Another two recent hardcore-punk sensations are Scowl and Gel. A Spanish post-hardocre comeback is Lisabö, from the Basque Country. Shellac, Steve Albini’s band (producer of Nirvana, Pixies et al.) are playing every year as permanent guests at the festival, in case anyone has missed them. The mysterious and ever-changing project The Armed deserve a listen to their chameleonic post-hardcore with contributions of Iggy Pop and Julien Baker. Tropical f**k Storm are expected to develop on stage their noisy experimental rock and Brutus will be equally commited to their post-hardcore/metal/rock. And in the darkest side of the festival we’ll find Chelsea Wolfe’s ethereal doom metal and Wiegedood‘s atmospheric black metal. Emo / Slowcore / Singer-songwriters Let’s begin this soft side of the fest with emo icons American Football who are again active after a looooong hiatus. Also sharing some slacker rock but more into slowcore are Duster, coming back after almost 20 years and being a bit viral since their music captures perfectly some moods in tiktok. More slowcore (but indieish) with Scottish myth Arab Strap, also returning in this decade. More 90s/00s reminiscence with the chamber pop/country of Lambchop. And some female singer-songwriters you won't want to miss in the early evening are the growing star Faye Webster who is becoming bigger everyday, Jessica Pratt with her anachronic voice, the depth of Julie Byrne and Elliott Smith and Daniel Johnston fan Joanna Sternberg. Folk / World music The folk counterpoint is provided by irish folk music of Lankum, one of the most interesting bands of this edition with one of the albums of the year. Channel One will be in charge of bringing Jamaican music to the Forum. Balming Tiger are experimental hiphop and alternative K-pop from Korea. The recent addition to the line-up Atarashii Gakko! Use to play J-pop, J-rock and synth-funk. And Portuguese Rita Vian uses to play kind of electronic fado. Minimal and Ambient Less is more, so here you’ll find: the minimalism of Charlemagne Palestine, the acclaimed and awaited minimal ambient of William Basinski who will be performing Disintegration Loops, minimal techno from Monolake, more ambient from Space Afrika, ambient pop and minival wave from HTRK and the dark ambient of Wolf Eyes who could be also listed in the noise section. Experimental & Jazz Shabaka (Hutchings, obviously, if you were asking), the sax behind The Comet Is Coming and Sons of Kemet, now in a solo act. BADBADNOTGOOD is jazz fusion directly from Canada, considered by some as instrumental hiphop and having remixed (reconstructed I’d say) Turnstile recently. The avantgarde and nu-jazz of Nala Sinephro got her Space 1.8 album awarded as AOTY in many music media. The unclassifiable Mount Kimbie productions can range from Future Garage to Dubstep, Indietronica and Post-Punk. Eartheater can blend together art pop with psychedelic folk and electronic. Also Phew plays with art pop routing it from drone to post-punk. And belgian Nazar will be performing live in the fest his post-industrial kuduro. Hip hop Quite exclusive and reputed hiphop this year besides big names like last year’s Kendrick. If Badbadnotgood are middle term between jazz and hiphop, so is reputed Billy Woods with its abstract and experimental rap. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, big names in the genre will join forces to mark the tenth anniversary of their joint album Piñata. Clipse is the exclusive reunion of the brothers of Pusha T and Malice in the project they use to have in those The Neptunes days produced by Pharrell. Roc Marciano is a gangsta rapper from the east coast who has worked with the Alchemist. And F.R.A.C. (Foundation of Atypical Rappers from Cádiz) is an Andalusian rap gang with comical lyrics. R&B Amaarae is one of my main 2024’s reccomendations. But this genre is quite well represented in the lineup: we also have the legendary Jai Paul, as influential as elusive, reappearing unexpectedly after a decade in the Shadow. Also Omar Apollo, adding a bit of neosoul and bedroom pop to the equation. Slightly more alternative is Tirzah, with a promising new record this year. And maybe other of my favourites is 070 Shake who already was in PS19 and released in 2020 a bright record. A promising new artist might be Obongjayar who may be you familiar to you from his collaborations with Fred Again.. and Little Simz. And if you opt for an electronic and glitchy alternative r&b we have Sega Bodega. Disco and Synthpop Róisín Murphy (former Moloko singer) signed one of the best albums of the year with her house-pop, run and catch her onstage before she screws up with another unfortunate transphobic comment that would lead her mostly queer audience to cancel her. Romy (from The XX) debuted with another great synthpop/dance/house album of this 2023. More synthpop and good vibes onstage with Roosevelt. And with a specially good live (imho) are L’Imperatrice, funky synthpop and nu-disco with a frech touch. Don’t miss them if you like that music. Also from Frace comes the humorous dance music of Teki Latex. From Italy the mysterious and masked Liberato find a place for the tradizione napoletana among the contemporary sounds like future bass. In Spain we can find nice synthpop songs in catalá from Renaldo & Clara and from Andorra there are some synthpop in spanish language from julia amor. Pop / Hyperpop / Pc Music Charli XCX is (imo) the true icon and curator of the festival’s New Normal, above Yung Beef or whoever. She has played in 2019, twice in 2022 and even appeared partying in the PC Muisc a la ciutat show. She will be again in 2024 (only resting in 2023 since the New Normal concept started) and everyone who has worked with her has also come to the fest (Carly Rae Jepsen, Caroline Polachek, Christine & The Queens, Sky Ferreira, Clairo, Yaeji, Big Freedia, Cupcakke, Pabllo Vittar, Mykki Blanco, Danny L Harle…), and this year is the time of pop stars Troye Sivan and Kim Petras (who is repeating), and a couple of colleagues from PC Music as producer A.G. Cook, shiny pop star Hannah Diamond and chameleonic Dorian Electra, all of them repeating presence in Primavera Sound. We could also add to this basket Madonna’s daughter Lolahol, and Daniela Lalita (despite I don’t know very well her work, she comes from being featured in Mura Masa’s songs “Love” and “Drugs”, but maybe she opt for a more urban sound let’s see). From Spain we have Hofe, who use to work along with 4:40, and a real extravaganza worthy of the nerdiest of freaks: Stella Maris, the fictional “catholic band” from TV series La Mesías, formed by beloved singer Amaia and other actresses and with their music produced by Hidrogenesse, the “spanish Sparks” and another Primavera regulars. Electronic, House, Techno… I’m sorry I’m not really that much into electronic so I’ll skip most of the djs I don’t know, but let’s go with the acts I do know: Korean deep house and nu-disco artist Peggy Gou is coming back to the fest as one of the big electronic names (besides Disclosure, Justice..) after her hit “(It goes like) Nanana” went viral this summer. Peruvian artist Sofia Kourtesis will follow the deep house cuts but this time with a latin touch. And there will be no shortage of deep house / nu-disco this year with Barry Can’t Swim. The founder of Hyperdub label, Kode 9, specialises in Dubstep and UK Bass. And the EBM will be provided by Mandy, Indiana. The reputed soundtrack composer and producer Mica Levi (aka Micachu) will be doing a dj set, and you could also try the showcase of Herrensauna (CEM b2b MCMLXXXV, Salome & SPFDJ) one of the highlights in the djs section. The Blessed Madonna will bring more nu-disco and deep house to the sunday brunch to try to make us dance, and with her will be Chlóe Caillet, Anotr and Mochakk. Urban, Latin Trap and Reggaeton Yes, despite what Gabi said, there is still some. Let’s start with Arca, whom I wouldn’t know where to classify with her deconstructed and glitch club music with latin notes. Maybe in experimental? I’d also highlight the urban pop of argentinian Dillom. More obvious is Rels B, trap and dancehall for Bad Gyal fans. MJ Nebreda will show us her “changa tuki” a new latin genre from Venezuela mixing 90s electronic with new sounds. Spanish trap queen La Zowi returns to Primavera one more time to prove who is “La Reina del Sur”. Milo J is another trap artist from Argentina who has been recording with the successful and viral producer Bizarrap. Puerto Rican YOVNGCHIMI has worked with people like Bad Bunny and Mora. Pelada is a vindictive project from Canada focused in latin music and electronic. And I’d close with DJ Playero, an unexpected regular of this festival, back in action after blazing the trail in the glory days of old reggaeton. Delving into the Spanish music scene Besides some other acts already mentioned in each category, there is also some music with a specific Spanish touch waiting to cross borders. Derby Motoreta's Burrito Kachimba blends modern (heavy) psych with “Andalusian rock” (a 70’s mixture of Flamenco and prog-rock). Ángeles, Victor, Gloria y Javier is a recent supergroup formed by flamenco singer Ángeles Toledano, psych musician Victor Cabezuelo (from Rufus T. Firefly), jazz drummer Gloria Maurel and electronic music producer Javier Martín. Merina Gris is electropop in euskera language from Basque Country. Cómo Vivir en el Campo is underground indie pop from Madrid. Maria Hein is a Balearic indie pop-folk singer/songwriter. Guillem Gisbert is the solo project from the leader of Manel, the catalá indie band that have been playing in previous editions. And María Jaume is another catalá singer-songwriter. That's all, I hope you find it useful 🙂
    29 points
  11. Morning children “The greatest illusion," said the Diver, "is that life should be perfect.” Temperature at 10.04 am is 18.7c and humidity is 70%. See picture dumb arse. Rainfall in last 24 hours is 0mm. Or in local speak feck all. Water table height in the well is unmeasurable today. Well reads Jurassic World. Dave has made a dry entry. Pilton Pat indicates a light breeze towards Glastonbury Tor and cloud is 4/8 Cu. Pokey Twins read no.2 on the moist-o-meter. Gargling gravel. Today’s haiku: Humorous dawning A holy, moist cow whitters in spite of the jar
    29 points
  12. Here's your 2023 - 2022 comparison
    29 points
  13. “do you have any other advice?” asked the Diver, “don’t measure how valuable you are by the way you are treated” said the Cow “security are only doing their job”. Temperature at 0727 am is 17.7 C and humidity is 87%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is maybe 0.5 mm there was a bit of drizzle at 2000ish last night but the security guards never moved undercover. The Ram Jam Jar was damp again this morning, a bit of overnight evaporation has occurred. Michael's boot soles are damp and he is not perturbed one jot. Pilton Pat is indicating Totterdown through boredom, still and calm unlike the festival site. Traders day to arrive yesterday and it was manic. Cloud 6/8, St. The sky gloomy grey with blue starting to break through, grey lag goose becoming kingfishers chuff later. Pokey Twins read no.1 on the moist-o-meter. The pathetically small amount of not dry falling had little effect, still to hard for potato tent pegs, jigger pig recommended. The Well is still dry, it takes proper rain to register and that wasn’t it. The diver has seen what happened at the building and does not want to be added to the pile. He and the duck are seeking comfort in each other’s arms / wings / whatever. The building has been revealed as a recreation of the sixth Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, the Worthy Cows decided that the chance of rain required an offering to the gods. The build crew were taken to the top of the steps of the pyramid, their still beating hearts cut out and raised to the spirits above. Funny sort of thing to do really. Haiku Unquiet dawning As wide, eager gates waiting before the influx
    28 points
  14. Surely it's for any efester to suggest/arrange to meet, we are all part of the community. And @Crazyfool01 has done fuck tons to help people get there this year (and previous) and has supported/defended the forums when they were yours. This seems like a really mean spirited response.
    28 points
  15. So unfortunately it’s not looking hopeful that I will be at the farm this year. I hope everyone has THE best time! If you’ve not been before, you’re in for a real treat. To those veterans, enjoy your happy place for another year! I have a little favour to ask. We lost my wonderful dad last year and he was a big blondie fan. If you see her set, can you please raise a glass to my dad Dave during the set? He’d love the idea of a load of people toasting him in the fields.
    27 points
  16. Well done Glastonbury... Sorry, but anybody that uses a disposable vape needs to have a long hard think about what they're doing. I vape, lets get that clear from the start... But those disposables are a disgusting invention. Not only do they mean loads more single use plastic, but worse, they're a waste of perfectly good lithium, a valuable resource that we're going to need to utilise more and more to get us out of the climate mess. There are perfectly good reusable batteries, tanks and atomisers on the market. They work so much better than those crappy disposables, so why on earth would anybody choose the worst option, cause more environmental damage, and pay more for the privilege. It makes no sense whatsoever. The only reason I can come up with is convenience and laziness. Hopefully they've banned the traders from selling them too, and those traders will now stock reusables like spare batteries, tanks and bottles of liquid. 🤞
    27 points
  17. Just like to say a big thank you to the person who secured tickets for @Jcatley and myself from Resale Group 5! We have no idea who did it, but we can't believe that some random person helped us bag tickets to the best party on Earth! Thank you so much and if it's anyone on here, let yourself be known! Would really like to thank you on the farm too!! Got the confirmation email now and it's all paid, wooooooo!!! Can't believe the kindness of strangers and a big thank you to all our helpers and volunteers as well. Also all the people who sent advice or tips in DMs!!! Really feeling the spirit of Glastonbury right now!!!! PS - commiserations for those who missed out, it's rough I know, but I hope you find a way in Oct/Nov for next year!
    27 points
  18. Some of you guys are insufferable, no views apart from your own are to be considered okay. I hope roisin is alright, and I hope that we will soon get to a point as a society that people feel they can speak up on their views without losing their livelihoods. Her views on puberty blockers are probably pretty close to the majority consensus view but anybody that dares speak up and voice their view ends up being shot down by a vocal minority.
    26 points
  19. I spoke to Morgan and he was happy to help...
    24 points
  20. 40 years from now, Emily Eavis, 83, will be telling us it was the best one ever and still the greatest show on earth. While she is still the public face of the festival, behind the scenes, all of the booking and directive decisions are made by her three children. Festival Republic no longer exists.
    23 points
  21. I’ve never been one to spend most of the festival in the crew bars, as some seem to do, but certainly have been guilty of spending too much time there in the past. This year is going to be different. Arrived on Saturday afternoon as usual, smooth and quick entry through Red Gate, slow drive down the “railway track” and check in at our porta cabin. They’re on top of it this year, it’s the earliest I’ve seen a ticket or wristband in a very long time. Through Undle Ground, looking out for mates, turn left twice and into Dragon Field, a few hugs and brief catch up conversations, park up, organise the van and relax. I’ve brought my bike this year, great for getting around before the crowds make it tricky. Off to Silver Hayes to check out the new venue. “The Levels” is spectacular, I can’t stop staring at the empty, except for the construction team, venue. No acts or lighting, but it still has me mesmorised, as I imagine dancing to Nia Archives in the early hours of Sunday morning. I get into conversation with one of the riggers, who describes how the lighting will work. “So I won’t need to take any drugs?”, “well I wouldn’t go that far!”. Next up the new “Carhenge”, surely a sanitised version of the original of 1987. Well I was quite impressed, bigger than I imagined and more interesting, with a small stage, but it’s never going to be the same. Michael Eavis passes in a car, I leave. It’s the last time I’ll see “Carhenge”, well at least for another year. Saturday night off for a visit to Maceos (Block 9 crew bar), my favourite on site. Crewe bars are great for easing yourself into the event, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. I find Tommy there, but he’s too stoned, feeling socially awkward he decides he needs to go for a walk. “Town or countryside”I say, it’s the later and we head up through the green fields and do a tour of the south end of the site. Sunday passes, eating, hanging out, socialising and maybe doing a bit of work. Pretty much the same for Monday daytime. Monday night off to Maceos again. Finding myself alone, whilst waiting for Tommy to show, I sit down with a group of lads, share some spliffs and chat. They had me some chocolate, which I believe is infused with hash. Tommy shows up, I say farewell as they give me another piece for later. Half an hour later I’m wondering why every thing is so bright and sparkly. After finishing the late shift I go for a wonder and bump into the same crew from last night, turns out they’re the Food Groove cooks. We wonder around a while, ending up sitting in the West Holts arena and chatting. I give them a couple of Guerrilla bar cards, which proves to be a great move as cheap/free food and drink becomes available at one of my favourite onsite cafes. Wednesday is the day the public tickets holders arrive and the day of the opening ceremony. It takes place in the south east of the site in Kings Meadow, more commonly known as The Stone Circle field. It’s just about the only thing going on on Wednesday evening and tends to draw most people on site. I’ve never been as I’m always on shift, by choice, and I much prefer the relatively quiet of the Dragon Field gate. People movement is always an issue before, during and after the ceremony. Junctions and pathways become shut down and diversions are put in place. Shift finished and off for my only visit to the somewhat exclusive Guerrilla bar, a “hideout” for “old school” crew, hidden behind a stage in Shangri La. It’s busy, but not too busy, probably for the last time this weekend it’s comfortable. A couple of blokes are playing and singing on the small stage, lyrically it sounds like “Beans on Toast”, but really I have no idea. I bump into a few mates, make some interesting contacts, will we ever speak again?, and dance. While it’s great to reminisce about the old days, bemoan the “fact” that it’s not the same” and share inside info/gossip it’s best left for before and after the event sat around campfires. There’s fun to be had and usually it’s to be found out with the punters. Friday; unusually we have to cover the gate until security take over at 8pm. I go up to the Craft Field to catch up with family Fish, Andy turns up and I persuade him to check out Mike Skinner in the new Shangri La venue, “Nowhere”. It’s packed, movement is difficult, Andy doesn’t look comfortable. Suddenly he announces “I’m too old for this, see you later” and disappears into the crowd. Mike Skinner was poor, partly because I was hoping for a nostalgic “Streets” set and partly because I sure he was drunk. Then it’s off to the Glade stage for a night of dance music, on the bill are Ewan McVicar, Denis Sulta, and Daniel Avery B2B Richard Fearless. I eat the other lump of chocolate, which I’ve since discovered was infused with magic mushrooms, not hash. The Glade is busy, but manageable, I’m in need of a rest and a joint. I find a table and some benches by the bar at the back. As I moving drinks around to clear a space to roll up, someone vacates a seat and the woman next to me invites me to sit down. She drinks, I think it may been Gin and Tonic (self mixed), I smoke, we chat and laugh. The crowd flows past us and a group of "Scousers" keep offering me drugs. She’s waiting for Daniel Avery. Denis Sulta finishes, and was the best of the lot in my opinion, I say are you going in and I led her to the middle of the crowd. We dance, she eventually leaves, “we’re going to the same gigs, sure I’ll see you again. Of course she didn’t. I never got to know her name. Thursday, late wake up, still nothing I want to see until 3pm. Take my time, food, water, coffee and conversation. I eventually wander over to The Park Stage, stopping now and then for some lovely conversations, the “general public” and lovely this year and well up for it. Billy Nomates, she did a fantastic set in Leftfield last year. I’m interested to see how it translates to a bigger stage. She looks very different to last year, have I come the right act? Again a lively set and her new stuff sounds so much better live than on CD. Okay I’m taking a “flyer” on this one. I’ve heard great things about The Comet is Coming, but the Jazz links have put me off. Well what can I say, yea there’s Jazz, but there’s also techno, Drum n Bass, and prog rock, at times it could have been Emerson, Lake and Palmer or Gong. I thoroughly enjoyed it along with a couple of great guys, one a steward, the other working in Stonebridge Bar. It was fantastic! Half an hour, until Shy Girl on the same stage. A wonderful, lively performance from a fantastic young rapper. I hang around for half a hour of The Sparks, it’s interesting from a nostalgia point of view and quite entertaining, but well not fantastic. Typically just I head over the hill on my way to Kelis “This Town ain’t big enough…” starts up, the one song I wanted to hear. Kelis takes her time to get going, and I’m a bit concerned that the set is going to be a bit too slow for my liking. “Trick Me” kicks in and we’re set for a banging last half of the set, the highlight being a mash up of “Milkshake” and “Gravel Pit” with a touch of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Along with a bit of live Drum and Bass, courtesy of two drummers, Kelis has nicely set me up for the night. Off to Block 9 to check out the highly rated Four Tet, it’s busy, slightly edgy and I’m not feeling the vibe at all. I stumbled round the corner, glad to be out of the crowd. I’m attracted to the sounds coming from Genoysis Sound System, based in a converted bus. It’s the Blessed Madonna, it’s light and bouncy, there’s space, it’s wonderful. I hang around for the next DJ, occasionally checking the time as I’m waiting for Gentlemen’s Dub Club and Hollie Cook on The Truth Stage, but I’ve misread the programme and arrive half way through the next set. It’s kind of similar, a reggae band with female singer, but it ain’t Hollie Cook. I seek refuge in The Nomad Stage in the capable hands of Booty Bass (I think) and dance till dawn. Saturday: I’d planned to be up “early” for a chilled afternoon in the shade of The Glade, starting at 12.30pm. Total failure, I finally make it there for African Head charge at 4pm and lay down under the canopy in the middle of the crowd, where I find Sam and the rest of her Tipi crew. Distinctly lacking in energy I manage to shuffle about a bit for the last few numbers. On my way back from a loo break, I’m attracted back to the Glade by Dreadzone, playing the best I’ve heard them play in 30 years. I settle down in the same seat I occupied on Thursday, in the shade and next to a water point, it’s been a hot Saturday. Interestingly the sound is so much better right at back of the arena than it is at the front. I’ve decided to “brave” the shadeless and packed dustbowl of the Pyramid Stage Arena, guess it’s good to go there once a year, to check out the highly rated and very popular Lizzo. Getting there is tricky as thousands stream in and thousands leave the last act, but it’s manageable once the track opens out into the arena. Usual plan, in on the left and it’s fairly easy to get into “the pit”. The crowd are generally friendly and the atmosphere lively. Okay, so I understand, she’s talented and puts on a good show, but I’m not feeling it. I gently and politely make my way to where the crowd thins and comment to two young lads “She’s good, but she’s no Beyonce”, “She’s my Beyonce”, “Yea maybe she’s your generations Beyonce”. It’s all good natured “Well at least you made the effort to check her out”. They insist on a group photo and with smiles we part ways. Back up the Park Stage, it’s still very hot, but at least there’ll be some shade there as the sun goes down. Next up, an act I’m really looking forward to, Leftfield. This is fantastic, great to dance to and extremely loud, the bass is making my nostrils vibrate. The crowd is super enthusiastic and growing by the minute as thousands stream in for Fatboy Slim, the next act. A great combination to keep the party going, but I’ve seen him before and I really want to check The Levels. I take the long walk down past Arcadia and towards the Glade, where I contemplate hanging around for Steve Hillage, but I’m too excited to see The Levels in full swing and dance to Nia Archives and friends. I’m also concerned that if I’m too late it may be full, what am I thinking, it’s only 11.30, the big stages are still going. I continue past The Other Stage, where Lana Del Ray is in full flow, with a big crowd. Quickly around the back and like a moth to a flame I head for the bright lights of The Levels. I get there, check how full it is and do a toilet and water point recky. There’s none in the venue, leaving increases the risk of not getting back in if it reaches capacity, and no water is a mistake in a venue that will attract 1000’s on MDMA. I make I quick complaint to the staff, and then realise that security are handing out water at the front. Saved; not all I need to do is avoid having to go for a pee for the next 2 and a half hours (I later found out I had access to the Silver Hayes crew bar, just across the path). Strangely the structure I’d marvelled at just a few days ago wasn’t quite doing for me, even though it was lit up and showcasing one of my fav DJ’s. I enjoyed it, I danced, I stayed for a couple hours, but it wasn’t all I hoped for. The people were friendly enough, but there was a vibe I wasn’t used to or completely at ease with, bit like a London nightclub was my thought. Another long walk, back to the SE corner, maybe have a look at Jamz Supernova on Iicon, a spectacular outdoor arena, but yet again things weren’t quite working. Maybe I can into The Temple this late? Not a chance. I then heard some fine dancehall beats coming from a small marquee opposite, The Mez Bar. What a venue, what a vibe! Busy enough, but with space to dance, it’s own “garden” in the trees, tables and benches to sit at and it’s own loos. This could well have been my best couple of hours all weekend, I met, danced and chatted with some lovely people. The music was perfect as was the setting, like a intimate private party. Sunday: still alive, still just about awake, but the last day and night are going to take some doing. After a slow start, making sure I’m eaten and am keeping hydrated, It’s off down to West Holts for the obligatory listen to the wonderful Kae Tempest. It’s a fairly sparse crowd for Speakers Corner Quartet, who bring on several guests, including, eventually Kae, for one song. She’s as good as ever, but it’s too little and the rest of the set left me a bit cold, okay but not great. After an hour or so break for rest and refreshments it’s back to West Holts for the reggae legend Barrington Levy. The sun is out, there’s a decent crowd, although it’s easy to get to the barrier where I find Steve, Connor and others from our gate crew. Guess loads are already in position at The Pyramid waiting for Elton John. He was fantastic, energetic, enthusiastic and can still sing. All the hits were song, some of the crowd joined in, and there were many smiling faces. A proper Sunday evening reggae feast on my favourite big stage. The site has suddenly gone quiet, south of the railway track is no more busy than during the later days of the build. The Craft Field, Green Futures and The Healing Field are more or less empty. Everyone’s down the Pyramid, waiting… You know this is ideal, Arcadia will be empty for Ruff Neck Ting 30 and getting into The Temple should be easy enough, so after a quick early evening snooze I wonder over to visit the Arcadia Spider along with Steve, where we enjoy a lovely sunset dance to a fun Drum and Bass set with maybe a hundred other people. The Temple: a large wooden amphitheatre with an aztec feel and tiered seating, although it’s more often danced on than sat on. I’m here for the Jungle, the Drum and Bass, I’m here for a dance. It’s a truly magnificent venue and in keeping with it’s neighbour The Mez Bar attracts the old school dance crew, much more MDMA than alcohol, proper party people with a vibe not dissimilar to the old warehouse raves. The place is bouncing, no one is still for very long, although I’m needing longer dance breaks as the night progresses. Bryan Gee’s set is just wonderful, Tommy appears, not seen him for days, hugs and some nonsense shared and he just as suddenly disappears. Slowly I start to grid to halt, needing a change of music, a sit down and some conversation, I head over to the Mez Bar, where I end up dancing on the tables until the 5am curfew kicks in. With thanks to some of those who helped me have a fantastic Glastonbury: All my old crew mates in the Green Fields and SE corner, too many to mention. The lads from The Food Groove, who made my Monday and Tuesday nights and subsidised my food and coffee bills. The woman from Mansfield with whom I spent a great few hours in the Glade, I never new her name. The lads at Shy Girl and the over enthusiastic bloke at Leftfield. The young woman with the incredibly sparkly eyes who tried to insist on following me, because “Skip will know where the party is” The women that danced and laughed with me in The Mez Bar The countless people who came up to me to “high five”, and hug. And any others I’ve forgotten.
    22 points
  22. Watching Cat Stevens a couple of young lads standing behind us took a video of us having a wee ‘romantic moment’ during morning has broken. They sent me the video! We chatted to them after the set and they were genuinely interested in our past experiences at the festival , what it was like, did we smoke weed, etc etc. advised them to cherish every moment of the festival. They were going to call their mum about meeting us! The last thing they said to us was that they would never forget us. We wished them a wonderful life, just one of those great glastonbury moments, and why it would be a difficult decision to give up going.
    22 points
  23. Can’t comment on issues raised by people with accessibility needs or with young children, and there are other valid complaints in here, but there’s also so much stuff the festival just can’t win with. A lot of these gripes can be mitigated by taking a mindset that there are always going to be compromises and challenging moments when a couple hundred thousand people attend a pop up city in the countryside for a massive party. Can’t help but feel that a lot of this is also driven by people chasing the impossible ideal of their perfect festival, or by unfairly comparing it against rose tinted Glasto’s of yore. Crowds are always going to be busy entering/leaving big acts or entering/leaving popular areas at peak times. Simply wait for crowds to disperse before moving, or visit areas during less busy times. Facilities are always going to become stretched at peak times during a massive festival in a heatwave. This was hardly Woodstock 99. Vast majority of the time if there’s a big queue for toilets or water points, you can walk 5 mins and find others completely free. You could put in hundreds more toilets around the site, but it’s an inevitability that if people are drinking all day in big crowds, some will piss in cups, or find a hedgerow. I wish everyone would use the facilities, but let’s be realistic. It’s a million miles better than at the majority of other festivals. Again, as much as it would be brilliant if no one littered and took everything home, there’s always going to be some people that don’t. As long as things are trending in the right direction then it’s hard to complain too much, even if it feels incredibly disappointing when you take everything home and the group next to you just abandon their stuff. On overcrowding. Yes things can feel very busy at times, but in my experience it very rarely feels unsafe, especially if you stay patient and plan things out. There’s also a certain irony that people complain that it’s impossible to get a ticket, but when they do get one complain that there’s too many people here. I know it comes from a good place but baffled that people are going round the site taking photos of gazebos as if to build a file of evidence. In my mind there’s too much fun to be had at the festival to lose sweat over largely inconsequential things. It also didn’t take a crystal ball to figure out that the camping chair and picnic blanket brigade at the back of pyramid would be out in full force for Elton, so hard to get upset about it. Kudos to the festival for the standing room only announcements too. People were rejoicing about Camden replacing Carlsberg, now there’s people complaining about wanting Carlsberg back. It’s festival house lager, it’s never going to be the nectar of the gods. Sound bleed is inevitable at a festival with 100+ stages. Also, people do drugs at festivals - shock horror. It’s certainly not flawless but Glastonbury is a very well planned and managed event. You can almost always rely on them recognise and adapt to issues both at the time (eg announcing busy areas to avoid on screens, introducing queuing lanes) or factoring issues into their planning for next year. Even stuff like keeping part of big ground clear from camping to allow for the bumper Elton crowd was an excellent decision. They don’t always get it right, but you can tell they put a huge amount of careful thought into everything. As with all festivals, Glasto is always going to have to be endured at times, but that is a small trade off for the magic it delivers.
    22 points
  24. “What’s do we do when our hearts hurt?” asked the Diver, “We wrap them with friendship, shared tears and time” said the Cow “but mainly stop the Class A intake”. Temperature at 0826 am is 18.9 C and humidity is 80%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is recorded as a bit, maybe 0.1 mm. The Ram Jam Jar was damp this morning, if tilted a drop formed at the side. Michael's boot soles are slightly moist. There were a few showers on site last night, a dust settler at most. The ground is still Chuck Norris and the tracks are now dust free. It amounted to nothing although sounded louder on the van roof. The big Muriel thing on the pyramid field may have smudged a bit, it is done in chalky paint stuff that will wash off. The science types on the weather thread will probably be suicidal.... The Well is still dry and the diver got a bit excited, a little bit of wee came out which is an issue inside a rubber suit. He was going to do a hole inspection but it is still so dry that he would wreck his helmet trying to force entry. He went back to bothering the duck, inter species is a thing apparently for him. A picture from site. Pilton Pat is again becalmed indicating Totterdown Lane, nary a breath disturbs her slumbers. Cloud 7/8. The sky is Johnstone's non drip gloss Manhattan Grey - 0.75L £15.99 from the Range. Pokey Twins read no.1 and a little bit on the moist-o-meter. The underwhelming showers had made the pointy thing move slightly but it is nothing to tell your significant other about. Haiku Showers Friday night nothing significant, van sounding on the roof
    22 points
  25. “ What do you think is the biggest waste of time? “ asked the Cow. “ reading weather charts from Yeovilton” said the Diver Temperature at 10.10 am is 18.3 C and humidity is 49%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is 0mm. Michael is thinking of wearing crocs and may lose his dignity through the holes. Water table height in the well is 0mm. Diver unable to get his helmet wet, but has suspicious powder on re entry. Pilton Pat indicates a light breeze towards Green Ore. Cloud 0/8 . Harry ginners. Pokey Twins read no.1 on the moist-o-meter. In scientific terms it is Gandhi’s flip flop. Haiku Great fun festival A happy cider dancing at the perfect tent
    22 points
  26. Good news! My wife Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer last October. She has had operations and they have removed the lump and lymph nodes. She starts chemotherapy tomorrow and after discussion with her consultant they have planned her treatment and have confirmed she’ll be able to attend this year. After diagnosis and procuring tickets we have been worried about all sorts as you can imagine and she really was clinging onto being able to go it’s great news for her. Obviously in the great scheme of things going to Glastonbury is a minor thing but it’s lifted her massively. She is resisting my wig suggestions though.
    21 points
  27. Been at a gig tonight, a tame singer songwriter affair. Someone in front filming taking pictures every two mins, the person next to her on Reddit checking the setlist from a previous gig. A group of girls down the row all together and filming non stop. Another woman with her partner, filmed every single song. I’m not a Luddite, I understand people have a powerful camera in their pocket and may want a memento, but the frequency is baffling. Not only that, but it completely ruins the experience for me. The distraction of the light really takes you out of the zone, leaves me personally filling up with annoyance and rage - effectively ruining the show. For me, you should honour and respect the artist you’re seeing with your full attention, I see no reason for the shocking frequency at which people hold up phones. How can we return to a time where people have more respect and prefer to enjoy the moment than capture it? I’ve been to several gigs where your phones are confiscated and it’s wonderful. Similarly when the artist calls it out and requests people not to, or directs them to one song only. It fills me with total despair to come away from a gig feeling that I couldn’t concentrate or enjoy because of all the distractions.
    21 points
  28. Can I guess? So I wandered into a restricted area, primarily to try and find some toilets without a mile long queue, and passed by some security who assumed I’d already been checked, then opened a curtain and climbed up some steps, and this was my view. Fred and TBM right in front of me in the Temple booth, finishing up their set 🤯
    21 points
  29. Her fault entirely. Don’t pull a fit when you’re not cited as a headliner then eat up half an hour of your allocated time. When Axl is beating you on punctuality… you only have yourself to blame.
    21 points
  30. Haha thank you. Well done everyone! Another completely pointless 225 pages!! Best place on earth to be this week. Signing off, have a great festival!
    21 points
  31. “What’s your best discovery” said the Diver, “That I am enough as I am” said the Cow “and that Empire State Bastard are playing”. Temperature at 0854 am is 17.3 C and humidity is 70%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is recorded as 0 mm. The Ram Jam Jar has not been disturbed for 16 days, Michael is starting to come unstuck from the Aldi Frosties packet backing and the spiders are back. It remains all good, it is not a heatwave, it is called Summer. The Well is still dry and the diver is now on a zero hours contract at Showerings, where they make that Brothers rubbish. If the "product" tastes better next week it is because he is pissing in the tanks. Here is a picture of a particularly good cake I had in that London. Pilton Pat is becalmed and pointing at the Tor. Cloud 0/8. The sky is Halfords Gadget Blue RAL 5012. Pokey Twins read no.1 on the moist-o-meter. we are happy with consistency for ten days. Haiku Tropical high noon the Levels stage emerging before the influx
    21 points
  32. Maybe not necessary to go further with speculation about a dear old bloke's health?
    21 points
  33. “To be honest, I often feel I have nothing interesting to say” said the Diver, “being honest is always interesting” said the Cow, “although you really are a dull fecker”. Temperature at 0740 am is 19.5 C and humidity is 84%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is recorded as 0 mm. The Ram Jam Jar is empty, the very light spitting didn’t register. Force field holds and all is right with the world. The Well is still dry and not in need of inspection. The Diver has returned, he found out exactly where Biffin’s Bridge was and he now is seeking asylum in Pilton. Glastonbury mythical things Tinder is not to be trusted. No well picture, instead a picture of a small thing that is still on the farm but not easily found. Pilton Pat indicates a very light breeze towards Ash Gate. Cloud 8/8, CuSt. The sky is Gainsboro grey (Hex #DCDCDC, RGB 220, 220, 220, CMYK 0, 0, 0, 14). Pokey Twins read no.1 on the moist-o-meter. As dry as your throat will be on Thursday morning, you always intend to take it easy but you are lying to yourself. Haiku Damp early morning Painty, sore limbs are waking Perfect van bed holds
    21 points
  34. Please Note @Deebeedoobee is now on site working at short notice, leaving me to hold the fort. As the rubbish we put up has always been a joint effort you will get the same random bollocks, just posted by me instead. You won’t notice the difference. “Sometimes I feel lost” Said the Diver, “Me too” said the Cow, “But there is a handy map in the programme and lots of signs to show you the way” Temperature at 8.52 am is 14.8 C and humidity is 73%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is 0mm. The Ram Jam Jar has a cobweb, some little fecker has claimed squatters rights and the council are not helping. Water table height in the well is 0mm. Diver has decided to see if there is a part time job on the build crew. Not sure he has done his site induction yet. I have decided that you don't need to see a picture of my dry hole on a Sunday. Pilton Pat indicates a light breeze towards Red Gate. Cloud 0/8 . Nice shade of blue, Dulux Sea blue at as guess, I wouldn't paint my house with it though. Pokey Twins read no.1 on the moist-o-meter. Dry, dry, dry. Not fitting the Nal’s narrative so far but he lives in hope. (Loving his work as always in the sciencey thread.) Haiku Alone break of day Deebeedoobee is painting enjoying the bins
    21 points
  35. It’s a pleasure to give back to the community. I hope you all find the new site useful and exciting as we count down the days 🙂 If anyone experiences any issues or something doesn’t look quite right, or indeed if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop me a message here.
    21 points
  36. The cheese is not over yet !!!!!!!!!!!! Just got this Hi Ian, Congratulations, you have won a pair of tickets to Glastonbury Festival 2024 as you purchased a block of Worthy Farm Reserve Cheddar and scanned your Co-op membership card between 6-28th November 2023.
    20 points
  37. This for Elton .... and a hat
    20 points
  38. he's nothing to do with the running of efestivals. neither were those that setup last years meet thread . but anyway if people want to come along to the crazy fool meet at the ridge and furrow they will be absolutely welcome as ever
    20 points
  39. OMG! i cant stop shaking! I managed to get a spot finally! They have take 2 payments though so maybe there will be a spot open up when i get one refunded.
    20 points
  40. Sorry to continue veering off topic but this is a very important point. For me as a non-British person living in Britain the NHS and the BBC are absolutely the best of Britain. Sadly the Tories started a culture war against them and is absolutely determined to destroy them and it is only when they are gone that people will realise their worth. Such a shame that so many people fall for the rubbish about them that gets spouted. Yes every large organisation will have examples of things you don't like and a certain percentage of waste but their output is remarkable. Fight for improvements to it by all means but fighting for it to disappear is actively fighting for poorer people in society to have reduced access to culture and the disparity between what the rich and the poor can afford is already at an all time high.
    19 points
  41. 19 points
  42. Thank you so much thenewunion! Off to Bordeaux tomorrow and shade much needed!
    19 points
  43. Green Man 2023 Here goes… **THURSDAY** If the drive there was pretty painful - 6 hours or so from SE London - then the extent of the pain was equally matched by the relief and joy on arrival. Beautiful weather and back, for the third time, in one of my favourite places on earth (maybe my actual favourite at this point!). We had some first-timers with us this year and I was very excited to see what they thought of the place. Quick change to go for a jog up the “mountain” behind the main stage to check out the views and the wild horses (1hr and a bit up and down - it’s not as far as it looks). Then a swift shower on site (no queue on a Thursday!) and headed in for a few drinks in The Courtyard with friends before Rouge Jones. •Rogue Jones - decent fun, and lovely weather. Felt so special to be back. Is there a more wonderful place in the world than The Walled Garden on a sunny evening? Heaven on earth! Music was good, but not really my thing for the most part but they do have a few songs I like. 6.5/10 •Lost Map - headed up to Far Out for Johnny P’s new band with his label mates. Not as good as I had hoped for unfortunately. The last song was great (the single that’s been released) but the other songs weren’t nearly as a good. 5/10 •Spiritualised - better than I expected and some parts were really amazing (second half was a bit slow though). She Kissed me was so good. A friend even turned to me after that song and expressed some form of amazement (can’t remember the exact quote!) So Long You Pretty Thing and Shine A Light were also magical. 8/10 Had some great Thai food to the right of End Up bar before Spz. I also had a great aubergine filled Naan from the place near Goan Fish Curry/Record Store on the way “home” (💚) after a few hours in RTT and CWs following Spz’s set. ***FRIDAY*** Typical morning routine of: getting in the shower queue and debating whether it is worth it > showering and thinking it definitely is > heading to Frank’s to fill up water with their amazingly pristine water (maybe just placebo) > saying hello to the wonderfully cheerful security chap by the stairs > walking around site with a coffee and some breakfast taking it all in before it starts to get busier. Had a great shakshuka breakfast as well from the tent near The Courtyard. Worth it even just for those beanbags in there! Music wise I was busy (as I was each day!), although I had less “must sees” in comparison to Saturday and Sunday. •Speilman - seems like a great guy but the music wasn’t particularly amazing or anything. He was pretty funny though so was fun to watch. 6/10 •Eve Appleton Band - don’t really remember all that much from this which suggests I wasn’t really into it. 5/10 •Ziyad Al Shamman - he’s a good performer and fun to watch but I don’t really get much out of live music that just seems to largely be somebody pressing play on something. 6/10 •Juni Habel - first act on Friday I was particularly keen for and was very lovely. The rain was falling very imperceptibly at this stage and was so light it was almost snow like. It gave the show this very magical feel to it. I love the new album so was great to hear those songs performed. 7.5/10 •Mega Bog - off to the Far Out for another act whose album this year I really like. This set took a while to get going but was brilliant by the end. 7.5/10 •Dur Dur Band - Great fun in the rain, which was starting to get heavier by this stage. Got the crowd dancing despite this though! Funny to look back at our photos of this set as we are all laden in our waterproofs - feels weird to see after Saturday and Sunday’s gorgeous weather. 7/10 •Jockstrap - Headed into FO while the rain became stronger and stronger for one of my favourite bands who I still hadn’t managed to see yet. Not quite enough for an hour’s worth of back to back bangers yet but there were some fantastic moments during this set. Really enjoyed most of it but it fell a bit flat with the crowd in some parts. Ending in particular, however, was amazing with Concrete Over Water, Greatest Hits, Glasgow and 50/50. Georgia throwing in Nikki Manaj’s verse on Monster (Kanye) as well during one of their songs (I forget which one) was brilliant! In a few years they could be headlining GM/EOTR I think, they had a big crowd. 8/10 Brief respite with some friends in their tent to wait out the worst of the rain… •Squid - frustrating as usual with Squid for me as they can be really good and also really dull, fluctuating multiple times between the two during a set. I get that they like to ebb and flow the set tempo wise but seems way too much down time given the number of great songs they have. When it was good it was great. 7.5/10 •Slowdive - Possibly my favourite band that I hadn’t seen before. Was very excited and definitely met my expectations. It sounded brilliant (though could have been even louder if I’m being picky) and Allison into When The Sun Hits into Golden Hair was astonishingly good. I could have listened to an extended Golden Hair outro that went on for hours, simply sublime. Turned to my friend after it ended and he just had his hands on his head muttering about it being the best thing he’s ever witnessed. Very slightly disappointed not to get a bit longer set as they cut Sleep which would have made it perfect - but yeah, loved it. 9/10 •Daniel Avery - sound wasn’t good for this so was disappointed, pretty quiet. 5/10 Food wise, I recall having a great Mac and Cheese while half watching Melin Meyln from the top of the hill who had a huge crowd but I don’t get them at all. I think I might have forgotten to eat for the rest of the day as can’t remember any other food that day. Thankfully missed most of the rain as was mainly in the Far Out tent, and then the rain I think had stopped after Slowdive. Spent a few hours with friends in CWs to see out the night. It ended up being a fairly late one as I only got to bed around 4.30 ish… ***SATURDAY*** After very little sleep, maybe an hour or two, the typical morning routine kicked in. Had one of the Hot Patatoes’ breakfast bonanzas as well, which was incredible. Hash browns, beans, cheddar, crispy kale etc. Music wise, I knew this was going to be a busy day. Ended up doing 49,000 steps, although this did include a lot of steps dancing in CWs in the early hours of Saturday morning… •Rozi Plain (RTT) - a lovely relaxing start to the day with a short and sweet “secret” set. Didn’t watch her full set on Friday as I was at Slowdive but am sure it was good. •deathcrash - About as good a live music experience as I could possibly expect to experience. So emotional and powerful. Sound was SO good for this (those drums!!!), and crowd were perfectly quiet and receptive. I had my eyes closed for most of the set just letting all the emotions wash over me and was basically a trembling wreck by the end. Can’t wait to see them later this year again at Fabric. Their GM set was a cut above last year’s already very good performance on the Rising stage. I turned to two friends at the end of the set who both appeared to have tears in their eyes 💚 10/10 •Julie Byrne - In my top 5 albums of the year and a very beautiful performance. The only reason I’m not ranking this slightly higher is because it was very hot and my hangover began to kick in quite viscerally during the last couple of songs haha! 8/10 •Etran de l’air - After 20 minutes or so in the shade, things were looking promising again and was back out in the sun for this extremely entertaining set. Bumped into an old friend who I hadn’t seen in 7/8 years and we watched them play together, which was lovely. The only negative is that the style of music can get quite repetitive and the songs themselves are pretty long so can get somewhat tedious occasionally, though I expect this in part due to my ears being more used to Western music. 7.5/10 •Anna B Savage - another favourite of mine and one of my favourite 2023 albums. First time seeing her and really enjoyed it. Was hoping to hear “One” off her debut, which is one of my favourite songs of the decade so that was a slight shame but everything was great anyway. 8/10 •Obongjayar - had lots of fun at this set and we had the perfect early evening sunlight which made it extra special. Not 100% taken by the music but he is a great performer. 7/10 •Lankum - again, incredible evening sunshine for this set. My 3rd favourite album of the year and was going in to this with very high hopes but slight reservations about the slot on the Main Stage rather than in the tent or even headlining Walled Garden. I thought it was fantastic. Thought it was amazing how big a slot they had given how weird/experimental they were! The only slight downside was that a couple of ladies had brought 3 or 4 young children to the very front right next to me and were quite distracting/chatty in parts. Apparently I was on the screens for a lot of this set with my eyes closed just smiling and swaying about…little embarrassing! 8.5/10 •Uh - some of this was very up my street. Lots of interesting acid/squelchy beats that appeared to be improvised live with the singer adding very ethereal and hard hitting vocals over the top. Beginning and ending of the set was fantastic. 7.5/10 •The Walkmen - Just caught 20 mins of this and saw In the New Year, The Rat and Juveniles which all sounded great. Crowd were great even where I was which was pretty far back. Left early though as not that into their stuff and wanted to see WFYE. Crowd were very bemused about his helicopter/Van Morrison story which seemed to be unnecessarily long with no real point to it haha - I guess it was just to say Van Morrison didn’t really get the vibe of the place? •Water from your eyes - this was mainly as I expected music wise but singer was definitely more engaged with the crowd than I thought they’d be and seemed thrilled to be there, so that made it even more entertaining as I had wrongly assumed they would be a bit too cool. Great experimental band imo and very fun to watch. 8/10 •Mandy Indiana - great fun to watch. Lots of hopping over the barrier to interact with the crowd. Music was great as well. 7.5/10 •Clipping - unbelievably excited for this and when the piano keys started for Nothing is Safe and Daveed walked on as his verse started I completely lost it! Was amazing start to finish, and there was a great crowd who were all up for it. SO much fun and I enjoyed seeing so many amazed faces when Daveed would do one of his insanely fast and long verses. Nothing is Safe, Check The Lock, Wriggle, Enlacing, Body & Blood and Story 2 were my highlights. 9.5/10 •Confidence Man - this went exactly as I expected really which was three good songs (on and on, now u do, holiday) but with a bad crowd that significantly impacted my experience. In particular, four women next to me wouldn’t stop incessantly chatting to one another and occasionally screaming “This is amazing”! I mean they were barely watching it! Costume changes were also a strange move for me as they probably spent as much time off stage as they did on stage. Don’t really get them at all. Highlight was that it was then my birthday so had a nice moment with my group of friends 💚 5/10 Had some very good nachos from the vegetarian Mexican place at the top of the Mountain Stage during Obongjayar. Got some hash browns at Hot Potatoes to keep me going through the joys (sarcasm) of the CW DJs until 4 am ish again 😉 ***SUNDAY*** Typical morning routine again…plus a friend had bought me Julie Byrne’s vinyl for my birthday which was a lovely surprise. Also bought some GM merch as a present to myself! As with Saturday, this was to be another busy day music wise and ended up being another 49,000 steps approximately. Feet were beginning to ache by this stage and the creeping sense of dread due to it being Sunday was starting to set in. Tried to push back the fear with some vegan sushi from the Walled Garden, which was fantastic. •Thus Love (RTT) - Went along to the early RTT set at 11.15 again. Not massively familiar with Thus Love but do really like a couple songs and really enjoy the guitar tone the lead vocalist and guitarist has. Another good start to the day. •Kanda Bongo Man - very pleasantly surprised by this as thought it could be a bit naff based on some reviews I had seen. Weather was fantastic and crowd was very into it. It was quite incredible to witness everyone’s energy levels despite it being the last day. The power of good music, ey? The main chap (I think his name is actually Bongo Kanda) was less present/active but the rest of the band were brilliant. 8/10 •Hyll - Kinda like a Welsh version of Pavement/Modest Mouse but quiet considerably less good. 5/10 •Jake Xerxes Fussell - Group of us went up to the top of the hill in the blazing sunshine to lie down and watch this set. Was incredibly relaxing and his voice was wonderful. I could have stayed there all day had it not been for all the over great acts to come. 7.5/10 •julie - this band could be brilliant in the future, ones to watch for sure. Love their released music as i’m big into that sort of Shoegaze/indie rock sound, but didn’t have a brilliant live show imo. Drummer was very good I thought. 7/10 •Nuha Ruby Ra - wasn’t into this one at all I’m afraid, although I was seriously flagging at this point. Went to get one of those Bhaji wraps from the back of the Walled Garden, pretty good!! 5/10 •Butch Kassidy (RTT) - was excited for this as had wanted to see them on Friday but they clashed with Jockstrap (i think). Went along at the scheduled slot but then they proceeded to soundcheck for at least 20 minutes. I became unreasonably pissed off about this but stayed for one song, which was alright. Hope to see them again at one of their own shows! •Thus Love - went along to the first half of this before Gilla Band. Very nice again - will definitely be listening to more of their stuff. •Gilla Band - GB were the beginning of an insane b5b of acts I love all in the FO, starting with them and ending with James Holden. They were very good as expected but wanted them to be a touch more incendiary, probably a sound issue. Loved Bin Liner Fashion and Bodies in particular though, the latter was particularly raucous. 7.5/10 •Arushi Jain - dashed down to Rising out of interest to see what the Last Dinner Party Crowd was like (it was big, obvs), then I caught about 15/20 mins of Arushi Jain in the glorious sunshine with one of those amazing Choc Shop brownies. She sounded great and wanted to stay for more but had to get back to the FO… •Les Savy Fav - knew what I was getting in for as had seen them before 12 years ago…but still…it was nonetheless fairly shocking to see Tim in his brightly coloured feather outfit rush out into the crowd and run around the Far Out tent sliding in mud, stealing people’s clothes, drinking people’s drinks, cleaning his hands in people’s drinks, carrying children on his shoulders etc etc. It was very fun but at times I kinda wanted more focus on the music, which was great when Tim and the band played properly together. Some of his antics also seemed a bit over the line as well so felt a bit uncomfortable at points. Anyway, it was still brilliant and unique performance wise. 8.5/10 •Sudan Archives - surpassed my very high expectations. Fantastic. Had hoped to hear Confessions as that’s one of my favourite songs of the last few years but that’s a minor complaint. She’s an unbelievably good performer and the atmosphere in the tent was brilliant. 9/10 •Young Fathers - saw them earlier this year but this was far more enjoyable for me. The last 30 minutes of this set from Geronimo onwards couldn’t have been better. They create a wonderfully intense atmosphere and it’s a pleasure to watch them. Would have been even better if they decided to play Only God Knows. I’m not 100% into all of their music so the fast half of their set isn’t my sort of thing occasionally - hence the rating not being even higher. At times I also think they are so intent on it being an interesting live performance that it comes across a bit try hard…I dunno? Surely future headliners anyway?? 8.5/10 Then it was time for the beautiful and emotional burning of the Green Man and firework display. It’s at this point where it becomes very apparent that your time is almost up and while it’s sad, I am also very aware of how lucky we all are to spend time with friends in such a wonderful place. •James Holden - Following the emotional release of the burning and fireworks, I headed off to James Holden. I was extremely tired by this point and had become very cold as had forgotten to bring a jumper and hadn’t had time to go back for one. I came very close to just going back to my tent but when I saw James’ set up with the two other musicians I knew it was going to be worth sticking around for. I love James’ music and it was a lot better than expected live with the live percussion and saxophone. Due to my exhaustion, cold and frightfully painful feet, it also became this weird mental game I had with myself about transcending my mental state which seemed to go hand in hand with the music and James’ idea of it being some 4D underwater rave. I was trying meditative techniques of acknowledging the physical pain I was in without fighting it and trying to focus intently on the sensation and move it around my body…it sort of worked I think! The music was fantastic as well, ha! 7.5/10 •Deptford Northern Soul Club - I came so close to calling it a night after James Holden but knew my group of friends were at DNSC. I’ve seen this set a few times now so I was thinking do I really need to bother with this…but I’m so glad I did. A kind friend gave me her jumper (she said she didn’t need it I wasn’t being a dick!) and this brought me back to life, and this ended up being a brilliant end to a fantastic festival. In particular, I found it very special not only to have that one last fun moment with friends but also to watch different groups of friends hugging and saying their goodbyes as the set draws to a close. Wonderful. 7.5/10 ***EPILOGUE*** While trudging back to the car carrying our gear and aptly singing Lankum’s Go Dig My Grave, I was thinking about how I really think Green Man is my favourite place on earth. It might seem hyperbolic and I do try and cast a critical eye on it (it’s not without fault of course), but I do truly believe it’s a very special place and a festival I hope to return to for many years to come. Diolch, GM 💚 And breathe…
    18 points
  44. We move on to the 12Z. Can we recover from the shock of the last run? GATES OPENING Still quite a lot of rain on Sunday, which is definitely becoming a theme as the timeframe gets more reliable. On this run there is more rain in the early hours of Tuesday, and some very light stuff during the day. Again, a consistent theme. But Monday temps of 22 will clear up the Sunday rain, with decent temps of 19 on Tuesday. For Wednesday at 9am, it's dry (having been since early evening the night before) and really quite warm at 18. We had a troublesome green pocked of low pressure in the last run (left) and while it is present on this run (right) it's much further north before it's pushed away. It means Wednesday is essentially dry - the rain showing on this chart is nothing. Highs of 20. THURSDAY Completely dry with highs of 22. FRIDAY There's a very small amount of rain around in the early hours of Friday, with the day itself completely dry with highs of 24. SATURDAY Another completely dry day, with highs of 21. SUNDAY Another completely dry day, with highs of 21. SUMMARY We are back to an exceptional run to recover from the last horror. Any rain in this run for the festival days would be completely insignificant, with warm temperatures throughout. COME ON! But there remains uncertainty about what exactly will happen from Thursday onwards. We don't have it in the can yet.....
    18 points
  45. “How do you look so together and perfect” said the Diver, “there is a lot of frantic paddling going on below the surface” said the Cow, “although the pamper parlour at Sticklinch usually helps”.. Temperature at 0854 am is 19.9 C and humidity is 82%. Rainfall in last 24 hours is 0 mm indicated. The Ram Jam Jar is unchanged, but there is a little dampness in the air. The farm is said to have had a little sprinkle in the night and the power lines are currently buzzing loudly indicating damp air. I can confirm that the historically significant dust on top of the Bentley is undisturbed. The Well remains as dry as possible. The Diver has been been put on standby in case of any moist areas requiring helmet insertion. He hopes he can stay out tonight, he has met a nice centaur who is going to introduce him to Biffins Bridge. He doesn't know where that is on the tourist map but apparently the crossing is beautiful and will bring tears to his eyes. Today is a picture of an upside down dog, it wandered in the back door and made itself at home. Pilton Pat indicates a very light breeze towards Acoustic. Cloud 8/8, St. The sky is the colour of the your granny's beard. The bird in the picture is free of charge. Pokey Twins read no.1 on the moist-o-meter. 3 year old Madeira cake that has been on the window sill. Haiku Dull grey afternoon weather worn poles are standing before the painting
    18 points
  46. Sorry if this is a bit of a downer, but does anyone else use Glastonbury of a place of almost 'healing' the wounds of the previous year? I haven't been since 2016 (which, despite surviving other 'wet' years like 2005 was actually really difficult, because the rain didnt halt from start to finish with no respite in 2016) and unfortunately the years in between haven't been that kind to me. We've all been through a rough time with lockdown and so forth, but this year the Sunday will be the 2nd year anniversary of my mum dying. The two years prior to that were filled with a lot of stress caring for someone against an illness that you just cant fight, as you watch it steal a person you love from you, and I can't say that i've had many moments of joy in between. I remember going to the festival in 2014 when I was 27, and my Dad had died two months before and somehow I managed to have one of the best years every. There was something genuinely cathartic and healing about having the festival to care for my emotional wounds, and I am so greatful that I have this years festival to hopefully do the same. I think this year is probably going to be my most important year at the festival for purely having a space for five days to forget all the drama and heartache, and just exist in the moment. I'm normally fleeing with excitement by now, but my wee brain almost cant compute that it's actually happening! I hope this wasn't too depressing, and I hope for anyone else that's had some heartache that the festival can fill a similar function for you. Its well needed for me this year, and I'm so very happy that the ticket gods were kind to me this year. All i ask is please dont rain every day again like 2016, please weather gods!
    18 points
  47. Let me try and provide some context here. 'Lucy' arrived on eFests with the link to 'the other place' in her profile, and proceeded to make several unpleasant posts that I assume were reported and in any case have been removed (one remains in the Taylor Swift thread via a quote in one of my replies). So yes, I sent a DM that was an aggressive overreaction, and for that I apologise. It was uncalled for, and out of character. I sent it due to frustration that just as eFests is starting to take a turn and 'the other place' feels more of an established platform rather than a bitter offset of this forum, we have another person from there making inflammatory posts. It's just so tedious. I don't know what you look like, where you'll be, or who you'll see at Glastonbury, Lucy. Frankly, I couldn't give a toss. There was absolutely no racial prejudice involved (how could there be?!) and I think the fact there was a filter on the name of the place you had linked on your profile caused my post to appear more generic. If you've experienced abuse of that kind, I can understand how it would feed into that. It wasn't my intention, and I apologise again if it triggered that reaction. I agreed with Neil not to message you, and I won't. But given you asked for my input, here it is. All the best.
    18 points
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