Glastonburys Crowd...

[Sam.]

Heading to Glastonbury for my first time this year, but get the feeling from people who have been to Glastonbury in the past, or even people who haven't, that the audience is somewhat pompous.

Like the whole "it's not about the music, 'cos we're all so effing brilliant you could just sit and talk to us all day and we'll keep you entertained, not the bands, cos we're just so interesting."

And the whole love for Michael Eavis, like he's running this festival for your benefit, not his own bank accounts benefit, and his own pleasure. You all agree he picks the bands HE wants, does this not indicate he couldn't give a toss want bands YOU want? This website seems overloaded with (my just invented) cult that is the 'Michael Eavis Appreciation Society'.

Before the barrage, not all of this was thought of by me!!!

Edit : I forgot to make my point!!! Will I find that the people on this site don't make up too vast a majority of the festival attitude, in regards to loving Eavis no matter what, or will it be more balanced? Oh and I don't want you to think i'm 'dissing' you, I just found a lot of you seem over keen on one man. But you all do seem ever so helpful and have made me WANT to go to Glasto. So thanks.

Edited February 18, 2009 by Sam.

[bunchy]

Heading to Glastonbury for my first time this year, but get the feeling from people who have been to Glastonbury in the past, or even people who haven't, that the audience is somewhat pompous.

Like the whole "it's not about the music, 'cos we're all so effing brilliant you could just sit and talk to us all day and we'll keep you entertained, not the bands, cos we're just so interesting."

And the whole love for Michael Eavis, like he's running this festival for your benefit, not his own bank accounts benefit, and his own pleasure. You all agree he picks the bands HE wants, does this not indicate he couldn't give a toss want bands YOU want? This website seems overloaded with (my just invented) cult that is the 'Michael Eavis Appreciation Society'.

Before the barrage, not all of this was thought of by me!!!

[Sam.]

Please read the edit, I don't have a negative attitude to the festival, its the Eavis lover, they just confuse me. And the so called snobs, but i didn't write that bit, so interested if people do find a lot of snobbery?

[mr_bizarre]

Please read the edit, I don't have a negative attitude to the festival, its the Eavis lover, they just confuse me. And the so called snobs, but i didn't write that bit, so interested if people do find a lot of snobbery?

[Alcatraz]

I'm a bit confused about everything used to make your point, mostly the bizarre personal attack on Eavis.

But I'll generalise. Of course there are a load of snobs there. In fact snobs tend to be people who refuse to hold the same attitude as yourself, which leaves me to ask, why do you care?

I'm sorry for this snobbish answer

edit: right, I think I understand what you are on about.

Do people really love Eavis on this site? I'd say its the reverse. People complaining about the lineup being released, the festivals link with Seetickets, the bands being booked.

You'll find when stood in the field on a particular weekend in June, that the politics behind it all is barely even thought of

Edited February 18, 2009 by Alcatraz

[incident]

Heading to Glastonbury for my first time this year, but get the feeling from people who have been to Glastonbury in the past, or even people who haven't, that the audience is somewhat pompous.

Like the whole "it's not about the music, 'cos we're all so effing brilliant you could just sit and talk to us all day and we'll keep you entertained, not the bands, cos we're just so interesting."

And the whole love for Michael Eavis, like he's running this festival for your benefit, not his own bank accounts benefit, and his own pleasure. You all agree he picks the bands HE wants, does this not indicate he couldn't give a toss want bands YOU want? This website seems overloaded with (my just invented) cult that is the 'Michael Eavis Appreciation Society'.

Before the barrage, not all of this was thought of by me!!!

[jamiejc]

Like the whole "it's not about the music, 'cos we're all so effing brilliant you could just sit and talk to us all day and we'll keep you entertained, not the bands, cos we're just so interesting."

Edited February 18, 2009 by jamiejc

[whisty]

From what I gather the ethos of the Festival was not based on money making. You have to take in some history of the festival in order to appreciate it's founding nature and continued appreciation by the people who attend.

ME stopped and had a chat with me last year, how many concert promoters have you had do that to you.

Untill you attend you'll have no notion of the feelings and wonderfull experience that the Festival of performing Arts that is Glastonbury will engender in you.

Maybe attend, then question what others are saying.

[bombfrog]

I can see both sides of this.

People on here and the crowd at Glastonbury are generally lovely, tolerant and helpful people, but if you hang around here for any length of time you'll find it hard to avoid a certain "cliqueness" and snobbery which normally manifests itself in the following ways....

* Refusing to admit that it's OK to like any kind of pop music

* Ridiculing you if you dare admit to going to a music festival to see bands and not just "soak up the atmosphere" and drink cider by a bus.

* Not allowing you to criticise the festival or the organisers in any way because they do it all for charidee and therefore are beyond reproach

* Giving more respect to those that have been going to the festival for longer (if you've been going for more than 10 years then you earn a kind of metaphorical Blue Peter badge which gains you special forum privileges)

The thing is though that I agree with some of that. I mean, you wouldn't expect to see a death metal band at a folk festival so you shouldn't expect to see McFly at Glastonbury, and the organisers do put on an amazing show every year and give a lot of money to charity so some of the petty criticisms aimed at them sometimes do look churlish.

Jesus, I'm rambling....

[Sam.]

I think Bombfrog just highlighted my concerns, with more clarity. Ignore original post, the debate i was trying to raise was put more clearly by Bombfrog...

People on here and the crowd at Glastonbury are generally lovely, tolerant and helpful people, but if you hang around here for any length of time you'll find it hard to avoid a certain "cliqueness" and snobbery which normally manifests itself in the following ways....

* Refusing to admit that it's OK to like any kind of pop music

* Ridiculing you if you dare admit to going to a music festival to see bands and not just "soak up the atmosphere" and drink cider by a bus.

* Not allowing you to criticise the festival or the organisers in any way because they do it all for charidee and therefore are beyond reproach

* Giving more respect to those that have been going to the festival for longer (if you've been going for more than 10 years then you earn a kind of metaphorical Blue Peter badge which gains you special forum privileges)

[Alcatraz]

From what I gather the ethos of the Festival was not based on money making.

[scouseLee]

Your first post in this forum when you return and wake some time in July will be simple

THANK YOU MICHAEL EAVIS

[chilli78]

First off, brave post!

I think I get your point however there are so many musical snobs out there its just one of those things. Not a specific Glastonbury problem. I really do hate the whole dismissal of other peoples musical tastes. Its a personal thing and ok, its fun to slag off U2 or Coldplay or whatever but no-one is right. Its all subjective.

As for the "its not about the music" well in some ways yeah! I really think I would go even if there was no music. Hell, I'd go just for the food!

[verrymerry]

* Ridiculing you if you dare admit to going to a music festival to see bands and not just "soak up the atmosphere" and drink cider by a bus.

[jamiejc]

Yeah but dude the cider bus is awesome!

[eFestivals]

* Refusing to admit that it's OK to like any kind of pop music

that's naff all to do with Glastonbury. Read any of the forums here and you'll see similar.

We all know pop music is gash, so despite our guilty pleasures no one with a serious interest in decent music is going to be too keen to admit it, are they?

* Ridiculing you if you dare admit to going to a music festival to see bands and not just "soak up the atmosphere" and drink cider by a bus.

Glastonbury *is* more than bands, and totally unlike all other major festivals in that respect. Time spent not seeing bands is a part of the experience for everyone.

(PS: I don't drink the brewed vomit known as cider. But I have been known to be stood drinking near that bus )

* Not allowing you to criticise the festival or the organisers in any way because they do it all for charidee and therefore are beyond reproach

while Michael Eavis isn't beyond reproach, it is a simple fact when compared to other major operators that he's chosen not to extract every possible penny from his customers, and that he's chosen to give the tens of millions he could have made to good causes.

(I'm not trying to claim he's given away everything - I'm sure he's far from poor, and some of that at least will be as a result of the festival. But the fact remains he could be hugely richer if he'd chosen to do things differently)

His efforts go as far as instructing the Festival's office in Glastonbury to buy the stamps they use from Pilton Post Office .... very likely as a result, the very small village of Pilton still has a Post Office. He has built the village a fantastic Working Mans Club; he has built the village affordable housing (I think with him giving the land for free), and his efforts stretch far further than just Pilton ..... around the world with the support for Oxfam, Greenpeace, & WaterAid.

He *really* cares about what he does and how it can be a force for what he (if not you and I) considers to be good; there's more to him than soundbites. Alongside this, he's had to fight to keep it going, more than anything so that he can continue to do these good things.

While I'm sure there's other people doing similar worthy things, we're not generally having a five-day fantastic party from them that they've put on each June.

* Giving more respect to those that have been going to the festival for longer (if you've been going for more than 10 years then you earn a kind of metaphorical Blue Peter badge which gains you special forum privileges)

stupid stupid idea. If it happens, it's very unlikely to be those people wishing it upon themselves.

Me, I've been to every Glastonbury fest since 1986; I wish every year could be my first again. I doubt there's many people who've been going a long time who don't think their first was their best.

[lord moredon]

whats this about a 'blue peter badge' for the veterans?, if such a thing exists I should be entitled to one to go with my 'not-missed-a-year-since-'86 mono-rail pass' !!!

Seriously though , if you think other festival promoters are more ethical,liberal or organised and provide a more diverse programme of entertainment from current chart bands to music legends as well as alternative acts then you really should not line Eavis's pockets with your cash

Remember, Glasto is a festival of the performing arts, NOT 'glasto rock ', NOT glasto dance,NOT Glasto folk, just Glasto,

p.s. when was the last time you idled away the darkness hours after the main stages had shut down chilling in a stone circle/teepee/glade/greenfield/trashcity,blanket-stall(cheers joe)

[sadwitch]

Sometimes Micheal Eavis does really piss annoying things but he doesn't have to keep running the festival t year after year and he certainly didn't have to take the measures he did to stop ticket touting pricing a lot of people out of going.

If I was running a music festival I'd want bands I liked to play too. Why not? I doubt he gets to see a lot of acts during it as it goes.

[Joshuwarr]

that's naff all to do with Glastonbury. Read any of the forums here and you'll see similar.

We all know pop music is gash, so despite our guilty pleasures no one with a serious interest in decent music is going to be too keen to admit it, are they?

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Interestingly enough these, and other forums, represent a small proportion of the Glastonbury audience. I know plenty of folk that were really pissed off that they had to get internet access to get tickets. I can see the point that it may seem like idol worship by some, but the people that post usually all meet up at the festival, and using the forums is a great way to meet others.

I think that there is a tendency for some message boards to claim the festival as their "own", and don't like criticism of ME. I personally think that he has done some shit things over the past few years, but at the end of the day it is a business he is running, although an altuistic business.

For my part I never went to a festival until 2003 and that was Glastonbury. I met up with loads of people via message boards at the time, and now I am hooked on festivals and work at them (that been my main source of income). These message boards are a fantastic way to prepeare yourself, as well as meeting odd people. Yes they may seem very anal about their particualr festival, but once you have experienced that you will see their point. Thats experienced the festival, not the very anal bit

[Chocscoffer]

I've yet to meet any snobs at Glastonbury, that's not me saying that there aren;t any it's just I haven;t met any any. As for the comments about it not being about the music and it's not that important, this is true to a certain extent. People seem to forget that it is not a music festival, it is a festival of contemporary and performing arts and this is such wide reaching that to just think of it as a music festival is selling it short! The main stages play such a small role when you take into account all the different types of entertainment on offer.

To the OP, having been to both Wakestock (in 2007 and playing a hand in getting it cancelled!) and V neither of them come close to Glastonbury. They are simply music gigs in a field, absolutely nothing else. Until you go there and experience Glastonbury for yourself then to dismiss the thoughts of people who say it is more than music is a little bit silly!

As for the loving of ME, he is thought of very highly by people on this board and I would admit that I have nothing but admiration for the man. He could make an absolute fortune from this festival but the fact that he gives millions away to charity and the local community makes him a god compared to the bloodsuckers that run other main festivals in this country. I remember reading somewhere that ME and Emily have a major role in booking the main staages but there is such a large team or organisers that I doubt ME has a role in booking the vast majority of them!

Trust me when I (along with others) tell you that come the end of June when you get home you will totally understand why there is so much ME and Glastonbury worshipping

[Bradders]

I'm more worried there'll be loads of middle-class middle-aged types there just so they can sit in front of the pyramid and tell people they're at Glasto, before retiring to their hotel for the night.

Remember Sam this forum is for Glastonbury obsessives, of course there's a slightly snobby attitude, just like if you go on a bands forum and get sneered at for only getting into them after the 3rd album... I'm sure you won't have any problems at the actual festival.

[Alcatraz]

I'm more worried there'll be loads of middle-class middle-aged types there just so they can sit in front of the pyramid and tell people they're at Glasto, before retiring to their hotel for the night.

Remember Sam this forum is for Glastonbury obsessives, of course there's a slightly snobby attitude, just like if you go on a bands forum and get sneered at for only getting into them after the 3rd album... I'm sure you won't have any problems at the actual festival.

[Joshuwarr]

Glastonbury is like a successful football team in many ways. Its fans will defend it til the end and there is always criticism to the manager (Michael Eavis).

[Alcatraz]

Glastonbury is like a successful football team in many ways. Its fans will defend it til the end and there is always criticism to the manager (Michael Eavis).