Your first Glasto: Five best and five worst

[VCK]

My first Glasto was 2009. And here are the five best and worst moments:

Best

• My first ever Brother's Pear Cider.

• Ghost Town in the sunset.

• Seeing Spinal Tap in the flesh.

• Seeing the Pyramid Stage for the first time.

• The Universal. 'Nuf said.

Worst

• Hearing about Michael Jackson's death. I didn't idolise him or anything but it did kind of feel weird.

• The long walk back to the car park on the Monday. In the sweltering heat. Through the mud. Up endless hills. With tonnes of luggage.

• The very very achey feet I had on the first few days.

• The fact that after Glasto I didn't enjoy Leeds as much as I did, purely because "it wasn't Glasto"!

• The fact it had to end.

[Davness]

OK then...my first (and to date, only) Glasto was 2007, here we go...

Best Moments

1. A shit I had whilst listening to Bjork, no really. Bjork was unbelievably good, but I just had to pull myself away to avoid making a mess. After going through about three cubicles I found one that was moderately clean, and arrived just in time. It was a right beauty, and if memory serves me correctly she was playing Army of Me, one of my favourite Bjork songs. I returned relieved in time to see an unbelievable rendition of Hyperballad.

2. Twice being thwarted in attempts to leave The Who to catch some Chemical Brothers. First as we decided to move they burst into My Generation, then, even more brilliantly Won't Get Fooled Again. Epic, truly epic.

3. Making a disgusting bin bag outfit, consisting of a hood, tank top and (I think) a cape. It was glorious.

4. Shirley dear doing a medley of Bond themes then proclaiming "That's how you do it Arctic Monkeys!"

5. The Manic Street Preachers. In general. Face melting rock!!

Worst Moments

1. Finding a queue for buses so long that we missed the last bus going directly to Norwich. Consequently being forced to get one to London instead, walking through London bare-foot then having an argument with a driver as to whether I could actually get on the bus due to being too muddy.

2. Biffy Clyro's refusal to play more than 2 songs from the good ole days (Pre-Puzzle)

3. Not being able to successfully find a headliner Saturday night. The Killers were annoyingly quiet, I couldn't get into Iggy and I can't really recall who else was on at that point.

4. Seeing Fionn Regan's Leftfield set being drowned out by someone on the main Leftfield stage sound checking. Rude as f**k!

5. Like your good self, the fact that it had to come to an end!

[Funkyfairy!]

Bestest moments (there are just too many)

1 Wearing wings / face painted and feeling normal

2 That feeling when we'd pictched the tent (int the dark), and I sat down looked around and shed a little tear- after years of dreaming I'd finally got to Glastonbury

3 The moment when Bruce Springsteen joined the Gaslight Anthem - who needs drugs with moments like that

4 The buzzes of excitement each and every day discovering new things and absorbing them

5 Watching the sky lanterns going off during Blur,singing my heart out - a truely spine tingling moment

Worst moments

1 Not having the guts to actually walk into the one of the efests meets - walking round with the meet timetable and being too chicken

2 Going in on Wednesday after XX hours in traffic- midnight, and realising the scale of Glastonbury and the task infront of us getting to where we wanted to camp

3 The thunderstorm on Monday morning just as we'd taken down the tent

4 Not having time to do everything !

5 The traffic getting in on the Wednesday after being up since the crack of dawn to catch the ferry

[doubledutch]

The 5 best... ( and not even including any performances, I would need a 10 best list! )

1) That feeling of euphoria you get at Glastonbury that lasts for weeks after, only to be replaced by a feeling of excitement when you start looking forward to the next one.

2) Finding a fantastic spot to camp opposite the Guardian Lounge; pretty central for loads of stuff and easier to get to than the disabled campsite ( my friend is disabled ) and realising that I actually like sleeping in a tent ( at the age of 51 I had never camped before and when going to the V festival I always stayed over in a local B&B )

3) The realisation that you can eat fantastically; it's not just cheap burgers and chips

4) Seeing the Pyramid Stage for the very first time

5) The mexican wave that rolled forward twice as directed by Crowded House; we sat on the disabled platform and the crowd was massive and it was amazing to watch and be part off

the 5 worst...

1) The coach due at 9am on monday morning to take us home that never turned up leaving us wet and miserable and waiting in the cold and rain without having had breakfast till we managed to find a seat on a coach going part of the way late afternoon

2)

3)

4)

5)

Sorry, can't think of any others, as everything else is just brill

Edited November 5, 2009 by doubledutch

[popcornmaster]

07

Best Bits

- Getting on site and being in complete awe

- Getting on site and being in complete awe

- Getting on site and being in complete awe|

- Getting on site and being in complete awe

- Kasabian weren't too bad either

Worst Bits

- The Rain

- In hindsight, missing Arcade Fire

- Realising I only had 5 days here

- Having that cut short by a day

- The car breaking down in Bristol Sunday evening, being spitting distance away but in a garage drinking shitty vending machine hot chocolate

[ivan]

1999

Best

Not being allowed to drive the VW camper down from Yorkshire so sat in the back on a double

bed and drinking all the way down - I was hammered by time we arrived

Taking loaded muffins within 10 minutes of arriving so was unable to help set everything up , I just

sat in a deck chair laughing

Drinking Bacardi and Lime Mojito's sat on an old leather sofa chatting away in the Bacardi Bar

near the other stage

Worst

I should have camped , cos it was my first time followed my mates , and they always went straight

back to van after bands had finiished , so i did not realise I was missing so much , we were in bed

for 1.00 am

[simonizer]

97

Best

1. The feeling of immense freedom

2. Finding the pyramid field to be free of mud (I ran a lap of joy )

3. The loved up moments of absolute union with everyone I met

4. Realising I had made a friend for life

5. The mud drying up on Sunday & finally realising how huge & bizarre the place was

Worst

1. Being greeted thursday morning by an unending sea of mud

2. The persistent drizzle and Autumnal temperature

3. The strain the glue like mud put on your legs

4. Passing out after the trudge up tp the accoustic tent

5. The worst comedown I had ever experienced

[sifi]

2002 for me :

Best

- The freedom, as other people have mentioned.

- Dropping the best part of a quarter of grass and all the people around me helping me pick it up during Faithless.

- Faithless, and the sun setting behind the pyramid

- Roger Waters and Robert Plant. Fantastic.

- Taking a small tent and minimal provisions / clothing. When I'm struggling with wheel barrows now I look back on that small tent and two backpack adventure with great fondness.

Worst

- Nelly Furtardo. I'm not sure why I ended up watching her, but it was like a cat being strangled.

- Saw a couple of kids - children - stealing a blokes wallet out of his pocket during Roger Waters, and although I shouted out to him what was happening, they had gone by the time he clocked what was going on, and I was too far away to get anywhere near them

I think that was it. I think my otherhalf was a bit taken a back by a child offering to sell her 'special sweeties' up in Lost Vagueness mind.

[Nixy]

1992

And buggered if I can remember ANYTHING about it - lol

Best

1. Looking down the hill towards the Pyramid stage as Tom Jones was playing and thinking blow me, he's actually not that bad and getting a huge Glasto grin on me chops

2. Tripping off my la las jumping up and down in the dark waving glow sticks to The Shamen - at least I *think* it was the Shamen - this was back in the day when glow sticks were a new thing and it was all terribly exciting

3. It was hot! I got a little sun burned even.

4. Finding some lil chill out place type thing - told you it was all a bit vague - at night and my mate lending me a sweatshirt and sitting there in the dark thinking there wasn't another place in the world like it.

Worst

1. Looking at the line up now I am uber nutted off with myself because I can't remember seeing ANYBODY - and there are people on that line up I would kill to see now - sassa frassa rassin mind altering nonsense

2. Glasto virgin mistake - getting there and pitching tent really near the portaloos - and realising why there was all that free space when they were being emptied in the morning

[pjdboy]

2009 was also my first and hopefully first of many to come...

here are my best and worst top 5's (not in order or greatness or worseness)

BEST

1) Stood there in the crowd for Lily Allen with my mate and my girlfriend, when Lily takes to the stage wearing the purple playsuit, turning to my mate in synchronisation and us both saying to each other "I think i'm in love" (not with each other...)

2) Seeing Blur finally all back together again and playing a blinder

3) Spending time up the top of the tipee field by all the flags on the Wednesday night with a bag full of beers and a mindblowing view and a group of great friends

4) Having a massive sing-a-long with the whole crowd to about 99% of the Madness set

5) Bypassing the correct junction on the M5 and going south a further 2 junctions and driving onto site with no queing whatsoever. (we left at the same time as another car in our group form the same place 4 hours after them and got there 3 hours before them....!) RESULT

WORST

1) Parking in East car park, to find we're camping over in Woodies, far West campsite.

2) Not being able to carry everything in one trip from the car, so having to go back for the extra beer the next day, 2 hour round trip, cheers then.

3) Sound issues completely wrecking the Scratch Perverts set on the G-stage

4) Bringing really heavy, heavy duty wellies all the way to find that i've out-grown them since I last used them and having to buy a new pair

5) The walk back to the car on the Monday afternoon. Sad and draining times.

N.B. I struggled to find 5 worst moments, but I really wouldn't struggle to find a million more best moments!

[roseyrose]

2008

Best

1 - Getting there and feeling like you're in a different world to the "outside"!

2 - Me and my best friend crying when James Blunt sang Goodbye My Lover it was just such a MOMENT! And yes i know we are losers lol!

3 - Discovering the long drops werent half as bad as i imagined!

4 - Dancing round fire in Arcadia on the sunday it was like being in hell! Amazing!

5 - Going to the jazz world at about 3pm on the friday having a couple of special sweets and a few pints of brothers, a vague memory of the dance village and then waking up outside my tent in the rain wth my friend telling me to go to bed. That brothers has got a lot to answer for!

Worst

1 - Car getting a flat tyre on the motorway in the pissing down rain on the thursday. Our friend the driver had never changed a tyre before and none of us could drive so while she was trying to change it we all got SOAKED before we even got there.

2 - When we finally got there we couldnt get hold of our other friend who had kindly pitched our tent for us, it was midnight, we were soaking it was pissing it down and we were just walking aimlessly round and round this MASSIVE PLACE with our heavy bags and he wouldnt answer his phone!!! Luckily some lovely people invited us under there gazebo - camp pyramid as i recall! Legends! And let us shelter until we finally got through to our friend who was actually quite ill and had been asleep!

3 - Then we got to our tents and they werent even pitched so we had to do it in the dark and wet and then when we finally got inside all our sleeping bags, pillows, clothes everything was soaking and we were just so tired, wet and defeated! The next morning though even though we woke up wet we woke up excited and then everything improved!

4 - A girl in front of us telling us to be quiet when we were having fun dancing and singing while watching Jay Z - wtf?!?!?!

5 - Yeah leaving is the worst by a mile.

[worthyraver]

First Glastonbury 2007

Good

1. Kasabian were awesome fantastic so was not expecting that.

2. Just arriving on site with no idea of what to expect.

3. Pitching the tent in the dark excited and looking round the site, cider bus and woo-woos at the tent, so a festival tradition begins.

4. Watch Steve run backwards on festival strength outside brothers bar, later he was in medical tent, but back on the cider by the evening what a legend.

5. Trying to describe where we had pitched the tents to Andy when he arrived on Thursday, I was totally spannered on festival strength, yet in the best state of all of us to make the effort, the attempt is still quoted back to me every year, brilliant.

Bad

1. Never making it into the Green Fields or stone circle.

2. The persistent damp and rain, gets you in the end, and it did.

3. Leaving Sunday morning, really depressed in the tent Sunday morning, rain lashing down, someone had to say it, so I did, I ventured, "shall we go?" We were packed up and back in the car inside 15 minutes. Did miss The Who and Chemical Brothers, but had to go, just had to get out.

4. James filling an entire 2 litre bottle with piss on Sunday morning, it was pissing it down, outside the tent, and he could not face the walk to the toilets, funny really but not a great image, I have a picture.

5. Having to wait a year for another go.

I notice all the bad things are related to the weather.

[cejx]

I have had to amalgamate as what happened at which G is a tad hazy!!

Good

Macca's headline set

Bringing a ballgown with me and getting into the Lost Vagueness casino... and being so utterly spangled I couldn't dance.

The rain of 2007 keeping all the longdrops clean.

Timo Mass at the Glade this year and Adam Freeland at Arcadia

Stone Circle. Need I say anything else?

Bad

Darren Emerson being a twat when he DJed.

Arriving in glorious sunshine in 2005 and then the storm... having to trudge back to the car in the storm to get our wellies and waterproofs.

Sleeping too much in 2007 - it was cool and the shitty weather meant I just didn't get up!

Getting Swine Flu this year. Yeah whatever!

Having to look after my idiot friend who wandered off thus missing a lot of Pendulum.

[Zacko]

First was this year

Best

1. Finally getting on site, having a wander round and heading up to the Stone Circle to check everything out.

2. Dance Lounge on the Thursday watching Beardyman after trying to get into the packed out tent for about half an hour. Everyone was up for it and it felt like we'd arrived.

3. Seeing Neil Young, Bruce and The Prodigy. I should have gone to see Blur really but I don't regret it all that much as I was up at the front for The Prodigy and it was mental.

4. The sunset slots of The Specials and Kasabian, really great moments.

5. Sitting round the tent on the Friday (or it might have been Saturday) just having a huge laugh with mates, was only a bit tipsy but seeing a mate somehow fall of his chair in one frame family guy style was the funniest thing to ever happen.

Worst

1. The first walk to get on site. I took far too much stuff and had to walk miles with it. We were all pretty much in the same boat hating it. We set up and all that disappeared though.

2. Losing my bag up at the stone circle, I left it with someone as I went off for a wander then couldn't remember where they were on the hill. Lost my glasses in there (thankfully I hardly ever wear them so I wasn't blind for the rest of the weekend)

3. Missing Rolf and a couple of others.

4. The walk back to the buses going to the train station on Monday at about 6am in the pissing down rain and the mud. Thankfully we'd all had a f**king brilliant weekend so we couldn't really give a shit what happened.

5. Can't think of any other bad moments, I guess getting back and just being completely annoyed that people outside my group wouldn't understand what its like.

[Nyika]

First was this year

Best

1.Meeting Messy and Pineappletea in from of the other stage when I arrived, cold can of strongbow in my hand which had dropped out of someone's bag in front of me and Nina coming to escort us to the campsite cos we were so lost

2.Hockey followed by the gaslight anthem and bruce and then florence and then pendulum, ooooh yeah

3.Sitting by the campfire and ringing 118247 and asking for magical trevor

4.My thursday in which I walked around the entire greenfields and met some fantastic people in a knitting tent

5.Playing cards whilst absolutely pissed on cider and falling asleep in the teepee because it was raining

Worst

1.The walk in, I was dying, my skirt kept riding up, I had too much stuff and lost my trilby hat within 5 minutes of arriving

2.Coming down off mdma looong before anyone else and dejectively trying to drink a can of cider to stay wonky

3.The creepy drunk man in the teepee

4.When it rained and we'd just got sitting by a fire on the last night

5.Going home in 30 degree heat!

[BuriedBones]

1989

Best:

Elvis Costello - Shipbuilding

Spontaneous Singalong when power failed across the site

Policeman chasing / failing to catch / falling over a lot after scallies at oxlyer bridge

Worst:

Crying, freaked out, tripping girlfriend

Losing everybody about 5 times a day (pre-mobiles the best way of getting in contact was via the meeting point and leaving a message by writing on an actual painted wall - that's one for the kids..)

Malevolent Atmosphere after dark

[5co77ie]

First Glasto 1990

The Best:

1. Totally different to any other festival I'd ever been to, it was a wonderful sunny weekend, and as we lolled in the sun everyone we knew there would wander by at some point, the vibe was amazing.

2. Archaos!!! - motorbikes, flames, and chain saws up the side of the pyramid and fireballs shooting out from the top of the stage - awesome!

3. At night sat at our tent, there amongst the tents it was awash with colourful wandering people coming up to chat randomly, crazy characters, bizarre costumes, you could have a fire and friendly banter, soundsystems going all night - it was amazing!

4. The amount of weird new experiences to try out, the size of the place meant new areas like the Green Fields were there to explore and discover like minded people with similar political views, there were loads of workshops, crafts, dance and the kids field was amazing, as was the tipi field.

5. The Travellers Field - a crazy world of weirdos and some fantastic bands I'd never heard of that were amazing.

The Bad

1. Thinking the acid wasn't working and being offered more and more - until it all kicked in at once and for a few hours I was totalled - fortunately I found Hawkwind playing, and then Gong and with Fruit Salad type lighting it was jaw dropping, and I felt very, very at home.

2. Big rasta type guys selling small 'teenths and carrying machetes - freaked me right out when my girlfriend argued we were being ripped off and he pulled a knife on us.

3. Having no money for food / drink (ran out on the first day) - although there was a caterer who on the last day gave us a french stick and a hunk of bread each for free, and then we found the CND HQ and they gave us cups of tea.

4. We had a mate with a puppy, they let dogs in then, suddenly two guys walked past wearing cooking aprons with dogs on - suddenly became paranoid they were going to cook the puppy.

5. The toilets my first experience of them was in the dark, my second wasn't.

[tHomBleached]

2000

Best

1) Being off my pickle having consumed a gastric delight of super noodles and other ingredients (they were very super noodles) whilst watching cyprus hill

2) Having a blast with our neighbours (still in touch with one of them to this day)

3) The sea of flares lit up on the hill on the Sunday night for Bowie

4) The fact that it was pissing it down like you wouldn't believe during the journey there, and then during the walk to find somewhere to pitch, only for the rain to stop the second we started pitching up and I don't think it rained again

5) The meal at little chef on the way back (don't think I'd eaten anything apart from the super noodles, beer and maybe some melon somewhere)

Worst

1) The after effects of said super noodles

2) The fact I felt like I was the only one who'd paid

3) The tent robbing - all of our neighbours got broken into, it was definatley ALOT more common then for tent thefts/violence to occur

4) Saying goobye to new friends

5) Can't think of another one so I'll have another best.....

Best 2

1) The bloodhound gang

[Niblet]

1995

Good

1. Not a cloud in the sky for the entire weekend

2. Knowing what a festival was like as I had been to Reading and The Phoenix Festi before and being totally wrong!

3. Borrowing a tent that was basically a sleeping bag with a stick in it so having to share with a girl taht came with us.

4. being in a troupe of 19 that went down.

5. Not know where anything was!

Bad

1. Having £20 to last me the weekend

2. Coming home on the monday

3. Buying duff acid for £10

4. Coming home on Monday

[Al the CAT]

First year 2008...

Best

- Billy Bragg @ Guardian Acoustic tent; Only having heard bits of his stuff before, was absolutely blown away

- The walk to the top of the hill to look over the site. You know the place is big, but then....

- Getting there early enough to get to camp exactly where I wanted (Kidney Mead)

- Finding such a great range of food available, rather than the usual festival crapinnabun

- Meeting up with the lovely eFests people who had provided so much good info for the noobs

Worst

- Getting caught in the crush between Pyramid / Other after Amy Winehouse & before Jay-Z. Not nice, find another way round kids.

- Being a complete anti-social b'stard after being crushed, and not wanting to be around anyone else for a good while, spoiling both mine & my friends Saturday night / Sunday morning.

- The fashionistas. So what that your dress doesn't match your wellies, or your hair is a mess, get over it, it's a festival.

- The kindly souls who left a 'little brown present' at the side of our tent, despite the toilets being within sight. Filthy f**kwits.

- Having to leave at a stupid time on Monday morning because of evil employers.

The second time round better, the third will be amazing

[BlackHole2006]

My first was 2008:

Best:

1. Walking up the hill of flagtopia and turning back, then realising how big it actually was!

2. Realising that I can actually be myself without worrying about people bullying/ putting me down for it.

3. Random person coming up to us during Manu Chao

4. Discovering a random band called Phantom Limb, great band and there vocals are amazing.

5. Realising how special it was.

Worst:

1. Going Home

2. Being too persistant about seeing bands when there were other things to get up too.

3. The rain on friday.

[Red_Eye_Jedi]

My first was 2008;

Best:

1) meeting up with my best friend on the wednesday who had been there for a while and he had a beer and a 'smoke' ready for when he met us.

2) standing infront of the pyramid stage on the wednesday like.. "This is home."

3) seeing a policeman with a pink flower on his hat, while smoking up and nodding to him and him nodding back.. Absalutely brilliant.

4) Peter doherty - Albion. Park stage. Friday Night.. Totaly beautiful..

5) Stone circle wednesday night as the sun went down. Brought a tear to my eye.

Worst:

1) The hill of death. (Although I did find a "Sweetie" on it while walking up! )

2) going home

[pie_and_a_pint]

2003:

Best:

Arriving on Wednesday and exploring

Pennard Organic Vineyard wine

Radiohead

Lovely sunny weather

The feeling that I had found 'home'

Worst:

Appalling, painful, dangerously bad sunburn

How cold it got at night

Cooper Temple Clause - bloody hell they were shocking!

Blisters from SO much trekking about

Going home

[strummer77]

Best

1) Stage invasion during Iggy!

2) The two litre bottles of Brothers Cider

3) The atmosphere, it was raining but who cares!

4) Kasabian followed by the Arctic Monkeys, really enjoyed that

5) The view of the site as it filled up, was incredible to watch as an unprepared first timer

Worst

1) Our tent almost, almost having to be moved

2) Running out of socks coz of mud

3) Almost killing my best friend

4) Being led through a river to the shuttle bus, then finding out the steward had gone the wrong way

5) The big shit in the portaloo I opened

To be honest though, I say "worst", but most of them were still f**king brilliant

Edited November 5, 2009 by strummer77

[Joshuwarr]

2008:

BEST:

- Arriving at 6AM Thursday morning as the sun has just risen into the school. Having a can of cider and watching the festival awake around me.

- My amazement at the amount of music and stuff happening on the Thursday night

- Tony Benn.

- Carl Barat's acoustic set wherein he played Libertines songs and dueted with Billy Bragg!

- Visiting Shangri-La and not knowing what I'd let myself in for. I then stumbled into what can only be described as a shed to be greeted with The Holloways playing Generator.

WORST:

- Just outside the tent for the Levellers and the rain was pissing down and I was sooooo close to cover. I just went to bed in the end as my tent was literally about 50 metres from the stage so I could hear the band really clearly.

- Jack Penate being very boring

- The enormous crowd for Glasvegas meaning I just couldnt hear them at all

- The big hill up to the cark park on the Monday

- Not visiting the stone circle properly, only briefly