top 5 glasto moments

[russycarps]

Let's think back to happier times and get this sorted out once and for all. It needs to be moments everyone can relate to, not the time you fingered lucy from bolton in the tiny tea tent etc

1. Radiohead 1997. Karma Police. Thom yorke singing "For a minute there I lost myself". Sensational scenes. Sad to think there will never again be a band that will make such an impact on the pyramid stage.

2. David Bowie 2000. Life on Mars? I remember thinking that if I died when this song ended I would have died with no musical regrets.

3. Leonard Cohen 2008. Hallelujah. Not my favourite L Cohen song by any stretch, but as the sun was setting and he sang "I told the truth, I didn't come to glastonbury to fool you" there was not a single place on earth anyone in that crowd would rather be at that moment than in that field.

4. Flaming Lips 2010. Do you realize???. At that point it was clear beyond any doubt that we had all just witnessed the greatest live band in the world. Fully grown human beings in tears everywhere.

5. Pulp 1995. Common People. It was as much the crowd as the music. Compare and contrast that crowd with a pyramid headline crowd today. It was euphoric bedlam back then. These days people are more worried about how they look and what other people are thinking of them, than letting go and having a good time (utter shyte like beyonce on the stage doesnt help like).

No place for paul mccartney on my list due to his toe curling uncoolness

[eFestivals]

Gawd, if I thought about it too much my list would be endless. So instead I'll go with the first five that pops into my head....

1. Joan Armatrading - Jazzworld a few years ago. Just a wonderful emotionally charged set.

2. Eddy Grant - Jazzworld, a few years ago. I turned up expecting great cheese, and instead got (just) great.

3. Orbital - Jazzworld 1999, I think. When that french theatre act on a lorry came thru the crowd from the Cabaret Tent field they showed Orbital how to do it properly. Time has shown that Orbital learnt nothing.

4. Faithless - Jazzworld. No idea which year. God is not a DJ, it's this band at their best.

5. Manu Chao - Pyramid, a few years ago. They showed how a great band can make a crowd that doesn't know them bounce like no headliner ever manages.

[dingbat2]

1. Elbow - Queens Head 2008. Best gig I have ever been to, Lots of tears of emotion in the tent that evening. Played a lot of older stuff, the greatest bank in the greatest setting on earth

2. M83 - JP 2005 - never heard of them before and I remember hearing their smoky electronic chords when walking past, went in and absolutely loved them. Finding bands you havent heard of before is a real highlight of Glasto for me, you don't get it as much as other festivals because they arent as big or diverse

3. Holy Fuck - JP 2008. Again, never heard them before and I remmber sitting outside the JP on the Saturday pm with the worst hangover in the history of the planet (one oif those when you think you are going to die so you just want to hide in a hole and sleep through it). Awesome stuff, really cured my hangover and have loved them every since

4. When I finally have pitched the tent up - every year, and sit back on a chair looking over the site with a beer. The excitement and aniticpation of whats to come, and at the same time the feeling of calm and contentment you cannot expereince anywhere else

5. First time I experienced Shangi La and Arcadia. That was an incredible experience the first time

6 (sorry). Seeing the confirmattion screen that the order has been processed on T day. The excitement builds from that point on, all the way until the following June!

[JoeyT]

I wouldn't say these were my top 5 nesesscarily but they're 5 of my top moments:

1. Elbow's whole set from this year- Guy Garvey was so made up to be on the pyramid stage, the sun was setting and everyone singing 'one day like this' at the top of their voice. Perfect.

2. Sharing a joint at the tiny tea tent whilst playing drinking games with cups of tea...

3. The sun setting on the wednesday evening of the festival. Might just be me but I go all tingly!

4. The whole 2010 festival - Glastonbury in the sun? All of it?!

5. Jimmy Cliff on the jazzworld in 08 or 09 - Stumbled upon this during a drunken ramble after refusing to watch kings of leon or panic at the disco. Top tunes, danced my little ass off.

May add more in the future due to the lack of activity in this forum currently.....

[amfy]

I don't know if I can narrow it down to 5 but the one I need to say before anyone else is The Chemical Brothers in 2000.

They started with Music Response, Block Rockin Beats, and Hey Boy Hey Girl. The natural high I hit a few bars into the 3rd tune was like nothing I have ever experienced - like coming up without being on anything. On Youtube you can hear/feel that go right through the crowd (although of course for a fair proportion it may well of been chemically assisted - just guessing like) - the collective experience was something quite other worldly.

[amfy]

(2) hugging my mum and singing "I just called to say I love you" in her ear during Stevie Wonder as she completed her first Glastonbury aged 68!

(3) Stavros Flatley taking the roof off Club Dada before we went and found Suggs in The Rocket Lounge playing "Lets go fly a kite" from Mary Poppins, then getting kidnapped by the rest of Madness and taken to see The Beat, before we headed back along the railway track, stopping off to join a mass singalong of about 100 people to Wonderwall accompanied only by a saxophone and a bongo drum. You can't get a Saturday night like that anywhere else!

(4) JayZ - only went along to support the principle that Glastonbury is for any kind of music and he completely blew me away!

(5) The Marley Brothers - I cried the whole way through!

There are loads of things from further back that seem to completely allude me right now!

I;ll let someone else have Blur!

[The Nal]

So difficult.

1. Arthur Lee in 2004. The entire set.

2. The chaos up front during the Prodigy in 09.

3. My first Glasto meet at the cider bus this year. Shame on me for waiting so long.

4. The Efests World Cups.

5. Oh, and Penny Lane in 04

And many, many, many moments of madness over the years - Suggs DJing in the Rocket Lounge, seeing a man in a huge scary rabbit costume dance to Booker T and the MGs in a music tent (now gone) with loads of beds in it while people slept, kissed, danced, sat, ate, drank, played an old piano, leaving Oasis to see The Chems in 05, Toots and the Maytals last year, Taj Mahal in 05, Primal Scream wrecking the place in 05, Omar Souleyman this year......

Fuck it, theres way too many for a top 5.

And Russy, less of the backchat about Lucy please, lovely girl. Although she does love a gob full of glue, granted

Edited November 23, 2011 by The Nal

[Wooderson]

Let's think back to happier times and get this sorted out once and for all. It needs to be moments everyone can relate to, not the time you fingered lucy from bolton in the tiny tea tent etc

1. Radiohead 1997. Karma Police. Thom yorke singing "For a minute there I lost myself". Sensational scenes. Sad to think there will never again be a band that will make such an impact on the pyramid stage.

2. David Bowie 2000. Life on Mars? I remember thinking that if I died when this song ended I would have died with no musical regrets.

3. Leonard Cohen 2008. Hallelujah. Not my favourite L Cohen song by any stretch, but as the sun was setting and he sang "I told the truth, I didn't come to glastonbury to fool you" there was not a single place on earth anyone in that crowd would rather be at that moment than in that field.

4. Flaming Lips 2010. Do you realize???. At that point it was clear beyond any doubt that we had all just witnessed the greatest live band in the world. Fully grown human beings in tears everywhere.

5. Pulp 1995. Common People. It was as much the crowd as the music. Compare and contrast that crowd with a pyramid headline crowd today. It was euphoric bedlam back then. These days people are more worried about how they look and what other people are thinking of them, than letting go and having a good time (utter shyte like beyonce on the stage doesnt help like).

No place for paul mccartney on my list due to his toe curling uncoolness

[Greenish]

In no particular order

Johnny Cash, 94, Ring of Fire

Leonard Cohen 08

Bill Bailey, 05? Cabaret Tent, I've got Ham but I'm not a Hamster (stuck that song in my head for years!)

Tony Benn, Leftfield. Particularly liked the year he talked about bananas.

Pendulum 09 - Other Stage

honerable mentions to the Arcadia Stage, Crosby Stills and Nash (09), the fence coming down (00)

[Wooderson]

5 best sets ive ever seen at glasters - in order

Macca

Blur

Stevie

Shakey

Queens of the muthafuckin' Stone Age.

[Ed209]

Only started going in 2002.

1) Stevie Wonder - Master Blaster. maybe my favourite musical artist of all time and a true idol of mine. said to a number of my friends for a few years previous that seeing him headline the pyramid would mean I could die a happy man, couldn't believe it when they booked him. Then as master blaster kicked in I knew it was going to be special. As it turned out, it was the happiest 90 minutes of my life. Me and 10 of my best mates just it utter ecstacy.

2) Paul Mac - the whole thing really, but the collective happiness of 100 000 people during Hey Jude is quite something.

3) Chem Brothers 2004. Mangled and Epic.

4) Radiohead 2003 - A perfect headline slot.

5) Queens of the Stone Age 2011 - was only a week before I left the country for pastures new. Final time spent with my bff's just rocking the total shit out of it.

Edited November 23, 2011 by Ed209

[daley]

1. Stevie Wonder-2010 I just called to say I love you! A magical sing along!

2. Gorillaz set 2010. I know what's been said about the set however I am a massive Gorillaz fan and I thought it was an amazing set!

3. Bills Big Round Up-2011- Was absolute amazing just getting out of the rain and listening to some nice music.

4. Morrissey- 2011

5. Actually discovering the late night areas this year! Was amazing! xx

[LondonTom]

Given my two glastonburys

1) The sudden coolness of the night and actually being free of bodies for a brief moment during Muse. Just as The Edge walks on, MOMENT!

2)Finding orkestra del sol near the stone circle, in the evening as I was about to head up the hill to get my first even look of glasto, just brilliance and made me realize i was finally there .

3)The old couple dancing after QoSTA last year, just brilliant cool night area, the festival nearing an end. and just in the midst of crowds leaving. Their just slow dancing together, did wanna ask if they had been near the sound booth for the whole of QoSTA

4)Partying in the cubanna, so simple, cba going to the proper late night ares and went in to find somewhere to sit and a cheeky cocktail and just had an amazing hour dancing along.

5)The whole atmosphere of faithless into stevie wonder back '10 just brilliant partyness!

[grumpyhack]

It would hurt the brain too much to think of a top five but some of my best moments have been seeing people live for the first time like Bonnie Raitt, who was superb on the Jazzworld (can't remember the year). Other great moments have often involved veterens like Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, the Ray Davies Kinks Choral set, Roger McGuinn. The Who and Brian Wilson were also a couple of great oldies classic performances.

[Jackmypie]

Prodigy 09, me and my mate were one of the smallest + youngest guys in the crowd. We were right at the front as well. it didn't end well, but it was fun

Muse 10, when they covered house of the rising sun with the 80 odd thousand people in the crowd singing it back. Awesomeness.

Jay Z 08, Amazinggg.

Shangri la sunday night 11, as it was the last night before the fallow year, we decided to end it with a bang, which we did ended up at the stone circle where there were still people partying on at 10am the monday morning

Thinking of a 5th...

Edited November 23, 2011 by Jackmypie

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Glastonbury oozes so many good moments it's impossible for me to state 5 of them. However I do know that the common denominator in any 1 to 5 list would be sharing those moments with my friends. That's the most important thing for me at any Glasto.

[The Nal]

Bollocks forgot about Neil Young somehow. All of it.

And The River by Bruce Springsteen.

[Leedspete]

1. Underworld in 1999. First Glastonbury, and end of the set where King Of Snake goes into Born Slippy just blew me away.

2. Stevie Wonder - just thought it was an amazing atmosphere with not one sarcastic comment from anyone to be heard. Best time I've had at the Pyramid stage.

3. Shedding a tear or two standing on my own in the rain to Morrissey singing This Charming Man and There is a Light. Friends all watching something else. Couldn't have been happier! I'd never seen him before.

4. Atmosphere at the top of the hill looking at Park Stage when Pulp were on last year. Could hardly hear the music but everyone seemed so happy and playful and content. Everyone just bantering with each other and laughing, such a nice vibe.

5. Just the numerous very early morning walks around 6am when it's pretty quite but you stop and talk to pretty much every person you see on your way to or from somewhere.. And just going around a corner and finding something funny going on and then just joining in.

[dondo]

So many memories from the 5 festivals I've been to (2003,4,5,10 &11) so difficult to narrow it down. So many too could be non musical things too making it even trickier but quick 5 that pop into my head are

1) Love with Arthur Lee 2003- mate who I went to 1st Glasto said I must see them and was very glad I did as was fantastic

2) Pet Shop Boys 2010- thoroughly enetertaining from start to finish

3) Deacon Blue 2011- forgot how many fantastic songs they had and really good atmosphere in the Accoustic Tent

4) Macca 2004- yes bit cheesey at times but fantastic show

5) U2 2011- Not the best I've seen from a U2 performance and the weather was crap but my favourite band at my favourite festival so can't go wrong

Edited November 24, 2011 by dondo

[russycarps]

1. Underworld in 1999. First Glastonbury, and end of the set where King Of Snake goes into Born Slippy just blew me away.

[Leedspete]

Oof I had totally forgotten this. Incredible stuff. I was in a different dimension during that set. Was that really 1999?? doesnt seem that long ago at all.

I actually meant top epic musical moments for this thread onm the big stages so my bad for badly articulating that, but it's good to read about peoples experiences away from the music too.

I think my top 5 glasto moments EVER would probably only include 2 musical moments.

I can still remember my first time walking in......sigh happy days

[russycarps]

ah yes, scooby snacks was great too! Fantastic crowd. That's what I mean in my Pulp one, you just dont get crowds like that anymore sadly

I cant remember a thing about 1999. I have no idea who headlined. Primal scream maybe? Meh

[amfy]

I was there too in 99 and I think I was with my brother and i only remember seeing Blondie and Lonnie Donegan - and he didn't even do "Does your chewing gum lose it's flavour on the bedpost overnight?"

I can remember being in the dance tent and being asked to leave by security because my brother was so out of it he kept crashing into people, but I don't know who we were there for.

I also remember going into my first one in 1986. We were in a campervan with some friends but we didn't know the girl whose van it was. As we were given our wristbands she said "Oh no! It's a CND festival - Daddy is going to DIE when I tell him I borrowed the van for a CND festival!"

[Leedspete]

I was there too in 99 and I think I was with my brother and i only remember seeing Blondie and Lonnie Donegan - and he didn't even do "Does your chewing gum lose it's flavour on the bedpost overnight?"

I can remember being in the dance tent and being asked to leave by security because my brother was so out of it he kept crashing into people, but I don't know who we were there for.

I also remember going into my first one in 1986. We were in a campervan with some friends but we didn't know the girl whose van it was. As we were given our wristbands she said "Oh no! It's a CND festival - Daddy is going to DIE when I tell him I borrowed the van for a CND festival!"

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Wasn't there sound systems within the shopping areas in those days? I have a vague recollection of a very tall stall area that was covered during the day so you couldn't see what it was, and then at night was uncovered to reveal the full height was all speakers,blaring music out.