Newbies not 'getting' Glasto?!

[zoso70]

I know by sheer default that all on this forum already do 'get' what Glasto is all about, otherwise you wouldnt be on here, BUT have you ever taken anybody or heard of any newbies that have been to Glasto and not got 'it' or not enjoyed themselves? and if so what were the reasons?

Just having the pre glasto 'getting excited' coversation and topic got round to why a friend of ours said they wouldnt go back.(!!)

[zoso70]

very true, it does take all sorts i suppose. plus the ones that dont like it mean theres more chance of tickets for us the year after!

[UEF]

A few folks that picked 2007 as their first one and somewhat rightly thought "fuck this" after it rained constantly and they consequently didn't get to see it in its best light.

Other than that, very few that we've introduced to the festival have not gone subsequently, whereras we all dip in and out of V, Reading etc.

[eoinca]

The only person I know who didn't "get" it is the greek U2 fan(I say fan, he's obsessed with them) I work with who went last year.

ONe of the lads in the office who's been going since the 90s did his best to prepare him, but he arrived Thursday night late and then spent all day friday in front of the main stage waiting for U2 and then decided he couldn't take it any more and fucked off to a hotel in Bristol. Even more hilarious was his mate who arrived friday, straight off the plane from LA with no rain gear.

[wolfticket]

I think it's preconceptions that are the killer.

If you go for the first time with a hard and fast idea of what it's going to be like, what you're going to do/see and that everything is going to go smoothly, then it's diffcult to recover and get into the swing of things once all that goes out of the window.

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

I wouldn't necessarily say this forum all gets what Glasto is about. Over the past month or so, I've read benefit claimants being attacked, people saying working class people can't string a paragraph together or use sentences, and seen people say Glasto isn't the place to protest tax avoidance.

On the whle though i'd agree

[Guest]

We make a point of taking any 'newbies' up to the top of the Stone Circle field on Wednesday or Thursday night and then tell them to turn around when they get to the top. They usually 'get' Glastonbury after that.

Oh - and we always try not to 'big' the festival up to much beforehand.

Edited November 1, 2012 by Ommadawn

[markeee]

I think it depends on the person

- people who go just to be seen at glasto or to say 'I went to glasto years ago' to their kids when they're older or their friends/colleagues..well they wont ever get it!!

[MrZigster]

I'm not sure recent newbies will ever get what it used to be like pre fence no police era.

[markeee]

I'm not sure recent newbies will ever get what it used to be like pre fence no police era.

[Evilredzebra]

We make a point of taking any 'newbies' up to the top of the Stone Circle field on Wednesday or Thursday night and then tell them to turn around when they get to the top. They usually 'get' Glastonbury after that.

Oh - and we always try not to 'big' the festival up to much beforehand.

[eFestivals]

Some'friends' of mine went in (I think it was) 1993. They said they hated it.

Against advice they camped in East Holts, in the middle of all the madness - they didn't like that.

But mostly it was cos they all got upset tummies, and said Glastonbury was a health hazard. However, guess what their reply was when asked how many times they'd washed their hands over the weekend....?

[Buff124]

Zummerzet, Zoider, and Zoikadelia

[lucyginger]

My first year was 2008. My sister and I went with a couple of friends, none of us had been before and I was the only one who'd done a festival (Phoenix and Reading in the 90's).

Within 10 minutes of being there, my sis and I knew we needed to go every year after that, and have been lucky to do so. Our two friends went home on the Sunday afternoon and have never returned. They even went before Neil Diamond! Sacrilege!!

Also, a couple of weeks ago I was getting very excited about Glasto next year, and my friend (who came last year and is coming next year) said something like, 'Why do you get so excited about it?' And I just sort of gave him The Look. I know he loves it, but I don't think its quite part of him like it is me. I tried to explain that its the best place on Earth, the escape from the mundanity of everyday life is well worth the years wait (or 2!) and that if it doesnt change you as a person, you're not doing it right.

I'm not quite sure I made my point.

You know what I mean though, don't you?

[The Nal]

Mate of mine came with us in 2010, a glorious year. Really enjoyed himself but I don't think he'll go back.

[Vanderlyle]

Most of my friends who've gone really enjoyed it.

Quite a few friends don't want to go - seem to have a block about the festival and be insistent that they won't go. I think it is partly due to the number of people running round w*nking on about the 'amazing spirit' of Glastonbury and 'unique vibes'. I think it bugs people who haven't been.

I think it's this type of thing...

I wouldn't necessarily say this forum all gets what Glasto is about. Over the past month or so, I've read benefit claimants being attacked, people saying working class people can't string a paragraph together or use sentences, and seen people say Glasto isn't the place to protest tax avoidance

[eFestivals]

Always found it weird when people who think of themselves as the epitome of liberal are so keen to demand that everybody shares their views. If someone thinks that they'd rather not have a music festival dominated by people protesting tax avoidance then that is their choice. Doesn't mean people aren't within their rights to go ahead with the protest, I just don't like the implied bullying and dismissal of people with other views.

I agree with you in general, but there's two sides to everything.

For example, with the suggested tax protest. Some people say Glastonbury isn't th place for it, while others believe it's a very good place for it - and they both can't be right.

Both sides are dismissing the other as wrong, and there's no 'liberal' or even non-liberal way to resolve that disagreement peacefully.

Ultimately, one side *DOES* know better than the other - and so why shouldn't 'the wrong' be put right by being told they're wrong?

(before someone starts, my words there do not suggest which side is right, so if you're reading that they do the error is yours alone. I'm merely pointing out that with strictly factual things both sides cannot be right, and that there's nothing wrong with telling the wrong that they are wrong)

Edited November 2, 2012 by eFestivals

[baggienick68]

I went for three or four years with friends who had a great time but the last one was 2007. The weather was really wet and miserable that year and so they have not been back since.

I'm a Glastoholic and as Lucy says above its become part of me. Was planning to go solo next year but roll on the re-sale.

[zahidf]

Just because someone has a go about you about your views, doesn't mean your being surpressed. Argue back for feck sakes!

And i think tax avoidance is morally wrong, and people need to say it to artists. I think it's a cop out to say ' i only want to enjoy the music, nothing else matters'.

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

I've been going since 2008, and what I have taken away from it is: Glastonbury is a place for most things, and all sorts of people.

Its the mix of people that makes it so special for me, its a social melting pot and I love it.

Then again perhaps I dont get it.

[The_Amazing_Oblong]

I do think less and less people 'get' what Glastonbury Festival is about but then Glastonbury Festival is also less about what it used to be, if that makes sense.

It used to be such that everywhere you went you were exposed to alternate ways of living or viewing the world we live in. From listening to the speakers, attending a workshop, taking the time to read the messages along the track even just seeing how things such as recycling or renewable energy work. I think overall people had more open minds to these things, even if they just returned to their normal lives afterwards. They became more knowledgeable and could use that knowledge or not.

Glasto always had hendonism but now it seems it is just about music and excess. The messages have somehow been lost along the way. People now turn up and say "I have paid £200+ for this, entertain me!", they don't want to hear the messages being offered.

So yeah, I think the type of people attending changed as the festival itself changed.

Note: Obviously this is a huge generalisation, there are still plenty of people that attend with an open mind.

[guypjfreak]

ive been trying to GET glasto for the last 16 years BUT HEY I LOVE TRYING TO GET IT

thinking about it i think i only GET glasto IS when its a wash out cos then you see the REAL people ...... if you get my meaning

Edited November 2, 2012 by guypjfreak

[mrtourette]

I do think less and less people 'get' what Glastonbury Festival is about but then Glastonbury Festival is also less about what it used to be, if that makes sense.

[The Nal]

I've a bit of an issue with the "getting" Glasto thing. People are entitled to "get it" or not.

I know from a lot of my mates who haven't been, the "getting it" thing puts them off. Makes the people who say others don't "get it" appear as exclusive snobby c**ts.

[abdoujaparov]

I do think less and less people 'get' what Glastonbury Festival is about but then Glastonbury Festival is also less about what it used to be, if that makes sense.

It used to be such that everywhere you went you were exposed to alternate ways of living or viewing the world we live in. From listening to the speakers, attending a workshop, taking the time to read the messages along the track even just seeing how things such as recycling or renewable energy work. I think overall people had more open minds to these things, even if they just returned to their normal lives afterwards. They became more knowledgeable and could use that knowledge or not.

Glasto always had hendonism but now it seems it is just about music and excess. The messages have somehow been lost along the way. People now turn up and say "I have paid £200+ for this, entertain me!", they don't want to hear the messages being offered.

So yeah, I think the type of people attending changed as the festival itself changed.

Note: Obviously this is a huge generalisation, there are still plenty of people that attend with an open mind.