Pyramid Subs - Did They Pull It Off?

[Avalon_Fields]

I loved Beck in 2016! Just saying.

[TheBoz]

I still regret seeing Smashing Pumpkins rather than Nick Cave in 2013. I think that will haunt me for the rest of my life! 

I remember Elbow in 2014, Tame Impala in 2016 and George Ezra in 2019 being particularly fun. 

[JSmurphy]

Vampire Weekend last time out did a great job I thought. 

[philipsteak]

39 minutes ago, Avalon_Fields said:

I loved Beck in 2016! Just saying.

Me too! Crowd was pretty good where I was too. My mate who was right near the front said it was rubbish where he was. Everyone talking. Clearly people just waiting for Coldplay

[thewayiam]

4 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

2008
The Fratellis - 
Amy Winehouse - Yes
Leonard Cohen - 

2009
The Specials - 
Kasabian - 
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds -

2010
Dizzee Rascal - Yes
Scissor Sisters - Yes
Faithless - Yes

2011
Morrissey - Yes
Elbow - No
Pendulum - Yes

2013
Dizzee Rascal - 
Primal Scream - No
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 

2014
Elbow - 
Jack White - No
The Black Keys - Kinda

2015
The Libertines - Yes
Pharrell Williams - Yes
Paul Weller - Yes

2016
Foals -
Tame Impala - 
Beck - 

2017
The XX - 
The National - 
Biffy Clyro - Yes

2019
George Ezra - No
Liam Gallagher - Yes
Vampire Weekend - 

 

From what I saw

[Matt42]

4 hours ago, Spindles said:

Tame Impala's set was well received, I thought.

Yeah I loved it. Don’t get why people didn’t. 
 

The XX were brilliant. 
 

I do think pyramid sub is the hardest slot to pull off. If you’re insanely popular you will be fine, but if you’re a wild card choice you are at mercy of having a crowd of chatters. Crowd chat always seems to be the worst during a sub set.

[Hugh Jass]

Beck smashed it into next week, a better crowd and we’d be talking about one of the all time great sub sets.

I really enjoyed Pharrell.

Elbow 2011 remains the gold standard though.

[thewayiam]

4 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

Beck smashed it into next week, a better crowd and we’d be talking about one of the all time great sub sets.

I really enjoyed Pharrell.

Elbow 2011 remains the gold standard though.

Opposites attract I guess. Not a fan mind but found Elbow amazingly boring.

[nikkic]

Turns out I’ve only seen 3 Pyramid subs in 7 festivals and 2 of those were last time around.

The XX and Vampire Weekend were superb. 

Liam was alright, started very strong and then drifted when he started playing stuff that wasn’t Oasis. 

 

[Freddyflintstonree]

Anyone mind explaining 2004 vs 2011 Morrissey? I'm intrigued

[Hugh Jass]

3 minutes ago, Freddyflintstonree said:

Anyone mind explaining 2004 vs 2011 Morrissey? I'm intrigued

2004 was just when he was making his comeback, was happy and had a decent album out.

2011 he was grumpy and it pissed it down.

[Hugh Jass]

13 minutes ago, thewayiam said:

Opposites attract I guess. Not a fan mind but found Elbow amazingly boring.

That Elbow set was glorious. Proper life affirming stuff.

There’s a reason why clips from it are used frequently.

[Gnomicide]

1 hour ago, thewayiam said:

From what I saw

Having seen you've put Elbow as a no, I'll just put the opposite of everything you've said 😄

 

[guypjfreak]

5 hours ago, Homer said:

I thought the Pet Shop Boys were really food in 2000;  better than when they headlined the Other.

Strange but I can't remember 2000 lol

[MEGABOWL]

2003 - David Gray - yes though I only remember a couple of songs

2009 - The Specials - yes

Kasabian - yes though the crowd near me was full of arseholes

Nick Cave - yes

2011 - Morrissey - hell no

2011 - Elbow - hell yes. The atmosphere was brilliant and that’s the best I’ve seen

2013 - Primal Scream - no

2016 - Foals - yes

 

[stuartbert two hats]

37 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

2004 was just when he was making his comeback, was happy and had a decent album out.

2011 he was grumpy and it pissed it down.

And for whatever reason, I didn't really realise quite what a c**t he was in 2004. I knew he'd done something with a union jack that pissed of the NME or Melody Maker about 10 years before, but my main impression of him was of an odd bloke who had written some witty, sensitive lyrics to some fantastic music (mainly written by Marr)

Maybe he wasn't being so awful so often, or maybe I just didn't hear about it as much in those pre-social media days.

[Ayrshire Chris]

2 hours ago, Avalon_Fields said:

I loved Beck in 2016! Just saying.

Yes, got to agree with that. Miserable overhead and underfoot, first time we had seen him live and thought he was really good. As was the comfort food  pie and mash I was eating during the performance!  Biffy, wedged between Chic and Sheeran were great.  Vampire weekend fitted in well last time out. As others have said, Elbow were tremendous. 

[Hugh Jass]

14 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

And for whatever reason, I didn't really realise quite what a c**t he was in 2004. I knew he'd done something with a union jack that pissed of the NME or Melody Maker about 10 years before, but my main impression of him was of an odd bloke who had written some witty, sensitive lyrics to some fantastic music (mainly written by Marr)

Maybe he wasn't being so awful so often, or maybe I just didn't hear about it as much in those pre-social media days.

Yeah 2004 was before it became public knowledge just how much of a c**t he was.

[stuartbert two hats]

37 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

Yeah 2004 was before it became public knowledge just how much of a c**t he was.

The clues were there, plain as anything now. But I really didn't realise, even though I should have done. Didn't want to really. How can a man who writes words like

"you shut your mouth, when you say, I go about things the wrong way. I am human and I want to be loved, just like everybody else does" 

really hold such hateful views? Turns out he does. I probably would realised earlier if it wasn't for his lyrics. 

[priest17]

I think the key to enjoying Jack White's set was matching him drink for drink.

[stuartbert two hats]

5 minutes ago, Ddiamondd said:

I'd agree with @stuartbert two hatsand @Avalon_Fieldsto upgrade Beck from a No to a Yes.

He did a great set, lots of fun covers and hat-tips to deceased legends. Came out swinging with hits and energy, so very much not The National/Black Keys.

The ol' Coldplay faithful were nonplussed and the weather was dire, but with a bit of sunshine that could/would have been on par with Tame Impala the day before, or The Libs in 2015.

I guess Beck made an error in openly asking the crowd if it felt like a first date, which ended up being a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy in people's retellings of the set as floundering. But no, he rocked it.

As much as I like it when people agree with me, I've never* seen Beck. Did you mean to tag @Ayrshire Chris?

* I kind of saw him from a distance in 1997, but wasn't paying attention.

[Hugh Jass]

21 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

The clues were there, plain as anything now. But I really didn't realise, even though I should have done. Didn't want to really. How can a man who writes words like

"you shut your mouth, when you say, I go about things the wrong way. I am human and I want to be loved, just like everybody else does" 

really hold such hateful views? Turns out he does. I probably would realised earlier if it wasn't for his lyrics. 

At that point we were all still making excuses for him.... he was just “eccentric”.

I don’t think he would come out with the truly disgraceful stuff for a few years yet. Plus the lack of social media meant his earlier comments weren’t as widely reported.

[Toilet Duck]

Looking at the list, it’s just emphasised to me how infrequently I actually see pyramid subs, despite 2007 being the only year I haven’t seen a pyramid headliner. Another vote here for Faithless in 2010, perfect set up for Stevie afterwards. I thought The Killers did a fine job in 2005 (I think I’ve said elsewhere on the forum that I obviously like killers in 2005 mode, hour long set with only hot fuss to choose from! Killers were one of the hottest bands on the planet at the time (Arcade Fire really were a major omission) and fully justified their elevated status, while being sufficiently self aware to know they weren’t ready yet to take Kylie’s place on the Sunday). 
 

edit: oh, and The Specials in 2009 were great too! 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Toilet Duck

[Zacko]

2 hours ago, MEGABOWL said:

2003 - David Gray - yes though I only remember a couple of songs

2009 - The Specials - yes

Kasabian - yes though the crowd near me was full of arseholes

Nick Cave - yes

2011 - Morrissey - hell no

2011 - Elbow - hell yes. The atmosphere was brilliant and that’s the best I’ve seen

2013 - Primal Scream - no

2016 - Foals - yes

 

I've just ended up watching a bit of this on YouTube as I always like to watch Glasto footage from around then. I'm not sure exactly why, but I always feel like sets from those early post-fence years impact me more than footage from about 2013 onwards.

Maybe it's because everything is still familiar (the Pyramid, the field etc) but you also get a snapshot of a time where there were no phones filming, and the acts playing those slots were quite different to today. 

Then again I was only about 14 then so I'm potentially just romanticising it. 

 

 

[incident]

22 minutes ago, Zacko said:

I've just ended up watching a bit of this on YouTube as I always like to watch Glasto footage from around then. I'm not sure exactly why, but I always feel like sets from those early post-fence years impact me more than footage from about 2013 onwards.

Maybe it's because everything is still familiar (the Pyramid, the field etc) but you also get a snapshot of a time where there were no phones filming, and the acts playing those slots were quite different to today. 

Then again I was only about 14 then so I'm potentially just romanticising it.

Some of it may be the change in timings.

Back in the 90s and the early-mid 00s, the Pyramid Stage finished at twelve thirty and you still only had half an hour changeover before the headliner. A lot of acts around that time would claim that the sub-headline slot was actually better because you caught the sunset.

Nowadays, the curfew is set half an hour earlier (which I believe was a licencing trade off for increased volume limits), and they irritatingly leave at least a full hour gap prior to the headliner - so while exact timings vary the sub headliner is now likely to be at least an hour earlier in the day than they would have ~15-25 years ago and the actual sunset tends to occur during the changeover.