The worst sets at Glastonbury

[gooner1990]

7 minutes ago, dondo said:

I have seen U2 12 times over the years and Glastonbury was by far the worst. Still enjoyed it as a fan of the band but as you say the weather didn't help. It's a shame that they did have to reschedule as I think in 2010 with the glorious weather they would have been a hell of a lot better. 

I didn't watch them (Was at Primal Scream on the Other stage) but I also thought the same that if they had played the intended slot in 2010 with the great weather etc it would have gone down a lot better.

I wonder if ME or EE will invite them back to have another crack at it or if that's it done now for them.

[Ddiamondd]

I feel like the clamour to book U2 ran throughout much of the 2000s, when their stock was extremely high riding off All That You Can't and How To Dismantle. Live 8, iPod adverts, ubiquity in the charts, record-breaking tours, a huge run of success for a band 25 years in.

I remember them being an ongoing rumour for El Pointo as early as 2007/8, and by 2009 we more or less knew they'd be playing 2010.

So the delay was rough luck. When their set came around in 2011 the parodies of Bono were at fever pitch, the tax evasion story had ballooned (literally...), and they were coming off a pretty bad album. Get On Your Boots? Come off it. Wasn't long before the Apple giveaway controversy, too.

On the night the weather fucked it up, but it's been part of an ongoing downward trend for the band anyway. 

The Stones caught the Glasto hype bang on. U2, it was far less the sum of its parts.

[incident]

7 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I wonder if ME or EE will invite them back to have another crack at it or if that's it done now for them.

Surely it's not a case of "if they're invited back" - if U2 want to come back then an act of that status isn't going to be turned down, regardless of the perception of their last performance, unless the festival already has 3 headliners locked in. Same applies to any other suitably large acts on this thread - Oasis, Springsteen, Radiohead. The Who. Not Rod Stewart though.

[incident]

1 minute ago, Ddiamondd said:

I feel like the clamour to book U2 ran throughout much of the 2000s, when their stock was extremely high riding off All That You Can't and How To Dismantle. Live 8, iPod adverts, ubiquity in the charts, record-breaking tours, a huge run of success for a band 25 years in.

I remember them being an ongoing rumour for El Pointo as early as 2007/8, and by 2009 we more or less knew they'd be playing 2010.

So the delay was rough luck. When their set came around in 2011 the parodies of Bono were at fever pitch, the tax evasion story had ballooned (literally...), and they were coming off a pretty bad album. Get On Your Boots? Come off it. Wasn't long before the Apple giveaway controversy, too.

On the night the weather fucked it up, but it's been part of an ongoing downward trend for the band anyway. 

The Stones caught the Glasto hype bang on. U2, it was far less the sum of its parts.

I posted a fuller version of this story once before, but the short version: They were booked for 2005 (and as I remember, Michael even hinted that he wanted them in 2004). I don't know how it looked contractually but I know the band were proceeding as if it was confirmed - one of the few pieces of genuine "inside information" I've ever had. Then they were offered a "too good to turn down" exclusive deal with what eventually became Live Nation (think it would have been either CCE or SFX at the time), and plans changed at very short notice. It didn't just torpedo Glastonbury - the contract covered all manner of things they'd previously done "in house" or with long time partners.

[Zacko]

I've had the U2 set on this morning, definitely looks better on TV than it felt in the crowd. The steam (?) etc rising up from the crowd and the stage looks fantastic. Bono's voice is pretty on point as per usual. 

 

[Ddiamondd]

8 minutes ago, incident said:

I posted a fuller version of this story once before, but the short version: They were booked for 2005 (and as I remember, Michael even hinted that he wanted them in 2004). I don't know how it looked contractually but I know the band were proceeding as if it was confirmed - one of the few pieces of genuine "inside information" I've ever had. Then they were offered a "too good to turn down" exclusive deal with what eventually became Live Nation (think it would have been either CCE or SFX at the time), and plans changed at very short notice. It didn't just torpedo Glastonbury - the contract covered all manner of things they'd previously done "in house" or with long time partners.

Fascinating! I had no idea. They would have smashed 2005.

[Zacko]

9 minutes ago, incident said:

I posted a fuller version of this story once before, but the short version: They were booked for 2005 (and as I remember, Michael even hinted that he wanted them in 2004). I don't know how it looked contractually but I know the band were proceeding as if it was confirmed - one of the few pieces of genuine "inside information" I've ever had. Then they were offered a "too good to turn down" exclusive deal with what eventually became Live Nation (think it would have been either CCE or SFX at the time), and plans changed at very short notice. It didn't just torpedo Glastonbury - the contract covered all manner of things they'd previously done "in house" or with long time partners.

Wow, love that! A genuine bit of fascinating info. 

[Gnomicide]

This news article from eFests in 2005 rules them out for 05 but mentions 2007.

https://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/05/050124b.shtml

[Ddiamondd]

Speaking of 2005.... look, it's not the worst, but did the White Stripes really have to play Passive Manipulation three times? And no Fell In Love With A Girl? (Which I get the feeling Jack hates, but whatever)

It could have been great but it was merely good.

[priest17]

21 hours ago, Callum_96 said:

I've only got two that spring to mind and that's The Cribs 2015 and New Order 2016 both Other Stage. Every time I've seen The Cribs previously and after they've been amazing but that was a proper off day and New Order was just boring, Bernards voice sounded horrific and it was encapsulated with an awful cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart to close!

Is that when they were on early? I remember enjoying it but I did fall asleep standing up to be fair. I watch their set on the reading mainstage from that year quite a lot, they smashed it even with the demographic shift away from their general crowd now. Was their weakest album they were touring at that point (although Pink Snow remains a killer finishing track)

[Jay Pee]

1 hour ago, found home in 2009 said:

The View were also horrendous when I saw them on the Other stage in 2009. My mate was complaining they weren't playing any songs from the first album, they actually were, they were just murdering them so badly they were almost unrecognisable.

Loved their earlier albums & was fortunate to see them at a small gig in Scotland before they were famous which was superb. Truly believe they could have been massive if they'd actually played like they were capable of at festivals where you have an opportunity to win new fans, but get the impression they just got off their face at every opportunity & wasted their talent. Sadly a very typical Scottish story

Saw them at the long gone Astoria in the early 00s and it was absolutely fantastic.  I am not Scottish but the crowd clearly largely was and one couldn't help but get carried along by the bonhomie.  And the band were tight.

Roll forward to 2019 and i was stood in one of the covered venues at Kendal Calling net to a chap with nothing on his feet.  The mud was absolutely beyond compare and he didn't care due to the intoxication levels.  it took me a while of trying to figure out why he looked familiar.  it was Kyle Falconer and he had not yet done his set. They loved a swally 🙂

 

[Callum_96]

15 minutes ago, priest17 said:

Is that when they were on early? I remember enjoying it but I did fall asleep standing up to be fair. I watch their set on the reading mainstage from that year quite a lot, they smashed it even with the demographic shift away from their general crowd now. Was their weakest album they were touring at that point (although Pink Snow remains a killer finishing track)

They were on early yeah, think just after The Charlatans. I don't know what it was they just felt off, I think the wind might have hindered them a bit sound wise, especially where I was stood 

[Toilet Duck]

55 minutes ago, Zacko said:

I've had the U2 set on this morning, definitely looks better on TV than it felt in the crowd. The steam (?) etc rising up from the crowd and the stage looks fantastic. Bono's voice is pretty on point as per usual. 

 

I still looks great on TV (like a different gig almost!), but I was cold and miserable and could barely hear it in person (and I moved around the field a number of times to see if I could get a better spot, but no matter where I went it was Killers '07 level of awful sound). I didn't mind the song choices that much as there wasn't much they could play that I wouldn't know, but they have enough in the canon to blow the roof off the place and they didn't come close unfortunately (dare I say it, Edge sounded better with Muse the year before). 

Edited June 29, 2021 by Toilet Duck
Typo!

[thewayiam]

On 6/27/2021 at 7:56 PM, Zoo Music Girl said:

I also didn't mind The Who! Certainly wasn't an amazing performance but we were sat at the back drinking port and looking at the pretty sky, shattered, so it fit our mood.

Yeah they were fine for me. I've not a huge fan but Weller and The Who which was unexpected so can't complain.

On 6/27/2021 at 9:08 PM, priest17 said:

Everyone's right coz dizzee smashed it in both 09 and 10, there's a reason he was used in both those years' BBC montages. Mad how many pyramid slots he had around then.

2010 sub slot was great.

On 6/27/2021 at 10:12 PM, Zoo Music Girl said:

Oh god yeah Pendulum were awful. I'd quite liked them for a while before that, having seen them support Prodigy at Milton Keynes, but it was terrible.

 

I enjoy them but their return to Leeds the other year to headline the Radio 1 was epically better. They needed to top the Other stage for the dark instead really.

On 6/27/2021 at 11:08 PM, Scotdy said:

She almost died from exhaustion not long after this. Her 2015 set was amazing. 

Pussy riot + Charlotte Church in the Park

ELO

Both garbage 

I missed her 2016 Pyramid set but the 2015 Other stage set was decent. For me, minus Jamie Lawson, that Other stage 2015 run from Newton Faulkner was great. I ran to Band of Horses at one point too. Great day but the weather made leaving early after headliner a simple choice. 

22 hours ago, Callum_96 said:

I've only got two that spring to mind and that's The Cribs 2015 and New Order 2016 both Other Stage. Every time I've seen The Cribs previously and after they've been amazing but that was a proper off day and New Order was just boring, Bernards voice sounded horrific and it was encapsulated with an awful cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart to close!

I'm glad kind of as I missed The Cribs as had seen them before and the set I went for was delayed a long time meaning I kinda missed them for nothing. Seen them twice since though, one of those bands that I know I'll enjoy 75% of a set.

21 hours ago, shuttlep said:

The Cure 2019 

 

 

how can you not play Love Cats, i ended up falling asleep , Miley Cyrus was far better and I thought she would be dross 

To be fair though there wasn't many better than weekend than Miley.

[Ryan1984]

2 hours ago, The Nal said:

The start of U2 was great and then it really started pissing down. And some of the song choices and placements were bizarre. 

Theyve never really known how to finish gigs though. Saw them in Rome where they started with Vertigo and finished with All Because of You, Yehweh and...... Vertigo. 

Even on the last tour they were sending people home with Love Is Bigger and 13. Abysmal stuff. 

Pride would be the perfect closer for U2 at a festival, wouldn’t it?

Muse 2004 always has bad memories for me as well. I was starting to go off them anyway and then the girl next to me was sick all over my wellies!

[Quark]

31 minutes ago, Ryan1984 said:

Pride would be the perfect closer for U2 at a festival, wouldn’t it?

Muse 2004 always has bad memories for me as well. I was starting to go off them anyway and then the girl next to me was sick all over my wellies!

And that's why wellies will always have an advantage at a festival.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

Trying to rack my brains for my worst and happily, I can't recall any real bad ones. Crosby, Stills and Nash was as dull as I've seen but it wasn't terrible. And they didn't play "Our House".

[Quark]

15 minutes ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

Trying to rack my brains for my worst and happily, I can't recall any real bad ones. Crosby, Stills and Nash was as dull as I've seen but it wasn't terrible. And they didn't play "Our House".

I'm in a similar. Yeah there's stuff that's not been the best and one that I found magnificently dull, but no car crashes by any stretch.

[ivan]

3 hours ago, gooner1990 said:

I didn't watch them (Was at Primal Scream on the Other stage) but I also thought the same that if they had played the intended slot in 2010 with the great weather etc it would have gone down a lot better.

I wonder if ME or EE will invite them back to have another crack at it or if that's it done now for them.

Why would they ?

All the aggro they got over taxes , similar to Metallica and the hunting issue and the metal @ Glasto debate.

What i did find funny at the time with Metallica was the NME went to Denmark or somewhere to interview the band prior to Glasto and their manager Peter Mensch asked the NME reporter for all the Metallica backlash quotes from likes of Mogwai and Artic Monkeys - which ended up being on some Metallica merchandise i think.

I can just image the NMe reporter quaking as Peter Mensch shouted "Give me it ! "

[Penrhos]

Janet Jackson was terrible as were The Jacksons - seems the only tuneful one is dead....

Being rudely awakened by the slaves shouting on the other stage in 2017 after a very heavy night before wasn't great.

Radiohead 2017 was a disappointment - I expected greatness and got self-indulgent mutterings and tuneless drivel for most of the set, unfortunately I was too drunk and too deep in the crowd to escape which seemed to make it feel so much worse - watching it back on the TV at home it didn't seem half as bad but still a bit of a dirge.

The 1975 not sure what year but they were on early so may have been 2014, Matt was off his tits and could hardly perform - not great.

Morrissey 2011 - who thought putting this fun-sponge on between Biffy & U2 seriously wants a good kicking, terrible, miserable person and set. 

U2 2011 - I'm a big U2 fan but after being made depressed by Morrissey and the crap setlist U2 chose, and then it started pissing it down it just sucked ass big style.

The Who 2015 - obviously couldn't be arsed to be there, grumpy and tuneless - to think I missed the Chemical Bros for that shite...

Edited June 29, 2021 by Penrhos

[MrHew]

On 6/27/2021 at 6:43 AM, dirtysteve said:

My worst set, or certainly most disappointing, was Arcade Fire on Other Stage in, I think, 2007. Was piss poor and a real let down. 

Was that the Other Stage headline slot? That remains one of my top Glastonbury performances. They absolutely nailed it for me. Watched it again the other night and my opinion hasn't changed.

As for terrible sets, had anyone mentioned the Seahorses yet? 

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

11 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

This news article from eFests in 2005 rules them out for 05 but mentions 2007.

https://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/05/050124b.shtml

So the general rule is...mention, rumour or book U2 and it'll piss down 

[Toilet Duck]

3 hours ago, MrHew said:

Was that the Other Stage headline slot? That remains one of my top Glastonbury performances. They absolutely nailed it for me. Watched it again the other night and my opinion hasn't changed.

Penultimate slot, Bjork headlined. There was something about the Neon Bible tour that didn’t click with me for some reason (though I love the album and love the tracks they include in their sets now). Maybe the funeral tour just set such high expectations and the longer, less well paced sets that year seemed a bit tamer in comparison. I thought they were amazing on both the Suburbs and Reflektor tours (despite me criticising them for a lack of spontaneity on the pyramid!). I wouldn’t call either of their appearances at the farm “bad” though!

[sirjonnyp]

Surprised that I haven't seen The Avalanches on West Holts in 2017 mentioned. Much like the Radiohead set a few days before, it seems to be quite divisive on here, with some people saying it was great, and others, like me, who could barely make out the songs. The sound was absolutely dreadful despite being quite near stage right speaker (we tried further back later in the set), and it really just nosedived. It didn't help that they seemed like they were going through the motions once they hit Frontier Psychiatrist. My mate and I were hyped for it, and it was a real disappointment in the end. 

Honourable mention to Foals in 2016. I got dragged there after consuming a box of wine at Craig Charles, and it really confirmed how bland they are to me. Walked off after a few songs, my mate went down to the pit and had a great time apparently. I found my way to Stormzy instead. I only really know Shut Up at that point, and was blown away by his set. A real highlight of that year. 

[plot2pot]

On 6/28/2021 at 3:58 PM, shuttlep said:

The Cure 2019 

 

 

how can you not play Love Cats, i ended up falling asleep , Miley Cyrus was far better and I thought she would be dross 

Was surprised to get to page 6 without anyone else mentioning The Cure. We found it pretty uninspiring despite loving the band. Musically it was excellent but there was no connection and the crowd around us seemed bored. Half our group left midway through and we struggled through to the end but it didn’t get much better.

Strangely though, loads of people I spoke to when we got back said it was immense on TV and were shocked we didn’t enjoy it.  I’ll watch it eventually but it’s too soon at the moment! 😂