Your most controversial Glastonbury opinions

[gooner1990]

18 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

Sadly that’s the cost of living at the moment and you are right it will likely have to top £300 next year and that will start to price people out of it but gig prices have gone up something crazy post pandemic so relatively speaking it will still remain good value. I mean I looked at going to see Pet Shop Boys to prevent some clash problems and that gig alone was £95 for seats in the gods and about £115 for decent seats. If you only watched 3 or 4 big name acts over the weekend you’d get your money’s worth.  
 

I think we are probably in for a rough few years price wise. For me personally I would probably keep trying to do Glastonbury but it will squeeze the amount of gigs I go to and vinyl I buy. 

I camped over at Liam Gallagher at Knebworth on Friday night and 'breakfast muffins' were £12 each which looked like the ones you get out of McDonalds.....think everyone is in for a nasty shock at Glastonbury tbh.

[stuartbert two hats]

4 minutes ago, AdamTGlasto said:

Wish I had more time to swat up a bit. Will try to do some more listening before the weekend 👍

I was really surprised once I cracked open clashfinder and realised how much there was there to see when all the stages were lined up like that.

[maelzoid]

9 hours ago, K2SO said:

They're starting to take the piss with the price of the festival. The car parking has doubled in price in less than a decade since my first one in 2014. In that time the tickets have gone up by nearly £100. This year and this year only I can forgive it. I don't mind paying an extra £50 after the pandemic to keep it going in future... But if it keeps going the way it is, we're looking at the ticket price topping £300 in the next couple of years. Once it does that, I feel like it could begin to get to a point where it doesn't sell out.

The cost of life in general is expensive enough. I personally couldn't justify (and I imagine a lot of others would feel the same) that proce tag for a ticket to any festival, especially one where you put a deposit down before you even know a single name on the lineup. Once you add in the cost of food, drink, travel, etc a couple could be spending over £1000 for 5 days on the farm. That would pay my rent for a month.

I certainly appreciate that it feels expensive these days. When Is tarted going in the early 90s, tickets were less than £60, which works out at about £100 in today's money, so in real terms the festival is about 3 times as expensive.

But, it seems fairly clear that the organisers are not sitting on a big pile of cash rubbing their hands with glee. Their expenses have also increased in a similar fashion.

And with something like this, you always have the option of not going and saving your money.

[gooner1990]

9 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

I certainly appreciate that it feels expensive these days. When Is tarted going in the early 90s, tickets were less than £60, which works out at about £100 in today's money, so in real terms the festival is about 3 times as expensive.

But, it seems fairly clear that the organisers are not sitting on a big pile of cash rubbing their hands with glee. Their expenses have also increased in a similar fashion.

And with something like this, you always have the option of not going and saving your money.

I first went in 2004 and the tickets were £112 which is about £173 in 2022 money.....

[TheNewUnion]

The lineups progressively get worse, the festival is no longer the value for money it once was.

 

(Qualifying it by saying, I feel like the festival is running out of real headliners. We're pretty much out of legends too. Price has started to outpace value. With the camperfield ticket and spending money it's about a grand all in, that's a lot)

[Kizzie]

56 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I first went in 2004 and the tickets were £112 which is about £173 in 2022 money.....

I've just worked out (checked on t'internet) that what I paid for my first ticket would be £32.67 in today's money. I've more than likely got that wrong. 🙄

Bought it from Gothic Image on Glastonbury High Street, sneaked in anyway,  so went back outside and sold it on the gate, as was.

See, not as good as it used to be 😝

[maelzoid]

46 minutes ago, TheNewUnion said:

The lineups progressively get worse, the festival is no longer the value for money it once was.

 

(Qualifying it by saying, I feel like the festival is running out of real headliners. We're pretty much out of legends too. Price has started to outpace value. With the camperfield ticket and spending money it's about a grand all in, that's a lot)

This clearly utter nonsense. It may be that the line-ups are not to your taste, but to say they are not as good is by any metric total rubbish. And the idea that they're 'running out' of legends and headliners is ridiculous. 4 massive acts this year, and a huge queue behind them of acts who have never played as well as those that could return. 

[K2SO]

2 hours ago, gigpusher said:

Sadly that’s the cost of living at the moment and you are right it will likely have to top £300 next year and that will start to price people out of it but gig prices have gone up something crazy post pandemic so relatively speaking it will still remain good value. I mean I looked at going to see Pet Shop Boys to prevent some clash problems and that gig alone was £95 for seats in the gods and about £115 for decent seats. If you only watched 3 or 4 big name acts over the weekend you’d get your money’s worth.  
 

I think we are probably in for a rough few years price wise. For me personally I would probably keep trying to do Glastonbury but it will squeeze the amount of gigs I go to and vinyl I buy. 

This is something I noticed too. Gig prices have become extortionate. I think it says something that The Rolling Stones start their UK dates this month and there are still tickets available for every show. I've decided to stop buying tickets for large-scale events after seeing what happened with the second hand market for Liam Gallagher and The Killers over the weekend. LG's face value was £75, and people were selling tickets for £20 all week.

That would be a way of making the £300 more reasonable to me, to allow the re-sale of tickets, just make there an 'official' way of doing it in a fan to fan exchange through See Tickets. I know I'd personally like to do it for this year. We're two weeks from the festival and I just simply don't want to go because I'm worried about the cost of going. I'd had the money saved for my ticket, but recently with the cost of living going up so much I don't feel like I can afford the travel or food expenses for it... But I also can no longer get a refund from SeeTickets.

[K2SO]

1 hour ago, maelzoid said:

I certainly appreciate that it feels expensive these days. When Is tarted going in the early 90s, tickets were less than £60, which works out at about £100 in today's money, so in real terms the festival is about 3 times as expensive.

But, it seems fairly clear that the organisers are not sitting on a big pile of cash rubbing their hands with glee. Their expenses have also increased in a similar fashion.

And with something like this, you always have the option of not going and saving your money.

This is why I said this year I have no problem with it. I get that it may have been a little more due to the pandemic, but next year I just can't back it if the ticket price tops £300.

To be honest, I've come to terms with the fact that this year may be my last time at the farm.

[vardyvarvar]

6 minutes ago, K2SO said:

Gig prices have become extortionate. I think it says something that The Rolling Stones start their UK dates this month and there are still tickets available for every show.

I received an e-mail from TicketMaster over the weekend trying to push Elton tickets. They were like gold dust on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Tour back in 2019 (I saw him in Brighton and touts were selling £80 tix for £400 outside). No touts outside Liam which I thought was surprising until seeing what Twickets were selling at.

[TheNewUnion]

36 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

This clearly utter nonsense. It may be that the line-ups are not to your taste, but to say they are not as good is by any metric total rubbish. And the idea that they're 'running out' of legends and headliners is ridiculous. 4 massive acts this year, and a huge queue behind them of acts who have never played as well as those that could return. 

The thread title did ask for a controversial opinion.....

(The metric I used was my opinion and by that measure it's 100% correct, by most others probably considered incorrect)

My thoughts are taste based. If you offer me Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Blur for £175 then I'm all in. Billie, Macca and Kendrick for £280 is barely comparable.

But yeah, totally my opinion and I am aware that it is not one shared by many (if any)

 

[K2SO]

7 minutes ago, vardyvarvar said:

I received an e-mail from TicketMaster over the weekend trying to push Elton tickets. They were like gold dust on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Tour back in 2019 (I saw him in Brighton and touts were selling £80 tix for £400 outside). No touts outside Liam which I thought was surprising until seeing what Twickets were selling at.

That's crazy. I was going to go to Vicarage Road to see him, as I live behind the stadium. When I saw the ticket prices I figured I'd stay at home and open the kitchen windows instead

[vardyvarvar]

It feels like gig tickets are going through the airline process of the same product (more or less) at varied price points.

I.e. if we sell enough VIP (Business Class) at X price-point then we don’t need to worry about the entry level tickets (Economy).

Not a good sign of things to come! Was it Bruce Springsteen who refuses to sell front few rows of his concerts and his team hand them out to real fans in the nosebleeds?

Edit: It was Billy Joel and appears to be legit claim -

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/billy-joel-front-row/

Edited June 6, 2022 by vardyvarvar
Name change

[maelzoid]

10 minutes ago, vardyvarvar said:

Not a good sign of things to come! Was it Bruce Springsteen who refuses to sell front few rows of his concerts and his team hand them out to real fans in the nosebleeds?

 

I've not heard that story. But I do know that if there is a gold circle at Springsteen gigs, they go to the first people to turn up and claim them on the day, rather than charge more for them. Bruce is turning down a pretty big pay cheque to maintain a level of equity in the audience. I'd argue it makes a better gig for him as the front rows are full of hardcore fans, rather than those with more cash.

[gazzared]

1 hour ago, K2SO said:

That's crazy. I was going to go to Vicarage Road to see him, as I live behind the stadium. When I saw the ticket prices I figured I'd stay at home and open the kitchen windows instead

Got my Elton John ticket at anfield yesterday for £120 but right near the front .... Think there's other tickets still available. Iam watching rolling stones this week and eagles play Monday 20th which iam tempted to get but will be leaving early on the Tuesday for the trip down...so probably won't

 Lost track of my point being that I've paid over the odds because it's probably the last time I'd ever get chance to see them. So they get you that way aswell 

 🤣

Edited June 6, 2022 by gazzared

[thewayiam]

23 minutes ago, TheNewUnion said:

The thread title did ask for a controversial opinion.....

(The metric I used was my opinion and by that measure it's 100% correct, by most others probably considered incorrect)

My thoughts are taste based. If you offer me Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Blur for £175 then I'm all in. Billie, Macca and Kendrick for £280 is barely comparable.

But yeah, totally my opinion and I am aware that it is not one shared by many (if any)

 

I don't get this. You can't be moaned at in a post for controversial opinions.

My view is that this is the least attractive Glastonbury for the price to me since 2008 and I've been able to look at the lineup without being like shit shit why aren't I going. I could legit consider packing up and leaving by lunch time on Sunday.

I could legitimately get more bang for my buck so to speak going to separate events this year.

[MEGABOWL]

25 minutes ago, vardyvarvar said:

It feels like gig tickets are going through the airline process of the same product (more or less) at varied price points.

I.e. if we sell enough VIP (Business Class) at X price-point then we don’t need to worry about the entry level tickets (Economy).

Not a good sign of things to come! Was it Bruce Springsteen who refuses to sell front few rows of his concerts and his team hand them out to real fans in the nosebleeds?

Edit: It was Billy Joel and appears to be legit claim -

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/billy-joel-front-row/

Springsteen has a Circle at the front but it’s just first come first served. People queue up the day before. He doesn’t actually charge for it.

[thewayiam]

3 hours ago, gigpusher said:

Sadly that’s the cost of living at the moment and you are right it will likely have to top £300 next year and that will start to price people out of it but gig prices have gone up something crazy post pandemic so relatively speaking it will still remain good value. I mean I looked at going to see Pet Shop Boys to prevent some clash problems and that gig alone was £95 for seats in the gods and about £115 for decent seats. If you only watched 3 or 4 big name acts over the weekend you’d get your money’s worth.  
 

I think we are probably in for a rough few years price wise. For me personally I would probably keep trying to do Glastonbury but it will squeeze the amount of gigs I go to and vinyl I buy. 

Not really because if you go to a bands own gig then their set length is likely going to be longer so you will get more for your money. Also it will be indoors so no worries about the weather etc. This is why in my view I don't get this argument. If I got to see an act only getting 50 mins/1hr, whereas at their own gig I can get an extra 20 mins or so then I've got more what for what I want.

Take also the band Amyl and the Sniffers. I'd have probably washed them at Glastonbury in the end but they supported Liam Gallagher and I'm happy to have seen them that time so that's enough. 

1 hour ago, maelzoid said:

This clearly utter nonsense. It may be that the line-ups are not to your taste, but to say they are not as good is by any metric total rubbish. And the idea that they're 'running out' of legends and headliners is ridiculous. 4 massive acts this year, and a huge queue behind them of acts who have never played as well as those that could return. 

It's not rubbish, it's an opinion. Personally for me the top 6 big headliners are the worst overall since I've been going in 2008 and I've no interest in the Legend. It was never my choice for Diana Ross. I also find the last 4 band run on Sunday abysmal for me and that includes Other too but that's my view. For me, the price is not worth it.

[CJL9494]

9 minutes ago, thewayiam said:

I don't get this. You can't be moaned at in a post for controversial opinions.

My view is that this is the least attractive Glastonbury for the price to me since 2008 and I've been able to look at the lineup without being like shit shit why aren't I going. I could legit consider packing up and leaving by lunch time on Sunday.

I could legitimately get more bang for my buck so to speak going to separate events this year.

Do you only go to Glastonbury for the music though? For me its much more than a timetable of acts

[TheNewUnion]

3 minutes ago, CJL9494 said:

Do you only go to Glastonbury for the music though? For me its much more than a timetable of acts

Now, debating if people ONLY go for the music, that could definitely result in some controversial opinions! One for another thread I think (for me though Wednesday and Thursday are for other things, Fri, Sat and Sun for music)

[CJL9494]

Just now, TheNewUnion said:

Now, debating if people ONLY go for the music, that could definitely result in some controversial opinions! One for another thread I think (for me though Wednesday and Thursday are for other things, Fri, Sat and Sun for music)

100%! That's what I mean, the whole experience of the festival is bundled in with the ticket price surely? Its not really comparable to standard gigs for me, so a pointless debate.

[thewayiam]

41 minutes ago, CJL9494 said:

Do you only go to Glastonbury for the music though? For me its much more than a timetable of acts

No but I have Wednesday and Thursday free mostly from music to explore. I go to Baggy Mondays om Thursday and usually spend some time at the bandstand and on from there for a bar crawl.

What I'm saying is though, I've been through the Green Fields, Green Futures etc etc many times over the years and while parts are interesting, much of it is the same thing. Most of my friends won't head to many late night areas beyind Earache and Truth stage which is obviously still music. I've covered a lot in my 9 years. This year I'm going to Devon instead to experience something I never have and I'd always said that Glastonbury happens at a perfect time that I can take in something new and for me it's more beneficial. 

[e_p]

23 hours ago, theciderviking said:

Clashtravaganza? 

The Clash

[stuartbert two hats]

I really didn't mind the mud in 2016 too much.  Being a sedentary, fat old fucker, hard ground is hard on my feet.  2016 had loads of nice cushioning mud.  in 2019, my feet were killing me by the Friday.

And as for the idea that it's the rain that falls before the festival that's worse than falling during the festival, I can't get on with that at all!  There's one important difference with rain that falls during the festival - I am there, getting rained on, getting wet. 2007 was an absolute shitshow, not so much because of the mud, but because of being rained on!

It's not the 90s, there are plenty of benches, it's fine.

 

Obviously, not everyone has the same balance of physical traits I do - I have no trouble with my legs, it's my feet that are the problem.  I appreciate that for some people, lots of mud is awful, awful news.  Luckily, posting this personal opinion has zero impact on the weather - it's not a politics thread!

[CaledonianGonzo]

Nothing prevented you taking a seat in 2019 either.

Whereas folk stand on the benches to watch acts so they rapidly become no-sit zones.