How would you do Glastonbury differently next time?

[clarkete]

42 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Now instead of being a counter-culture event for rebels and outsiders it's become a great British institution along with the likes of Wimbledon, Last Night of the Proms, The Grand National etc

I also went for the first time in 1985 and have been to every one since and I've read other people make that last claim, but I don't agree with it in the slightest.

I can't for the life of me see that sitting (or not) in centre court has anything in common with going to a long drop and doing a sh*t on someone else's sh*t or standing in a crowd of 100,000 people in a field drinking warm beer from a paper cup 😉 

Edited July 15, 2022 by clarkete

[jimmillen]

16 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

But that still reflects society.  Things are way less tribal these days.

IMO the very concept of a “counter culture” was only possible in a society where mainstream culture was monolithic & heterogeneous. 

There’s far greater acceptance of diversity in almost every facet of culture now. Overall this is hugely positive! 🙂 

[moogster]

I am very much enjoying this discussion but am out of upvotes for today so just saying it.

 

 

[Skip997]

4 minutes ago, clarkete said:

I can't for the life of me see that sitting (or not) in centre court has anything in common with going to a long drop and doing a sh*t on someone else's sh*t or standing in a crowd of 100,000 people in a field drinking warm beer from a paper cup 😉 

I'm not saying the experience is the same, it's clearly not, but the media has turned it into an institution, a must do great British event. Can you imagine how a lot of today's ticket holders would have copied with "car henge" in 1987 (possibly the single greatest event in the history of the festival) or the drug stalls (along with price lists) along the tracks. 

[One Tonne Baby]

I’m 35 and if definitely felt different to me this year. As others have said, I think that’s more me than the festival. The last time I went was 2017, 5 years ago. 30 and 35 is a big gap, and in that time I’ve become a home owner and a dad and my bed time is about 9.30pm. I do still think of Glasto as the place I went at 23 for the first time and explored every nook and cranny of the SE corner until 7am but the reality is its not like that anymore because I’m not that person anymore.

i also think that it being off for 3 years meant that the reality was never going to meet the built up expectations and people would have acted differently after being locked down for 2 years compared to if it was just another normal year.

i chatted with a couple of young girls up at the sign and it was their first one. Their wide eyed excitement made me feel better. It’s in good hands, but it’s not for everyone now.

[CaledonianGonzo]

4 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

I'm not saying the experience is the same, it's clearly not, but the media has turned it into an institution, a must do great British event. Can you imagine how a lot of today's ticket holders would have copied with "car henge" in 1987 (possibly the single greatest event in the history of the festival) or the drug stalls (along with price lists) along the tracks. 

Probably just fine?  Might as well ask how the posh hippies interviewed in the Glastonbury Fayre documentary would cope with NYC Downlow or Arcadia.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

 

[MEGABOWL]

12 minutes ago, One Tonne Baby said:

I’m 35 and if definitely felt different to me this year. As others have said, I think that’s more me than the festival. The last time I went was 2017, 5 years ago. 30 and 35 is a big gap, and in that time I’ve become a home owner and a dad and my bed time is about 9.30pm. I do still think of Glasto as the place I went at 23 for the first time and explored every nook and cranny of the SE corner until 7am but the reality is its not like that anymore because I’m not that person anymore.

i also think that it being off for 3 years meant that the reality was never going to meet the built up expectations and people would have acted differently after being locked down for 2 years compared to if it was just another normal year.

i chatted with a couple of young girls up at the sign and it was their first one. Their wide eyed excitement made me feel better. It’s in good hands, but it’s not for everyone now.

At time I felt old this year (I’m now 45) but not in a bad way. Generally speaking the younger generation that the baton is being to means the festival is in very good hands. I experienced nothing but good vibes from all the people young enough to be my offspring.
 

I also thought there was a livelier front of stage/pit area for a lot of acts this year. 

[Skelts]

1 hour ago, gooner1990 said:

A lot of people I used to do festivals with can't believe I still go to a couple per year and I'm only 40. 

Same here mate. I’m 50 and a lot of my mates think I’m mental to camp at festivals rather than glamp, or to go at all! My response is that I ain’t dead yet so I’m getting on with it!

Got Chagstock next weekend (small but great festival) then Beautiful Days coming up. 

[Gnomicide]

I didn't go to Glastonbury until 2010 but went to Donington and Reading in the 80s and early 90s. Glastonbury didn't appeal because for me at the time because it really was the line-up that attracted me to a festival and the Glastonbury line-ups at the time just didn't appeal apart from the old act.

Anyway.... back then going to festivals was considered out of the ordinary, people just couldn't comprehend that you'd enjoy it. As @CaledonianGonzohas said, things were more tribal. Now it's a lot more mainstream, loads want to be there that didn't before but is that such a bad thing? Most of the people who used to go were perfectly ordinary, it's just a lot of people didn't realise that.

So have festivals changed that much? I don't think so, I just think people are a lot more open minded. 

Would the teenage me like what has become of festivals over the last 15 years or so? Would he have enjoyed this year's festival? Damn right he would.

Were things better back then? Yes, there was an edge to old festivals but no-one has been killed at any festival I've been to since 1988, no-one has threatened me with an axe, far less people piss where they're standing, no-one is chanting at girls to get their tits out, security aren't there just to beat people up they don't like. 

The only thing I don't like about modern Glastonbury and other festivals is the cost.

[moogster]

21 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

 

Anyway.... back then going to festivals was considered out of the ordinary, people just couldn't comprehend that you'd enjoy it. As @CaledonianGonzohas said, things were more tribal. Now it's a lot more mainstream, loads want to be there that didn't before but is that such a bad thing? Most of the people who used to go were perfectly ordinary, it's just a lot of people didn't realise that.

So have festivals changed that much? I don't think so, I just think people are a lot more open minded. 

 

Honestly I am holding a grudge against those who were looking at me weird in the 90s/00s and now show off any village party named festival on their social media.

[Mark0]

I think I would get a black out tent next time , I woke a few mornings absolutely sweating like hell. I would also bring some gluten free food , I found finding gluten free stuff quite hard. I would also try and get their earlier (we turned up late Wed) so it wouldnt be so hard to find somewhere to pitch , I would also certainly use some kind of trolly , it killed me carrying my back pack , chairs sleeping bag and tent and drink. 

[APPLES77]

ban the BBC, they've made it a middle class aspiration for people that, whilst lovely folk, do not a party make.

 

[APPLES77]

1 minute ago, APPLES77 said:

ban the BBC, they've made it a middle class aspiration for people that, whilst lovely folk, do not a party make.

 

yes I'm bitter that I couldn't be there for the first time in two decades 🤫😂

Edited July 15, 2022 by APPLES77

[clarkete]

6 hours ago, Skip997 said:

I'm not saying the experience is the same, it's clearly not, but the media has turned it into an institution, a must do great British event. Can you imagine how a lot of today's ticket holders would have copied with "car henge" in 1987 (possibly the single greatest event in the history of the festival) or the drug stalls (along with price lists) along the tracks. 

We may say it's perceived as a "must do British event", but of course in reality there's a finite quantity who can attend each year and (unless they're seriously minted) there are significant hurdles to attending - just the essentials of registration and T day - but I periodically meet people who say it's their "dream" to go but haven't yet overcome them (and in some cases I wonder how hard they've tried). 

When you ask if I can imagine how some folks would have coped then one of the reasons I disagree with you is that I don't need to imagine - when I first attended in the 80s I was a teenager with a bunch of middle aged folks including my own parents and they were by no means aging hippies - but they were liberal with a large and small L.  My dad was most intrigued about the geezers at the frame tents with the cardboard signs - but it never put him off being there, or caused him to suggest that anyone else shouldnt. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

We're approaching the 30th anniversary of the first televised festival - and at this point its now been a televised event for far longer than the period when it wasn't. 

Any changes anyone's over the last decade or so of festivals are nothing to do with TV cameras.

[BumJuice]

18 hours ago, Skip997 said:

 or the drug stalls (along with price lists) along the tracks. 

This! Forgot all about them, read this & can't stop singing " hash truffles, hash trufffleeess" as one delightful vendor did. One year there were exotic mushrooms everywhere on the stalls. 

Anything interesting like that now would be filmed pictured boxed labelled defined processed distributed and killed in an instant

[JohnEW52]

On 7/15/2022 at 4:49 PM, One Tonne Baby said:

I’m 35 and if definitely felt different to me this year. As others have said, I think that’s more me than the festival. The last time I went was 2017, 5 years ago. 30 and 35 is a big gap, and in that time I’ve become a home owner and a dad and my bed time is about 9.30pm. I do still think of Glasto as the place I went at 23 for the first time and explored every nook and cranny of the SE corner until 7am but the reality is its not like that anymore because I’m not that person anymore.

i also think that it being off for 3 years meant that the reality was never going to meet the built up expectations and people would have acted differently after being locked down for 2 years compared to if it was just another normal year.

i chatted with a couple of young girls up at the sign and it was their first one. Their wide eyed excitement made me feel better. It’s in good hands, but it’s not for everyone now.

I went to lots of festivals in my teens and twenties in the early 70s - not at Glastonbury until much later although I was at the Bath festival in 1970 which was the inspiration for Eavis. Then, like you I married and had kids and music became less a part of my life (I still have little knowledge of 80s music).

Then first my eldest son started going from 15 in 1998 and the year after started volunteering with WaterAid through my contacts. I joined him in 2005 and have been every year since with WaterAid (except 2016 when a bike crash ruled me out). My younger son came too in 2015 and my wife from 2015.

I have my own festival, thoroughly enjoy it, have like others a large number of people I only see on the farm, see less and less bands every year, usually avoid most headliners and meet thousands of festival goers through the volunteering.

This year we gave a lift to two young girls from Glasgow for their first Glastonbury. It was a joy to see firstly their awe at the site, their determination to go for it and their enthusiasm to come back next year (well until they fell asleep just leaving Shelton Mallet).

[blutarsky]

On 7/15/2022 at 11:18 PM, APPLES77 said:

ban the BBC, they've made it a middle class aspiration for people that, whilst lovely folk, do not a party make.

 

Make people do a test to see if they qualify to come. 
Shopped at M&S or a John Lewis in the last month? Banned. 
Monarchist? Banned. 
Think “Boris” is “just like us, normal”? Banned, and offered the opportunity to buy some magic beans. 
Pronounce Quinoa “kwin-O-ah” because you’ve never heard of it? Given a discount. 

On 7/16/2022 at 12:19 AM, clarkete said:

I periodically meet people who say it's their "dream" to go but haven't yet overcome them (and in some cases I wonder how hard they've tried). 

Do you know my Mother-in-law by any chance? If I had a quid for every time I heard her say, “oh I love X - me and Pat are going to go see them next year,” - leaving me thinking, “you know tickets for X’s tour would have gone on sale at least a month ago?”

She’ll spend the next 9 months talking about how she’s going to see them, then change the narrative to, “we were going to go and see them, but I expect the tickets are sold out now” and fairly quickly pivot back to “seeing them next year,” all without so much as Googling to see if they even went on tour. 

Since Mrs B and I got Glastonbury tickets for the first time in 2016 she’s told us she’s “going to come next year, although I’m not sure how I’ll cope with the toilets,” on an annual basis. She does have a registration… because I set it up for her. Come the time we need to get organised for a sale she always defaults to “next year.”

In fairness to her, she did go to a small local festival a few weeks ago and camp overnight to see how she got on, so I guess leopards can change their spots. Also in fairness to her, I reckon Glastonbury would be too much for her physically. She’d need to camp out at a stage for a few hours at a time with a camping chair. 

[Jay Pee]

On 7/15/2022 at 3:05 PM, jimmillen said:

I always think with this type of conversation it's almost impossible to separate how much the festival has changed from how much you have changed. 🤷‍♂️

Not denying for a second that it has objectively changed over the years, but memories from younger years are inevitably a bit rosy-tinted. 🙂 

I use this regularly when discussing with festcurious sorts.  My stock line is "the 21 year old me was very happy with the 21 year old festival. The 52 year old me is very happy with the 52 year old festival".

I still love a mosh and a rave. Sometimes all night but I cant justify / manage shoveling class As in my face to achieve that. Not for days on end. 

March to the beat of your own drum.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Jay Pee

[gfa]

On 7/15/2022 at 5:04 PM, MEGABOWL said:

At time I felt old this year (I’m now 45) but not in a bad way. Generally speaking the younger generation that the baton is being to means the festival is in very good hands. I experienced nothing but good vibes from all the people young enough to be my offspring.
 

I also thought there was a livelier front of stage/pit area for a lot of acts this year. 

i think most people know its a whole different beast and because of the difficulty / planning needed to get tickets (ie far in advance) most newcomers will have already done a camping festival already (our group had all done multiple camping festivals before glasto, regardless of the covid delay).

A good amount of people my age just think its full of old people and older acts, without realising areas like the SE Corner and Arcadia exist as they aren't on the main poster / tv. Of the people outside our group who i know that went, most of them had done a few different camping festivals too. I think the difficulty in getting tickets definitely weeds out the dickheads to be honest and you get a far more respectful younger crowd vs reading etc

[Spindles]

8 hours ago, blutarsky said:

Pronounce Quinoa “kwin-O-ah” because you’ve never heard of it? Given a discount. 

Is it wrong that I still don't know what this stuff is?  I keep seeing it referenced in Daily Mash relating to middle class people but have never actually encountered it.

[blutarsky]

14 hours ago, Spindles said:

Is it wrong that I still don't know what this stuff is?  I keep seeing it referenced in Daily Mash relating to middle class people but have never actually encountered it.

It doesn’t taste of anything, has an unpleasant texture and I wouldn’t recommend. It’s some sort of grain. Fucking pointless. 

[Neil]

mew, i'd ditch having a safety sidekick and would shoot all round the site on my mobility scooter, until the batteries ran out. I'd get to all of the corners of he site that i never get to because they're the most difficult parts to get to.

 people didnt want to be the safety sidekick, having to walk when i had wheels, so tended to stay near campsite, as driving thru the crowds was hard work.

[moogster]

19 minutes ago, Neil said:

mew, i'd ditch having a safety sidekick and would shoot all round the site on my mobility scooter, until the batteries ran out. I'd get to all of the corners of he site that i never get to because they're the most difficult parts to get to.

 people didnt want to be the safety sidekick, having to walk when i had wheels, so tended to stay near campsite, as driving thru the crowds was hard work.

I wonder if a safety sidekick would be allowed a megaphone...