Glastonbury 2022

Quality review as always, Rubick. Sounds like a belter.

Nice reviews everyone. @Rubick; System 7, nice one!

Two questions: What size are the Green Fields these days? They got reduced during the 00s much to my disappointment. I wonder has that reduction continued?

Plus, what's the situation with roving chemists? Again, the 00s appeared to curb their numbers and one had to go searching for a longer than reasonable period to find refreshment! Used to be able to just sit at the stones and all your needs were immediately catered to 😉

Yeah we were up in Lime Kiln above Gate A and could her a lot. Mainly the fire from Arcadia. I found it soothing though. I was out like a light every night though. Always am.

Nah you didnt

Nope, they keep cash reserves for instances like the pandemic but the profits go to Water Aid, Greenpeace, Oxfam and 150 local charities.

They don’t accept corporate sponsorship, beer company money nor the huge media fees available if they moved from the BBC.

Glasto ain’t like other fests.

Ok here goes.

I flew from Dublin early on Wednesday morning. Went into Bristol to get a few bits and then got a bus to the site and I was through the gates at around 1pm. It was a bit different this year thanks to Seetickets as I had to pick up my ticket from a booth near gate A and then join the queue for the gate. It was the same for most no UK attendees. Between this and actually getting in I queued for about 3.5 hours which was a bit annoying and it's probably the longest it's ever taken me to get in. But the weather was nice and I had beers that were still cold from Tesco in Bristol so it was manageable. Some of my friends drove from London and got there earlier so I made my way towards where they were camped in Paines ground campsite near gate D. Wouldn't recommend camping here. It's close to gate D but too far from the stages and toilets / water.

Wednesday.

The amount of scheduled music on Wednesday this year was a lot less than previous years and some people were speculating that maybe there'd be unannounced stuff happening but as far as I saw that didn't really happen so Wednesday was more a day for wandering, checking out the changes they made to the site, eating food and just chilling out etc. Hopefully next year it's back to normal though. By about 5pm my whole group had arrived so we headed up hill (along with literally everybody else at the festival) and hung out a Tricketts bar waiting for the fireworks. We saw a guy propose to his girlfriend just before the fireworks, for a few seconds it looked like it could go either way but then she did say yes. Thank god or else it was going to be very awkward.

Thursday.

On Thursday all the stages that they show on TV are still closed but a lot of areas do open up like Silver Hayes, The Glade, The Park and most of the late night areas in the south east corner but everything is finished by 3am for licensing reason I think. Despite that Thursday is often one of the best nights for me at the festival and this was no different. The main tent in The Glade was my target because Chicago house music legend Marshall Jefferson was doing a set followed immediately by Sasha. He wrote and released this belter in late 70s early 80s and is a pioneer of modern house music and he absolutely smashed it. When he played that tune at the end the place went completely nuts. You know it's good when all the crew are in the wings dancing on stage. Unfortunately for Sasha who I really like Jefferson's set was an impossible act to follow so he seemed a bit average. After I linked back up with my group and went for a wander towards the south east corner because a few of them hadn't been before and it looks great at night.

Friday.

There are aussies and kiwis in my group and on Friday there wasn't whole lot on during the day that I was bothered about so I went along with them to Crowded House on the pyramid. I don't know them at all and they didn't interest me much to be honest, thought they were dull. However Wolf Alice were on after and they always deliver. Ellie is an incredible vocalist and front woman and their repertoire has expanded so much since the last time I saw them at glasto a few years ago. The quiet songs and the loud punk esque bangers work really well together. I skipped Robert Plant and Allison Kraus and as I'm typing this I can't remember why but I've seen him twice in the last few years. I then came back from wherever I went in time for Sam Fender who had been brought in to replace Doja Cat after she dropped out (no loss imo). Sams gig felt pretty special. The BBC uploaded 17 going under to Youtube if you want to watch it. It must have been the most significant gig of their careers so far and it felt like it. That guy is a real talent and could be a potential headliner in the future. My Friday headliner was Four Tet on The Park. I ditched my friends to get to this because they were being slow and I wanted a good spot, this paid off (it always does) so I had a great spot with a great view and perfect sound. He's one of my favourite artists and this set was classic Four Tet, trippy ambient infused house bangers accompanied by stunning, colourful visuals. He played some unreleased stuff too which we'll hopefully get this year. I rounded off Friday with John Digweed in The Glade until 3am and I can't remember where I went after that. Probably south east corner.

Saturday.

I had a bit of a lie in on Saturday morning I slept until around 1pm having gone to bed at about 6 (good bless quechua blackout tents) sp when I got up I went straight to The Other stage for Metronomy followed by Glass Animals and the Olivia Rodrigo. I know Metronomy and Glass Animals but had never heard of Olivia before even some of the girls in my group were big fans. It wouldn't normally be my thing but I was impressed. Apparently she's only 19 but it was a really professional polished performance and her band are really good. She spoke for about 30 seconds about the Roe vs Wade situation in the US and then brought Lily Allen for a duet which the crowd loved. I think they will put her on the pyramid next year. Once she was finished it was time to grab some food, some night time party supplies and then over to the pyramid for McCartney. I was to fussed about this before the festival as I'm not a huge Beatles fan, just haven't listened to them much but this was probably one of the best live music experiences I've been a part of. Although I may not have listened to them much everybody know songs like Blackbird, Ob La Di and Hey Jude etc and to be in that crowd with 100,000+ people belting it out and knowing that it'll probably be one of the last times he does a full gig 2.5hr gig made it so so special. One I'll never forget for sure. There aren't many festivals where you'll see Diana Ross, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen all in the one weekend. After that I legged it to Arcadia to try and catch some of Four Tet's set and caught about half an hour but it was super busy. Left there after 1am and back to Silver Hayes for Avalon Emerson who is one of my favourite DJs and she didn't disappoint. An eclectic set that featured lots of pretty heavy techno but also shades of jungle and house. Solomun was supposed to be playing the gas tower in south seast corner at 3am that night but he unfortunately. My mashed brain was very confused when we got there and there was a black dude in the booth, Solomun being white. But black Solomun was actually quite good so we stayed there until pretty much sun rise I think.

Sunday.

Always a slow start to Sunday after 2 days of going kind of hard and then another 2 of going really hard. We were blessed with the weather once again this year and Herbie Hancock on the pyramid in warm sunshine was actually a really nice relaxing start to the day. He's a legend and I've gotten more into jazz in the last year or two so to catch him on the pyramid was a real treat. I think Sunday morning jazz on the pyramid should be a thing every year. Then it was Diana Ross who I felt I couldn't skip and I enjoyed it. Her voice can't hack the classics anymore bit I thought she sounded a lot better on the new songs that she wrote recently. The crowd did most of the singing anyway so it didn't matter. Not the best legends slot ever but not the worst either (Kris Kristofferson I'm looking at you). Bicep were my Sunday headliner, I was tempted by Kendrick and I slightly regret not opting for him now because I'll surely have other opportunities to see Bicep but I doubt I'll ever bother actually going to a Kendrick gig. Despite that Bicep were mega. The set was slightly slower and trancier than I was expecting with a few unreleased tracks but it was still very danceable plus the their AV setup combined with the sound on West Holts made it a great gig. The crowd in particular were super friendly and up for it which was perfect because all my mates were at Kendrick. West Holts headliner makes for an easy entrance to the south east corner and quickly made my way from there to Floorplan on IICON for some detroit techno lashed out by the only father and daughter duo in the business, always wanted to catch them. Steffi was next with more but slightly heavier and faster paced techno that I was feeling quite as much so I made my way towards the gas tower in Shangri La for Partiboi69. This set was one of the most insane things I have ever witnessed. I have never seen so many people take so much drugs and go so completely wild in all my life and I've been to lots of festivals. It's hard to explain what this guy is like, what he's about and what sets he plays, they can be very different. But for the people who knew what it was and made the effort to be there it was absolutely perfect. I finished the night at Genosys with me and one other being the only survivors from our group still going at 4am. Felix Dickinson closes the Genosys stage in Block9 every year from 3am - 6am on monday morning and it's kind of become a personal glasto tradition for me to be there.

So that was pretty much my glasto 2022. As usual I made a few new friends, ate some amazing food (special mention to Taste of Tibet and gluten / lactose free Indonesian place) and had an absolutely wonderful time. There's nothing like it and each visit only strengthens my determination to be there the following year and to keep going for as long as I can. It's not in my best interest to encourage more people to try for tickets but if you enjoy festivals you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least try to get tickets for this festival.

I had 2 vodka jellies! One before Noel G and one at the Pet Shop Boys. First in years. 4 for a tenner.

https://thequietus.com/articles/31725-glastonbury-festival-review-people-eh

Keep going! It's angry Quietus Guy having a moment of clarity.

Lovely review @TenPicnics , and great to hear such positive feedback. One of our crew was a 51-year old woman going for the first time and she was astounded, said it was one of the two greatest weekends of her life. Can't remember what the other was but it didn't involve her family so they'll be feeling left out.

See you at Glasto sometime in the not too distant future.

Haha cheers man - that was doing your nut in 😂

Still trying to get my head around the whole thing so here is a brief account of the goings on.

Left Rosslare on 20:45 sailing Tuesday and parked in East 16 Campervan field at approx 04:45 Wednesday morning. We were the last few vans in that field and sent in to fill spots. Ended up by the porta loos so had the soothing thud of doors all night and a whiff when the wind blew the wrong way but it had the benefit of being very handy to get to them and dump the toilet cassette, so you win some you loose some.

First can of cider was opened ceremoniously at 05:07 and settled in on some chairs in the sunshine to watch the crowds roll in. We were 1-1.2km from gate C via the hill of death (totally over exaggerated). By around 7am the queue for entry was back up to us and kept going. I think we crashed around 8:00 for a few hours. Got up at 11 had some brekkie and headed in. We caught the end of the line at 12:00 and were checked in just after 13:00 so I think we got lucky.

Wednesday afternoon was spent wandering around the site taking it all in, it is huge and while some areas are still in build it’s a great time to see some of the SE corner before it all kicks off. Overall a chilled day of exploring, eating and pints not to mention a bit of sunburn.

Thursday was a leisurely kick off and in around lunchtime, numbers were increasing and the buzz was building. There was music today so lots to see, we had planned to be at Williams Green to see Michael Eavis and the TBA but by the time we got there news of Bastille was out and the area was completely blocked off. It was no issue as there was loads more on anyway.

I had a items planned on clashfinder, it was moreso a list of what was on that was of interest rather than an actual schedule so as not to standing around scratching my head wondering where to go if someone was crap. Anyway that pretty much went out the window. A good exercise but my advice would be don’t let it dictate your day as half the fun is stumbling onto things you wouldn’t ordinarily do.

Surprises – Pheobe Bridgers, wasn’t on the list but arrived just for the start. Were heading for Jesus and Mary Chain but thought it would take ages to get passed the Pyramid stage which it didn’t so saw her whole set. She put on a stunning show and has some talent. Would not have been on my list at all.

On Saturday the Gabriels on the Park Stage were fantastic, a super show. Of course we were at Macca, first hour was a bit slow and then it took off. Sound was brilliant and fair play, he can still belt them out. Of course Dave Grohl and Bruce upped the ante even more. I suspect that may be that last big Macca gig that we will see but I’m probably wrong.

Sunday I went Irish with the Sprints, Imelda May (poetry – who knew??), Damien Dempsey (magic set), Orla Gartland (superb) and then Imelda may again rocking out the Avalon tent. After that we wandered around and soaked it all up before heading back to the campers as very happy campers

Monday, alarms 0600, engines started 0630 and off for the 14:45 Pembroke Ferry. Got out with no delays, stopped and grabbed a bite around Cardiff. Home around 22:00.

So – its crossed your mind – do it, if it hasn’t – do it anyway!

Other than that, all that’s left to say is…………

THAAAANNKKK

YOOOOOUUUU

GLAAAASSSSSSTOOONNNNBBUUURRRYYYY!

Is Glastonbury actually over for this year now. :)

(WARNING: Long Post Alert)

My fifth Glastonbury.. and although not my favourite music-wise, might be one of my favourites I've been to. That just proves that Glastonbury is more than about music!

Some things I did differently this year: went to more varied music across stages, spent a night in T&C fields, avoided SE Corner completely.

Wednesday:

Was lucky in that myself and my other half bought CV Tickets, so our CV Ticket and entry tickets were available at entrance to CV Fields. The others in our group has to circumvent the perimeter of the farm to get to International Box Office via PG A.. though I didn't make the journey myself (roughly 5km they reckon), was told it was a treacherous journey in parts so I'd hope they make an improvement next year though doubt it.

While the rest of the group was wandering, we wandered in via PG D to T&C Fields and onwards through Stone Circle up to Glasto sign for Fireworks. Definitely way more on site this year than ever on Wednesday - probably due to rail strike. After fireworks finished, took a good 25 minutes to get from field just to Bimble Inn.

Grabbed some average Thai food across from Rabbit Hole and wandered back home. Relatively early night as the day travelling, and the extra trek for 4 members of the group, make us all a bit weary.

Thursday:

Can't remember much about Thursday being honest bar a substantial amount of wandering (T&C, Avalon, Bimble Inn, Glade etc).. Williams Green was the plan for evening but was rammed thanks to the Mel C/Eavis/Bastille combo. Paul Currie's "Panda Hands" was a highlight.. even though I saw it numerous times, still makes me laugh!

Friday:

• Confidence Man (The Park) - caught the last half but great fun!
• Sigrid (JP) - wasn't a huge fan beforehand, but she really held her own on stage. Very talented!
• Phoebe Bridgers (JP) - went nearer to front here and she was excellent.. bar very bassy where we were standing. Not very chatty but her songs really hold up live, though would have like a few more from first album (Stranger In The Alps). Spotted a few celebs beside us (Paul Mescal, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and husband, and Daisy Edgar Jones).
• Foals (Other) - never got a chance to see them live.. always missed them, or had clashes. But was more or less center (in front of Wine Bar) towards back of other and they sounded incredible.
• Groove Armada DJ Set (Arcadia) - rammed. Stayed for a while but was too much!

Saturday:

• Metronomy (Other) - caught the last half but really good too!
• Glass Animals (Other) - wind picked up causing trouble audio-wise, so while I enjoyed - we left after a few songs as audio was too wavey. But after watching them back again on TV, they were excellent!
• Big Thief (The Park) - Like Masterpiece, but just was a bit too slow and subdued for a sunny Saturday afternoon.
• The Avalances (The Park) - Was looking forward to it, but was a glorified DJ Set. Somewhat expected some guest vocalists who were playing the festival who played on the second album.. e.g Leon Bridges.. but wasn't to be. Listened to 50 minutes before wandering down to get food and good spot for Macca.
• Paul McCartney (Pyramid) - started off so well with "Can't Buy Me Love" but found his new stuff and questionable visuals ("Johnny Depp?") a bit pretentious. Left after an hour. Chatted to guy in airport who said it improved towards end when he started getting back into Beatles material. Will watch TV broadcast back.
• Roisin Murphy (West Holts) - she's excellent.. had heard it before but truly deserves more acclaim.
• Cirque De Vulgar (Circus) - brilliant circus comedy / magic / acrobat / stunts mix which was more jaw-dropping and hilarious at times.
• Frank Olivier's Twisted Cabaret - comedy, magic, fire-eating, cabaret etc with actual padded seats. Heaven at almost 2am.
• Random wandering in T&C: Dolores Dolores (great mega-mix 80's / 90's band singalong in Summerhouse in T&C fields), Sh*t-Disco.

Sunday:

• Diana Ross (Pyramid) - wouldn't be high in my list of teatime slots..!
• Elbow (Pyramid) - got the energy up and while wouldn't have been a fan, would definitely go back and see them again!
• Lorde (Pyramid) - really enjoy her stuff and she has a helluva stage presence for 25. New album is grand, but material from debut and "Melodrama" (including bangers 'Perfect Places' and 'Green Light') really got the place going.
• Bicep (West Holts) - Listened to a bit, but wasn't for me. Will listen back to TV broadcast.
• Ultimate Power (William's Green) - 2 and a half hour 80's / 90's power ballad singalong with inflatable guitars, microphones and saxaphones among the crowd. Absolutely brilliant fun!

Spent Monday and Tuesday chilling in Bath - strong shower, few pints, good sleep and onto the Thermae Bath Spa for some relaxing, steam room, sauna etc.

Flew back Wednesday.

Oh.. and OF COURSE.. didn't I come back with Covid. Positive as of yesterday morning, and only had it 2 months ago. 4 out of the 6 of our group succumbed to it so far.

Fun fact - the new Covid strain BA4/BA5 is same post code as Glastonbury/Pilton/Shepton Mallet. Coincidence!

Anyways, another 6 days of isolation for me, but I've 90 sets downloaded via iPlayer for watching at least!

Catch ye all in September for ticket madness!

https://twitter.com/andybennett01/status/1543682702439845888

I'll bite. Radiohead, Wilco, Bjork, PJ Harvey, Sigur Ros, Michael Kiwanuka, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Portishead, The Strokes and so so many more.

In fairness most of those are from the 90s (80s in Cave's case).

I'm not sure people will be talking about Kiwanuka or The Strokes in 30 years time, although The Strokes are already 20 odd years on the go.

Who cares? Music isn't about legacy for most people. Macca and Diana Ross and the like came up in an era where music was distributed abd audiences reached in a very different way. The Smiths will always be there for me, I couldn't care less if the kids are talking about them in 50 years. They hit me at a crucial stage in my musical life so it's natural that I feel they're vastly superior to whatever shite my 15 year old is listening to. But I hope his music means the same to him as mine did to me. Music should speak to the present. The rest is just bullshit Twitter arguments.

No I skipped him to go see something else (can't remember what unless I look at stage times, might have been Leon Vynehall) and now I regret it. I've seen him twice in the last few years so wasn't that fussed but they did When the Levee Breaks which I would have loved to hear him sing. I didn't think they'd do any Led Zep stuff as he was with Krauss instead of on his own. I saw him in France 2018/2019 and couldn't believe how good he still sounded.