Wednesday at Glastonbury is always a day of hardships, and 2011 is no exception. Every year I
take nine litres of red wine, and every year I forget what nine litres
of red wine feels like in a backpack. This years neon-ravey wristband
doesn't go with ANY of my outfits. Relaxed strolls around the festival
site soaking up 'vibes' are punctured by men with beer cans shouting the
name 'Alan' every seven seconds.
That said, things improve, and it's another great year though from a festival that's been on a roll since 2008.
Laura Marling
First highlight is Laura Marling. I caught her two song radio session on the BBC Introducing stage last year, and she was shy to the extent that we felt awkward daring to be there. Other 2010 sightings report similar troubles, so we're prepared for a re-run of Fleet Foxes' rabbit-in-headlights Pyramid stage set of 2009. But no! She's fantastic! We're given a perfect, surprisingly meaty sound mix. Laura is still shy, but now it's at that level of shyness that's above 'embarrassing for all present' and firmly on the shelf labeled 'completely charming'. By the end I'm dementedly hammering love declarations into Twitter and not even noticing that she didn't play Goodbye England (Covered in Snow), which incidentally, she damn well SHOULD HAVE.
TV On The Radio
Highlight number two: TV on the Radio. Partly because of a touch-every-base setlist that nobody could possibly hold a grudge with, partly because of their intense performance energy, and partly because here the notoriously unreliable Other Stage sound is spot on. When they close their set with the Ghostbusters theme tune, you half expect Jedward to show up as guest vocalists. What initially feels like a cringe-worthy moment works, mostly because the ballsy guitar work of Dave Sitek actually improves upon the original.
Radiohead
Amongst a sea of three-star reviews, thinning crowds, and angry tweets, how is it that Radiohead were a festival highlight?. Well first, some background: I remember the first time The King of Limbs clicked with me. It was the forth listen, and I was hammered on the 3:05am N6 nightbus to Gamston. Suddenly the album made beautiful sense. And so with the power of science behind me, I spend the first part of Friday evening dedicatedly recreating those conditions. I scatter piles of chips around us. I invite thirty-something men in white shirts to harass women. And it works! So is that just me in my altered state, were they actually bloody ace, or does intoxication scientifically make Radiohead's latest material 600% better? Dear science, step up your game.
U2
It's a relief Radiohead are great, as getting a good place in the crowd is a sacrifice that means missing Biffy Clyro, Morrissey and the first 15 minutes of U2, as it takes an age to get down the hill from The Park stage. They doesn't quite enter the realm of All-Time Great Glastonbury Sets. They have roughly seven superb songs in their setlist, but perhaps none of them are stone cold festival classics in line with 'Tender', '99 Problems' or 'Karma Police'? Maybe Bono has no idea how to warm up a field of casual U2 fans? What we get then, is a straight up 8/10 festival set.
Coldplay
Coldplay are at the opposite end of the problem: so used to headlining festivals they can pull off Mass Euphoria with ease. They might be so relaxed in festival mode that they think the legions of casual fans won't mind the new songs. Everybody is bored during them. Elsewhere in their show however, 'between albums' means 'greatest hits set', and it works. And finishing by lighting up the iconic Pyramid stage during Every Teardrop is a Waterfall is a mighty impressive one-off stunt.
Other highlights from around the site? Taking part in what's billed as the UK's biggest tomato fight on Sunday evening. The crowd makes Wu-Tang Clan work for their adulation, but they pull it off. The gay club in Block 9 where you pay £2 or let them prod your penis for entry. Pulled Apart by Horses finish a storming set by starting a mosh pit, spitting water over the crowd, and exiting stage front. I come up with the idea of putting one of my three wine boxes at one of the property lock-ups on the other side of the site, so I'm never too far away from a top-up. Patrick Wolf plays it like he's headlining. Orbital's 2am DJ set, as reliable as ever. Pulp's secret set sees Jarvis Cocker achieve Dean Martin levels of stage banter. And once everybody else has left the site, we do our bit for the Love The Farm, Leave No Trace campaign by also taking home a discarded tent much, much better than ours. After enjoying the week so much, it felt good to do our bit.
This review was originally posted on Drowned in Sound here.
That said, things improve, and it's another great year though from a festival that's been on a roll since 2008.
Laura Marling
First highlight is Laura Marling. I caught her two song radio session on the BBC Introducing stage last year, and she was shy to the extent that we felt awkward daring to be there. Other 2010 sightings report similar troubles, so we're prepared for a re-run of Fleet Foxes' rabbit-in-headlights Pyramid stage set of 2009. But no! She's fantastic! We're given a perfect, surprisingly meaty sound mix. Laura is still shy, but now it's at that level of shyness that's above 'embarrassing for all present' and firmly on the shelf labeled 'completely charming'. By the end I'm dementedly hammering love declarations into Twitter and not even noticing that she didn't play Goodbye England (Covered in Snow), which incidentally, she damn well SHOULD HAVE.
TV On The Radio
Highlight number two: TV on the Radio. Partly because of a touch-every-base setlist that nobody could possibly hold a grudge with, partly because of their intense performance energy, and partly because here the notoriously unreliable Other Stage sound is spot on. When they close their set with the Ghostbusters theme tune, you half expect Jedward to show up as guest vocalists. What initially feels like a cringe-worthy moment works, mostly because the ballsy guitar work of Dave Sitek actually improves upon the original.
Radiohead
Amongst a sea of three-star reviews, thinning crowds, and angry tweets, how is it that Radiohead were a festival highlight?. Well first, some background: I remember the first time The King of Limbs clicked with me. It was the forth listen, and I was hammered on the 3:05am N6 nightbus to Gamston. Suddenly the album made beautiful sense. And so with the power of science behind me, I spend the first part of Friday evening dedicatedly recreating those conditions. I scatter piles of chips around us. I invite thirty-something men in white shirts to harass women. And it works! So is that just me in my altered state, were they actually bloody ace, or does intoxication scientifically make Radiohead's latest material 600% better? Dear science, step up your game.
U2
It's a relief Radiohead are great, as getting a good place in the crowd is a sacrifice that means missing Biffy Clyro, Morrissey and the first 15 minutes of U2, as it takes an age to get down the hill from The Park stage. They doesn't quite enter the realm of All-Time Great Glastonbury Sets. They have roughly seven superb songs in their setlist, but perhaps none of them are stone cold festival classics in line with 'Tender', '99 Problems' or 'Karma Police'? Maybe Bono has no idea how to warm up a field of casual U2 fans? What we get then, is a straight up 8/10 festival set.
Coldplay
Coldplay are at the opposite end of the problem: so used to headlining festivals they can pull off Mass Euphoria with ease. They might be so relaxed in festival mode that they think the legions of casual fans won't mind the new songs. Everybody is bored during them. Elsewhere in their show however, 'between albums' means 'greatest hits set', and it works. And finishing by lighting up the iconic Pyramid stage during Every Teardrop is a Waterfall is a mighty impressive one-off stunt.
Other highlights from around the site? Taking part in what's billed as the UK's biggest tomato fight on Sunday evening. The crowd makes Wu-Tang Clan work for their adulation, but they pull it off. The gay club in Block 9 where you pay £2 or let them prod your penis for entry. Pulled Apart by Horses finish a storming set by starting a mosh pit, spitting water over the crowd, and exiting stage front. I come up with the idea of putting one of my three wine boxes at one of the property lock-ups on the other side of the site, so I'm never too far away from a top-up. Patrick Wolf plays it like he's headlining. Orbital's 2am DJ set, as reliable as ever. Pulp's secret set sees Jarvis Cocker achieve Dean Martin levels of stage banter. And once everybody else has left the site, we do our bit for the Love The Farm, Leave No Trace campaign by also taking home a discarded tent much, much better than ours. After enjoying the week so much, it felt good to do our bit.
This review was originally posted on Drowned in Sound here.
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