Glastonbury 2007 pt1: the build-up
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beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
It was, worked a treat toowiskey said:
moonsi til
worked it out now!
A silent disco ?? I did not really venture toward the dance area, went had a look and danced around to 2manydjs....thats my sum total in the dance area. But from all accounts it was much better. I always felt quite scared by the dance tent....twas very big and dark.
clandestino
no llevar papel
Skim said:Did anyone go to the dance tent (or wherever it was) when they had headphones for individual dancers instead of a PA speakers, to keep down the noise? I can't imagine how that would have worked on a number of levels, not least because there would have been a risk of dropping loads of headphones in mudI would like to know how that all worked out in the end.
I saw the same thing in action in a festival in Holland a few years ago. It was pretty funny to watch. Totally silent, with everyone grooving to whatever they could hear on the headphones. I think people might have been tuned to different things, so it made it even more surreal.
beesonthewhatnow said:
Not sure about that, I thoght it was located nearer to the perimeter fence than that
William of Walworth said:Not sure about that, I thoght it was located nearer to the perimeter fence than that
Nah! It was much the same area as where the old dance tent used to be & the New Bands Tent (or John Peel Stage as it is now) was where it has been since 2002 i.e. just beyond the dance area & close to the perimeter fence between gates A&D.
2005 Map
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
pretty much in the same place...the main tent itself was moved a little, and two more smaller tents were added, as well as a circular outdoor ravin spot which was wicked. a road lined with flags went up the middle and there was lots of chill out space...much much better than ever beforeianw said:
i went to that and, surprisingly, it was wicked. the headphones had two channels on which you could switch between (one techno, on cheesy house when i was in there) - and both the DJs were on stage at the same time. we had quite a laugh trying to work out which people were dancing to which tunes! the headphones themselves could have been louder (battery issues i suppose), but they were certainly sufficient, and the mad thing was that you could actually hear each other talking really clearly, even with the headphones on....at last, a way to have conversations in a club and actually understand each other! if you get a chance next year, definitely check this out, it's an experience..Skim said:Did anyone go to the dance tent (or wherever it was) when they had headphones for individual dancers instead of a PA speakers, to keep down the noise? I can't imagine how that would have worked on a number of levels, not least because there would have been a risk of dropping loads of headphones in mud
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
random extra bit of info about the site layout: more recently, they've tried to keep the main stages / attractions towards the edges of the site in order to keep people moving around and stop the middle area getting blocked up with people (like in the good old days...do you remember in the mid 90s trying to get around at about midnight after all the bands had finished...a fucking football-crowd crush everywhere...) - the newer stuff like lost vagueness and john peel stage are at the edges of the site, as well as the dance area and the cinema, which has been moved more recently
Brixton Hatter said:
In 2000 particularly, the crush was as much down to vast 'additional'
numbers as to site layout, IMO.
wiskey
Albatross Admirer
ianw said:I saw the same thing in action in a festival in Holland a few years ago. It was pretty funny to watch. Totally silent, with everyone grooving to whatever they could hear on the headphones. I think people might have been tuned to different things, so it made it even more surreal.
on a lunch break from work i wandered to waterloo station about a year ago, right in the middle of the station were about 50 people with walkmans/ipods on all dancing to their own stuff. there was something really weird about not being able to hear the music, like i was in a bubble. turned out it was one of those flash mob thingys. lasted 10 mins then they all went and got on the train.
weird
A BBC slideshow reminding you of last year's post-storm Biblical floods ...
If you can bear the risk/possibility of such condiditions possibly repeating themselves, then come along in 2007
If you can bear the risk/possibility of such condiditions possibly repeating themselves, then come along in 2007
Do they actually do day tickets to Glasto? It's something I've always wanted to see, but 4 days camping there would be a bit overwelming for a first timer.
circlesquare said:
No, you can only get full tickets. You're entitles to be on site from Wednesday to Monday (best part of six days!) so you're in for the duration if you come.
But any Urban 75 old time Glasto lover (I've been 11 times) will tell you it's a whole lot of fun. There are Urbanites who went for the first time within the last 4 years, and they pretty much without exception loved it as well, and planned to come back ....
Take a gamble man!!
circlesquare said:
No - just for locals on the Sunday if I remember rightly.
Don't be put off by the scale of it. Me and my mate were a bit daunted when we first went but as soon as the tents were up we quickly realised we'd found heaven. There's quiet fields to camp in if you want to be away from the 24 hour partying.
William of Walworth said:
I know from my visit to Phoenix 96 (gawd was that *really* ten years ago!) six days would be far too long, and I don't fancy camping somwhere like that anyway. Chance of sleep-nil!
OK I could stay in a hotel in Bristol or whatever but TBH I just want to look at the stalls, the costumes, the crazy jugglers etc- one day would be enough.
It's a lot of money to spend just to look around for a day. Even if I could save up enough it doesn't seem fair to deprive someone else of the ticket.
C'mon Mr Eavis, give us a day pass scheme for (say) Thursday.
corporate whore
oh, thought you were dead
ianw said:this isn't making me wistful at all.
and i didn't go last year.
just reading this makes me think of the same old things in the same old places and glastonbury just being pretty much how it's been for the last 15 years or so. it doesn't make me want to go at all.
arrrrrrggggghhhh. looks like i've hit glastonbury burn out.
i need help.
sorry, i'm not intending to be down on glastonbury on this thread. i've had *amazing* times there, and i've been about 13/14 or so times. i just thought i should share. i just feel *bored* with glastonbury. it's weird.
I'm with you entirely, especially the 'same old things..' bit. Been 10 times. Enough.
corporate whore said:
Bollocks!!!
circlesquare said:
I know from my visit to Phoenix 96 (gawd was that *really* ten years ago!) six days would be far too long, and I don't fancy camping somwhere like that anyway. Chance of sleep-nil!
OK I could stay in a hotel in Bristol or whatever but TBH I just want to look at the stalls, the costumes, the crazy jugglers etc- one day would be enough.
It's a lot of money to spend just to look around for a day. Even if I could save up enough it doesn't seem fair to deprive someone else of the ticket.
C'mon Mr Eavis, give us a day pass scheme for (say) Thursday.
I'm really sorry you feel like this.
I would honestly urge you to give it a full-on try for one Festival only!** Particularly if you've never been before.The whole experience will overwhelm you and you'll love it!
**maybe followed by 12 more afterwards, if you like it enough
So many people specifically don't go for the headliners/star performers, and those folks spend the time as you would -- exploring and wandering and going with the flow and scuccombing to the 'what's going in that little tent over there?' factor.
If camping's not really your big thing, the fully inflatable double mattress plus a set of wax earplugs and a quiet field to stay in, are your friends!
As are the fine products of the Cider Bus and of your local hydroponic farm, for sleep assistance ...
B and B/hotels are for journalists, TV folk, liggers,hangers on, and wimps!
wiskey
Albatross Admirer
William of Walworth said:
you must remember though that lots of people HATE it, they leave site an hour after they arrive and they never go back. you can also have a great festival until the other 100,000 people arrive and suddenly it fills up and theres nowhere to go to sit down without being surrounded by people. and often being surrounded by lots of people having (what seems like) a fantastic time when you arent can be even more depressing.
things can and do go wrong (you have to accept that statistically with 150 thousand people something will happen), you can be prepared and hope they dont happen to you and you can do your best to avoid them, but they might. and people deal with such stresses differently - so your tent is below 7ft of water, do you go and get pissed and forget it or do you worry about all your posessions and your doorkeys and stuff. i'm probably the latter as are most people to a certain degree.
even the most capable and experienced people have found glastonbury overwhelming in a not very nice way. you can feel awfully alone in a crowd of 150 thousand people. and because of the 'out of the comfort zone' feel to it when you have a steaming row with your partner/best mate/sibling on the first day it can all seem so very important and little things become mountains. and then its just so BIG, if you dont have a 'festie-wise' attitude you end up queing for food when everyone else does, trying to go to the same thing everyone else is when they are and being on the wrong side of site for your nice warm sleeping bag. if you can find your tent
it can be the best weekend fo your life. but its all a bit of a knife edge and it depends as much on your personality as it does on the weather.
not meaning to be negative but i think a lot of the people i end up dealing with had a rosy great view of glasto that just isnt real.
wiskers
oh and forget B&B's - its a rural farm and the beeb have hijacked all the close ones.
Circlesquare : wiskey's post obviously makes a lot of practical sense. Definitely worth factoring in all her warnings.
As someone who's very experienced as crew, wiskey has probably over the years encountered more people with negative reactions, who've had to leave early for whatever reason, than I have -- I suppose I'm more remembering (and overinfluenced by) the numbers of people I've persuaded to come for the first time and who've ended up loving it and coming back, despite their initial fears and doubts.
In the end the best thing you can do is read as much online information as you possibly can -- there's loads around, can point you to some -- and making up your own mind. I hope you feel inclined to give it a try, but also I don't want to evangelise over enthusiastically or counterproductively.
Might be an idea to ty a smaller weekend camping festival with a sort of Glasto type vibe, before deciding absolutely -- just a suggestion.
As someone who's very experienced as crew, wiskey has probably over the years encountered more people with negative reactions, who've had to leave early for whatever reason, than I have -- I suppose I'm more remembering (and overinfluenced by) the numbers of people I've persuaded to come for the first time and who've ended up loving it and coming back, despite their initial fears and doubts.
In the end the best thing you can do is read as much online information as you possibly can -- there's loads around, can point you to some -- and making up your own mind. I hope you feel inclined to give it a try, but also I don't want to evangelise over enthusiastically or counterproductively.
Might be an idea to ty a smaller weekend camping festival with a sort of Glasto type vibe, before deciding absolutely -- just a suggestion.
felixthecat
are we there yet?
wiskey said:
Like Mr Felixthecat - absolutely hated it. He's the kind of fella who will chat to anyone, really easy going, but found Glastonbury a nightmare, really claustrophobic. I on the other hand, love the place. So now I go to Glasto and he buggers off somewhere to watch cricket
Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.
Wiskey touched on this also but being overwhelmed isn't *neccesarily* a pleasant experience IME.William of Walworth said:
If likeing a hot shower, clean clothes from a suitcase and some peace and quiet at the end of a day makes me a 'wimp', I plead guilty as charged your honour!
wiskey said:
Bristol is only 25 miles though. If I could get a day ticket I'd overnight there. But it's pretty accademic cos as far as we know they ain't doing em.
felixthecat said:Like Mr Felixthecat - absolutely hated it. He's the kind of fella who will chat to anyone, really easy going, but found Glastonbury a nightmare, really claustrophobic. I on the other hand, love the place. So now I go to Glasto and he buggers off somewhere to watch cricket
Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.
Yes, I've got mates who wouldn't DREAM of going, for similar reasons -- they've done a one off Glasto or another festie, years ago,and hated the crowds/mud/camping/noise/chaos or whatever.
I fond cricket a bit of a bore as well, yet cricket fans (among my friends) are completely bewildered by that !
So lets all just get along and respect each others differences ... maaaan
circlesquare said:
Yeah sorry, she's right and I'm not, depends on you!
I meant overwhelmed by the colours/variety/people/vibe/the beautiful site etc., not the crowds or noise or thing as such ...
If likeing a hot shower, clean clothes from a suitcase and some peace and quiet at the end of a day makes me a 'wimp', I plead guilty as charged your honour!
I like them too, a lot, but an awful lot of people get by at Glasto by improvising
Don't want to put you off though so look around the net and see what others say as well ...
William of Walworth said:
Agreed, and will do so. But wouldn't it be nice if I could sample the festival via a one day ticket?
Anyway, cheers for the advice, william.
wiskey
Albatross Admirer
due to the license allowances for public tickets to glasto you wont get a day ticket. partly because it increases the traffic through pilton and pylle (the two closest villiages) all weekend (and keeping the locals sweet its number one on the license) but also because once you're in how do they get you out again?? you might do as your ticket allows and leave by 12:00 XXday allowing someone else to come in the next day and only use one person place, but what if you dont, then the person tomorrow counts as a whole new person and the license will say you are two places not one.
Not really qualified to comment here, given I've only been once (or maybe I am, make your own mind up).
I was a bit surprised at wiskey's slight concern when I signed up to work there last year, triggered by the fact that I'd never been before. Surprised 'cos I've been to festivals, gigs, football & cricket matches across Britain and even gone all the way around the world - all on my tod. I'm resourceful, capable of looking after myself, willing to get my hands dirty and none too fussy if I can't get myself clean or sleep on a mattress at the end of the day/night.
But...
Glastonbury was more than I really expected it to be. Far more In a very good way, I had an absolute whale of a time but I really wasn't prepared for the sheer scale of the festival. Quite simply it dwarfed every single other event, sporting, musical or otherwise that I've ever been to. I've been to a few as well.
I can quite see how intimidating it would be to someone who isn't as adventurous/tolerant/whatever as me. I started a shift on the bus station at 11pm on the Friday night and got there just as the last buses from Castle Cary arrived with the people who'd come down on the last train from London. It was pitch dark, the area inside the gate was ankle deep in mud and I got a good chance to take a look at the expressions on people's faces as they walked in with all their gear and got their first look at the conditions they were going to have to find a space to pitch their tent in at the dead of night. Horror doesn't begin to cover it for some of those poor sods.
We can all find it very easy to make derogatory comments about the people who packed their bags (if they still had them) and left on Friday morning but looking at it dispassionately, it's a hell of a culture shock, even if the heavens hadn't opened so spectacularly it would have been a pretty overwhelming experience. I found it pretty hard to deal with the difference between the site as it was on Wednesday afternoon and as it was by Thursday night when the vast majority of people had turned up tbh.
So, by all means give it a go - but remember, it won't be anything like anything else you've ever experienced. Particularly so if you've been to any other festival anywhere else actually - there's a vast difference between Beautiful Days and Glasto and if you're basing your expectations on smaller festivals then you're in for a huge shock.
I was a bit surprised at wiskey's slight concern when I signed up to work there last year, triggered by the fact that I'd never been before. Surprised 'cos I've been to festivals, gigs, football & cricket matches across Britain and even gone all the way around the world - all on my tod. I'm resourceful, capable of looking after myself, willing to get my hands dirty and none too fussy if I can't get myself clean or sleep on a mattress at the end of the day/night.
But...
Glastonbury was more than I really expected it to be. Far more
In a very good way, I had an absolute whale of a time but I really wasn't prepared for the sheer scale of the festival. Quite simply it dwarfed every single other event, sporting, musical or otherwise that I've ever been to. I've been to a few as well.I can quite see how intimidating it would be to someone who isn't as adventurous/tolerant/whatever as me. I started a shift on the bus station at 11pm on the Friday night and got there just as the last buses from Castle Cary arrived with the people who'd come down on the last train from London. It was pitch dark, the area inside the gate was ankle deep in mud and I got a good chance to take a look at the expressions on people's faces as they walked in with all their gear and got their first look at the conditions they were going to have to find a space to pitch their tent in at the dead of night. Horror doesn't begin to cover it for some of those poor sods.
We can all find it very easy to make derogatory comments about the people who packed their bags (if they still had them) and left on Friday morning but looking at it dispassionately, it's a hell of a culture shock, even if the heavens hadn't opened so spectacularly it would have been a pretty overwhelming experience. I found it pretty hard to deal with the difference between the site as it was on Wednesday afternoon and as it was by Thursday night when the vast majority of people had turned up tbh.
So, by all means give it a go - but remember, it won't be anything like anything else you've ever experienced. Particularly so if you've been to any other festival anywhere else actually - there's a vast difference between Beautiful Days and Glasto and if you're basing your expectations on smaller festivals then you're in for a huge shock.
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