Glastonbury 2007 pt2: the festie!

[cyberfairy]

we were thinking of going to see them in the Glade but couldn't be arsed so we saw their West Tent performance on Sunday instead.

I'd have loved to have seen both. That's how much I love Dreadzone

Come t beatherder http://www.beatherder.co.uk this weekend-only 40 quid too

 

[sojourner]

All the urbanites I met for the first time, and to those i'd met but got to know a lot better - i'm bees' bro btw (younger, better looking, and infinitely more virile!) - a big hello & thanks for "guiding" me & the mrs through popping our Glasto cherries.


Some bloody role models you are

Ah! That's who you are! Hiya, we were camped right next to you, your extremely virile bro helped put our tent up

 

[Sunray]

...
What I missed most - wandering performers. I understand now that they were in the Fire tent because their costumes and gear get ruined in the mud. I didn't know this at the time, and anyway, it's a big loss to the festy not to have them around. Better luck next time.

...

With the mud you lose lots of the little things that turn it from a good festival into something truly great. At Glastonbury, they are often incredible and add that final touch and give you that 'I'm somewhere special' feeling.

 

[pennimania]

With the mud you lose lots of the little things that turn it from a good festival into something truly great. At Glastonbury, they are often incredible and add that final touch and give you that 'I'm somewhere special' feeling.

Absolutely - definitely the thing I love the most

 

[madamv]

That it penni!!

I missed the wandering performers too..... More than I realised until now.

Wish I hadnt sat around camp on Sun night now. But it was the rain.... it just kept coming....

 

[gabi]

Come t beatherder http://www.beatherder.co.uk this weekend-only 40 quid too

cyberfairy, have you seen the forecast?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=1144

ive got my ticket, but if it looks like rain on friday i'm bailing - i spent the weekend gloating that i wasn't at glastonbury..

Looking at the glastonbury pics thread is giving me the willies.. im too old for sleeping in a mud bath..

i did suggest to my mates that we stay a nearby B&B and get a cab into the site every morning, but they didnt take me seriously..

 

[newbie]

sunday night, pissing rain, a small group wearing evening dress and horses heads made their way towards the acoustic stage. Few people, wrapped up and head down, noticed as they wandered slightly disconsolate until they were soaked.


otoh some costumes worked. I loved the blue train.

 

[Lazy Llama]

sunday night, pissing rain, a small group wearing evening dress and horses heads made their way towards the acoustic stage. Few people, wrapped up and head down, noticed as they wandered slightly disconsolate until they were soaked.

Ooh yes, I saw them dancing by the Fire Stage, probably Saturday afternoon?

 

[Skim]

I forgot about the wandering performers, they were missed

I love all the people-watching in general, but it's hard to get inspired by looking at a sea of ponchos

 

[JTG]

I saw some 'Traffic wardens' criticising a land rover's driving down by the Acoustic/Kids Field junction but that was it.

 

[newbie]

were all the ppl with clipboards from the Natural Theatre Company or the council? They looked so earnest...

 

[sojourner]

Oo, my mates just reminded me of us shouting at two stewards on the trek back to the car park. One steward had just given us instructions to walk down this path (good underfoot, much better than the rest of the site), and literally 20 yards down, these other two said we couldn't go down there. There was barely any traffic, and we'd just seen them let loads of other people down same part. It really did seem as if they were having a laugh at our expense. They tried to physically stop us. Bad fucking move. If they had done it again I'm afraid we might have punched them, we were extremely tired and pissed off at this point

 

[William of Walworth]

To me the best thing would be if Mendip, rather than revoking the licence, were to add some specific safety conditions to it for next year. (Not sure if they have the legal power to do this). Conditions like making sure all paths round Ped gates are solid, or at least gravel/well drained and not liable to get as muddy as they did, would be one. (Not terribly costly either to do that work, I'd have thought

what would that achieve? Newcomers are going to have to step in mud sometime, why does not having mud at the gates make any odds?

Because around Gate B, and apparantly around at least one other too, the mud was EXCEPTIONALLY slippery when not actually deep and wet -- at Gate B, it was one of the few places where people were going in REALLY deep -- AND they were dragging large packs, trolleys, clobber with them, and there were huge numbers concentrated in an unrelenting stream of refugees, I mean exit-ees. Made to go round a narrow mud trough next to a secondary fence It was pretty bad up there.

Personally I'd like to see a lot more seating around and about, because although the mud can't be defeated, being able to sit down occasionally makes it a lot more tolerable. Especially in places where there's a lot of standing around going on, and that certainly includes the gates.

I agree, but the two suggestions (mine and yours) aren't mutually exclusive.

Onsite traffic management is about as good as it's likely to get. Offsite is a different matter- the stewards who are sent out to some farflung carpark are a bit resentful because they'd like to be in the festival proper and they pick up a fair amount of grief because there's a real sense that people are left to fend for themselves. Maybe there should be tractors at every carpark, but once they churn up the ground nothing will get out without assistance. I'm not sure what provision should be made to cope with one-off conditions like on sunday.

Yes, Sunday and Monday were clearly exceptional conditions, and perhaps (?) it's not fair to judge some of the chaos and delays that happened around the carparks as if they were representative.

But any tweaking and improvements done around carpark and entrance/exit management now, and there's always room for improvement, may mean things go a LOT much more smoothly in the hot year we're going to get next time , or if we get another rainy one, things aren't as chaotic.

 

[JTG]

Oo, my mates just reminded me of us shouting at two stewards on the trek back to the car park. One steward had just given us instructions to walk down this path (good underfoot, much better than the rest of the site), and literally 20 yards down, these other two said we couldn't go down there. There was barely any traffic, and we'd just seen them let loads of other people down same part. It really did seem as if they were having a laugh at our expense. They tried to physically stop us. Bad fucking move. If they had done it again I'm afraid we might have punched them, we were extremely tired and pissed off at this point

so there was bad communication from their superiors then.

it really does mystify me why people always assume that this is done for fun. It's clearly poor communication, nothing else.

 

[newbie]

WoW fair enough, I didn't see the bit around PGB you mention. Obviously protecting people from treacherous stretches where they're particularly likely to slip makes sense.

I've no idea if GFL takes any notice of suggestions or complaints on threads like this.

 

[sojourner]

so there was bad communication from their superiors then.

it really does mystify me why people always assume that this is done for fun. It's clearly poor communication, nothing else.

Funnily enough I knew you'd jump on this JTG! I know there was incredible bad management, I felt sorry for most of the stewards, but these guys were aggressive, and taking the piss. I'm not assuming anything, I promise you - I guess you had to be there

 

[Skim]

I left on Sunday morning and was just driving out safely on the metal pathway, the main road just a few metres in front, when the stewards stopped me and told me to turn left away from the main road and drive up two extremely muddy fields to get out. So I did so, and the mud was so bad that the car was slipping all over the place – I narrowly avoided skidding into a ditch

Eventually I went back and asked them if they'd let me out on the easiest route they'd tried to stop me from taking. After some negotiation they let me through, but why the hell were they making me take a more dangerous route in the first place?

 

[William of Walworth]

I didn't meet up with anyone - I was useless

Feel especially bad about wiskey and dervish as I'd seen them briefly on wednesday when I was trollied and then not properly said hello before they went.

I briefly saw you on Wednesday, and yes, the trolleys were out and turned over ...

Tofu Love Frogs were in Trash City tent William - after Crack Village played on thursday night (Ray Winstone's daughter - they played the Redstar last year. She looked like Souxie Sioux in a gold metallic bikini They were funny as fuck. And also quite shit but you need a bit of that at a festie)

Ah well, I'll see em in ten weeks!

I'm starting to wonder when I'll ever get my dry one and if it will happen before I reach my limit with Glasto. It's fucking big and busy isn't it? But then you get big fuckoff acts that you don't get at lovely wee ones like Endorse It. Electric Picnic is my current fave as they get the lineups without the 100s of thousands of people. But then you still get the brilliant variety at G don't you? The circus and theatre and the art......

It's a balancing act and at the moment I'm still coming down on the Glasto is good side.

Next year I'll sit on my arse in the mud in protest if it's not dry And no one will care and I will be alone, in the mud, on my arse

My point (repeated from yesterday, sorry) to ANYONE tempted to miss out on Glasto next time because (or mainly because) of the mud (this includes moonsi til perhaps ... ) is to imagine to yourself how you'd feel if you saw all this coverage on the TELLY of people sitting around in gorgeous hot sunshine ... and imagine how the Green Fields (especially) look in the sun ...

Of course people have pretty good reasons for not going any more, but if mud is the main one and they'd have loved it otherwise, well ... imagine the frustation of missing a hot/dry one!!

I'm not going to be missing a single one for that very reason ... if a man with gaffa taped combat boots has been to every one since 1982 (and he's scarcely older than me) then I'm going to emulate him as far as possible ...

But then I'm mad

 

[paolo]

Blimy! I shot an email to Funktion One to complain about the sound system being so rubbish, not expecting a reply, but I did get one!

The tone was very defensive and they are going to do a press release tomorrow on their website defending their position. They are suggesting they were forced to set it at unworkable levels.

I believe them personally*. The Pyramid has always had problems with Mendip, because - I'm told - the sound washes straight up into Pilton, and up there is one of the key monitoring points.

On the Other Stage & LV side of things, there are far fewer residential properties, and of those some of the nearer ones will never complain, because they profit directly from the festival (luxury camping, the heliport, and renting land to GFL).

* With the exception of the Killers, where something clearly did go wrong with left hand repeater stacks.

 

[paolo]

My point (repeated from yesterday, sorry) to ANYONE tempted to miss out on Glasto next time because (or mainly because) of the mud (this includes moonsi til perhaps ... ) is to imagine to yourself how you'd feel if you saw all this coverage on the TELLY of people sitting around in gorgeous hot sunshine ...

And I'll repeat... my total agreement.

 

[Sunray]

I believe them personally*. The Pyramid has always had problems with Mendip, because - I'm told - the sound washes straight up into Pilton, and up there is one of the key monitoring points.

On the Other Stage & LV side of things, there are far fewer residential properties, and of those some of the nearer ones will never complain, because they profit directly from the festival (luxury camping, the heliport, and renting land to GFL).

* With the exception of the Killers, where something clearly did go wrong with left hand repeater stacks.

If you read their press release for being chosen they were very bullish about their sound system being 'Perfect' for the Pyramid stage. So what ever they say, they are on thin ice really. I get the feeling that they wanted the publicity without worrying too much about what they were being asked to achieve until they were asked for real and realised they were in a little boat in one of the long drops and no ladder.

 

[pennimania]

Because around Gate B, and apparantly around at least one other too, the mud was EXCEPTIONALLY slippery when not actually deep and wet -- at Gate B, it was one of the few places where people were going in REALLY deep -- AND they were dragging large packs, trolleys, clobber with them, and there were huge numbers concentrated in an unrelenting stream of refugees, I mean exit-ees. Made to go round a narrow mud trough next to a secondary fence It was pretty bad up there.








Yes, Sunday and Monday were clearly exceptional conditions, and perhaps (?) it's not fair to judge some of the chaos and delays that happened around the carparks as if they were representative.

But any tweaking and improvements done around carpark and entrance/exit management now, and there's always room for improvement, may mean things go a LOT much more smoothly in the hot year we're going to get next time , or if we get another rainy one, things aren't as chaotic.

Yes gate B was an absolute horrorshow and I was just saying to mr m that the only reason people didn't get hurt (maybe some did and I don't know about it) was the extreme patience and tolerance of everyone slowly, slowly trudging through slop that was nearly 18 inches in the worst places.

The water had collected against the wall and we had to slither gingerly on a really narrow area. I really felt for people with babes in buggies -everyone was too loaded down to help anyone else really. It was like that last year too- almost.

It felt like some bizarre punishment or endurance test - and the silence was uncanny.

Oh well - I suppose it was good aerobic exercise.

 

[sojourner]

Oh well - I suppose it was good aerobic exercise.

Oh yes! It was definitely that! I reckon I lost at least half a stone if not more - been eating frenziedly since getting back!

 

[Skim]

I definitely feel lighter after Glastonbury.

The Pilton Bums 'n' Thighs Workout – wouldn't that make an excellent video?

 

[pennimania]

My husband seems to have lost a huge amount - despite a diet of Wherry, Wherry and more Wherry

 

[Crispy]

I definitely feel lighter after Glastonbury.

The Pilton Bums 'n' Thighs Workout – wouldn't that make an excellent video?

"Ok! Now you've tied 10 bags of sugar to each shoe and pissed in your socks, I want you to SKANK! as hard as you can! chew those cheeks!"

 

[newbie]

If you read their press release for being chosen they were very bullish about their sound system being 'Perfect' for the Pyramid stage. So what ever they say, they are on thin ice really. I get the feeling that they wanted the publicity without worrying too much about what they were being asked to achieve until they were asked for real and realised they were in a little boat in one of the long drops and no ladder.

I first came across Tony Andrews organising sound on the pyramid stage in 1981 (actually that's not true- I first met him doing the sound on the Zorch stage at Windsor, years before that). He's been doing it ever since, and knows far more than anyone else about 'doing it for real'. When he says the council forced him to turn it down I'm inclined to believe him.

" Added: Sunday, 24 June, 2007, 17:09 GMT 18:09 UK

As one of the sound consultants for the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury and also the designer of the sound system, I really must set the record straight regarding the sound for the Kooks &Killer's sets. To protect Michael's festival licence we were forced by the draconian off site noise levels to reduce the volume of the system to a level that the audience and I found entirely unacceptable. This situation was distressing enough but today it transpires that Michael has publicly blamed the situation on the sound system rather than the ridiculously low offsite noise levels which the sound company has no influence or control over. This is an extreme case of injustice and misinformation.

Tony Andrews, Dorking"


http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thr...art=0&edition=1&ttl=20070627160226&#paginator

 

[Skim]

"Ok! Now you've tied 10 bags of sugar to each shoe and pissed in your socks, I want you to SKANK! as hard as you can! chew those cheeks!"

It's a tough regime, but it works

 

[onemonkey]

lowlights were .. the fact that the wicket field was crazy packed this year instead of being relatively spacious and peaceful,.

presumably that will be because it's near where all the coaches dropped off?

 

[belboid]

fuck - so we NEARLY met up then

aah, I thought you were off to see CCS, or I'd have kept an eye out for ya

fucking missed this

great shame - if there had been a few more people there they might have started a little earlier and done more of a set