Seen lots of moaning on social media... what was the good the bad and the ugly then Glastoers?
Is it still
banging?
I was going to try sneaking in but couldn't be bothered in the end.
Personally that was my best Glastonbury since 2010, and it reaffirmed my love for the place, which had been waning over the years. Part of this was being part of a new crew who were random and awesome in equal measure, but there was a lot of great stuff on too, much of which I stumbled on, just like the old days.
One of these was John Cooper Clarke in the Cabaret tent, who was fantastic. Never seen the Cabaret tent have to close most of its doors before due to capacity issues. It really was like watching an old master at work.
I went to see The Orb in the Glade, without realising they'd actually cancelled the day before, but they were replaced by Youth, who started by playing all 19 or so minutes of 'A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld'. I just stood there in rapture, just awesome.
Another massive highlight was Heilung on West Holts. I'd gone to get my usual duck wrap for dinner, which is always a good option, as you can watch whatever's on West Holts whilst you wait, and at the end of waiting you have a duck wrap. Heilung were on stage, I'd never heard of them before but I just sat there in awe, wondering what the actual fuck was going on. Shamanic drumming and chanting, large bits of trees decorating the stage, topless men with spears and shields chanting. It's here on iPlayer, and it's just magnificent -
Glastonbury - Heilung . Found out the next day that West Holts had been courting them for years, flying over to visit them and all sorts, and this year they finally got them.
Oh yes, and the late night Basil Brush show for adults in the Cabaret tent around midnight was also brilliant. It was like he could finally come out and be the sort of fox he'd always wanted to be, but before now he'd always been constrained by being a children's entertainer.
Also came across Emmanuel Sonubi, a comedian in the Cabaret tent who was brilliant as well. Oh yes, and the Andrew O'Neill 'History of Heavy Metal' show, which despite not having the full hour and a half he needed to do the full show, was still properly superb. As a long time Metallica fan, hearing a crowd all shout 'Sit down Lars!' was cathartic.
There's probably more that was great too, but those are the bits that jump to mind straight away. You'll notice that none of my acts were on Pyramid or Other, which is probably why I'm one of the ones saying I had a fantastic time rather than complaining on social media.