Glastonbury South East Corner

[Sunray]

This flatters to deceive.

Its visually interesting, but often over crowded series of bars with a very MotR music policy. I spent quite a bit of time wandering about listening to the music and only Bez's Acid House had anything remotely interesting or cutting edge if 20 year old music can be called cutting edge. The rest was just music often quite down beat.

If you remove the music, the entire place becomes a art museum piece. I would rather they spent less time on the set up and more on music policy.

Has always felt to me that there is something missing.

 

[ferrelhadley]

Glastonbury is not Glade or Bloc, the electronic music has often been pretty tame for many tastes.

 

[wiskey]

I didn't even bother going this year, seen it once, unless you are fucked it doesn't hold much appeal (it's constantly in motion as people flow through just looking, if you stand still you become something they are looking AT), I'm not really into the whole 'lets look in this exclusive little room/doorway' stuff either.

 

[DJ Squelch]

I agree Sunray, it looked great but was too crowded and the dance music always seemed to be the kind that falls between techno & house without taking the good parts from either. I spent most of my time in Bez's acid house too, hearing 808 State's Graham Massey playing Strings Of life was great

 

[JTG]

Didn't visit after Thursday (Slamboree on the Hell Stage) unless you count the tomato fight. Probably similar reasons to those Sunray outlines really, though I thought the London Underground in Block 9 had some good line ups (including Hue Jah Fink one night!). There was some decent old school jump up dnb listed somewhere in the Common as well iirc (Brian Gee etc) but ultimately nothing worth the trek down the railway and the "Sequential Access Management System" when there was Arcadia, Bimble Inn, Rabbit Hole, Croissant Neuf etc etc to tempt me

 

[Ted Striker]

It was visually stunning (moreso looking at it through other's photo's the day after (not munted!))...But I disagree on principle with small venues at festivals - With streams of people queueing (at 3am) - it sent shivers down my spine. Who the fuck queues for something (for hours at a time) at 2-3am?

And if you put your mind into the 'artists' behind it, designing it, knowing they (and their pals) will have wristbands and won't ever have to worry about q's and they'll be filled with millions cooing at their brilliance, I thought it didn't ring true with the ethos of the rest of the festival tbh and felt a bit self indulgent.

No festival should have stages where it only holds a small amount. Thought it was the sort of thing reserved for places like SGP.

That said, I got my moustache for the Downlow on Thursday (my fave late night arena anyway) which enabled a priority queue each night and was quite happy to have a place to boogie after hours without sodding about with queues.

One of the biggest lol of the festival was the London Underground on Sunday, as the place looked like it had just opened as there was full fluid movement of people snaking through the queue, which we joined, getting right anxious that they'd stop the queue before we got in, only to realise they unfortunately missed the mood with a dubby reggae lineup and people continued the snaking queue and like an ants convoy walked straight out again in complete unison and the whole night was a similar scene!

Wasn't the end of the world tbh, just not something I'd do if I was in charge.

Musically I was amazed at how well the whole place catered for a London-centric urban/housey sound. I loved it!

 

[Tort]

I always really enjoy it provided you get down there early enough to avoid the gawping tourists. We had a good mooch around on both Wednesday and Thursday nights and I was very impressed with the new venues like Genosys, the Cave and the Hell Stage. On Friday night we deliberately got there early at 10pm while the headliners were on. We got into Heaven, which I have to say was a bit of a let down, explored the back alleys and secret bars and we were treated to an extraordinary tale by a girl called “Echo” who was imprisoned in a secret cell by a group of demons. We also found a great little tent where cameras were understandably banned as punters indulged in painting the nude models.

Strange-Fish had to toddle off for an early night ahead of a morning shift but I spent a good while in the London Underground (drum & bass) and then Bez’s where the man himself was on the stage, followed by some quite bizarre and macabre goings on in the Carousel. By about 2am the crowds were starting to herd through so I bailed out and joined the Tortlets for the end of Andy C’s set at Arcadia.

 

[wiskey]

only to realise they unfortunately missed the mood with a dubby reggae lineup and people continued the snaking queue and like an ants convoy walked straight out again in complete unison and the whole night was a similar scene!

This . . . it's like one big queue until you realise you've accidentally popped out through the barrier and have to start again.

 

[colacubes]

Like I said on the other thread, I really enjoyed it. It only just started up when I was last at Glastonbury and I never really got a chance to visit. However, I did have the benefit of a wristband that meant avoiding the one way system. Had I not, I suspect I wouldn't have spent so much time there.

Really liked the Hell Stage, London Underground and the Bar of Ideas. Heaven was a bit of a let down tbh. It was slightly like a giant art project all round, but I quite liked that

 

[Ted Striker]

Hell stage was full of proper moments on Sunday night - one of my classic G after hours sessions.

 

[Sunray]

I think what is missing has been the entertainment factor, I didn't have the time to really root it out, when I was there I did try, ended up nodding to the madprofessor who was good but its remix dub and I was tired, so nodding nearly turned into nodding off.

There are a lot of interesting ideas that are not really played out to the max focusing on style over substance. The drum machines I think provides a good example, they in of themselves are impressive but actually provide nothing much other than a passing waft of interest. I got the feeling that there was a great idea in there somewhere but just not quite thought through enough. Which really sums up the whole experience for me.

I would rather they focused more on entertainment than making a load of bars that DJ's can play in. To escape the crowd I went into the Block 9 crew bar and enjoyed that more than the front, primarily as the DJ was playing some top stuff, cheap drinks helped too.

 

[JTG]

Like I said on the other thread, I really enjoyed it. It only just started up when I was last at Glastonbury and I never really got a chance to visit. However, I did have the benefit of a wristband that meant avoiding the one way system. Had I not, I suspect I wouldn't have spent so much time there.

Really liked the Hell Stage, London Underground and the Bar of Ideas. Heaven was a bit of a let down tbh. It was slightly like a giant art project all round, but I quite liked that

my mate blagged a Block 9 wristband and I was supposed to get one but missed out. Suspect I may have troubled myself to get down there if I had one!

 

[colacubes]

I think what is missing has been the entertainment factor, I didn't have the time to really root it out, when I was there I did try, ended up nodding to the madprofessor who was good but its remix dub and I was tired, so nodding nearly turned into nodding off.

There are a lot of interesting ideas that are not really played out to the max focusing on style over substance. The drum machines I think provides a good example, they in of themselves are impressive but actually provide nothing much other than a passing waft of interest. I got the feeling that there was a great idea in there somewhere but just not quite thought through enough. Which really sums up the whole experience for me.

I would rather they focused more on entertainment than making a load of bars that DJ's can play in. To escape the crowd I went into the Block 9 crew bar and enjoyed that more than the front, primarily as the DJ was playing some top stuff, cheap drinks helped too.

Tbh we spent quite a lot of time in there. It was a godsend when it was pissing down They also had some of the big names playing sets in the backstage but (Fatboy Slim played there about 6pm on Friday ).

 

[JTG]

Is there a venue Fatboy Slim didn't play at some stage?

 

[Sunray]

my mate blagged a Block 9 wristband and I was supposed to get one but missed out. Suspect I may have troubled myself to get down there if I had one!

Didn't need one if you were working, I had 4 and never used them.

Nice bar, big up Block 9 for the crew bar.

 

[JTG]

Didn't need one if you were working, I had 4 and never used them.

Really? I had an easy pass out, that would have got me through?

 

[pesh]

the Block 9 crew bar saved me every night, I was working Thursday Friday and Saturday night till about 1am and having that place to play catch up for an hour or 2 away from the crowds was brilliant.

 

[Sunray]

Yup it was a crew bar for all crew. It was never ever rammed, nice chilled vibe to some cool beats.

Wrist bands were for punter mates if you had any.

 

[colacubes]

Yup it was a crew bar for all crew. It was never ever rammed, nice chilled vibe to some cool beats.

Wrist bands were for punter mates if you had any.

Yep We got the wristband cos our mate was doing crew catering at Block 9. You could get in backstage with any crew wristband The only extra benefit of having an actual Block 9 one was that you could blag your way round the one way system.

 

[JTG]

Ah, that was the benefit I was looking for! A crew mate had a Block 9 wristband for exactly that reason. She got me a Silver Hayes guest wristband which seemed to get me into the production area at the Gully, even though it wasn't supposed to

 

[wiskey]

my mate blagged a Block 9 wristband and I was supposed to get one but missed out. Suspect I may have troubled myself to get down there if I had one!

we turned down the option of them figuring our passes would work - did you actually try and get in?

 

[JTG]

we turned down the option of them figuring our passes would work - did you actually try and get in?

Nah - it wasn't so much the bar itself but blagging the queue Sequential Access Management System that I wanted and I assumed that the EPO wouldn't work for that. Never went near that end of stuff after dark all weekend as it turned out

 

[Gerry1time]

We also found a great little tent where cameras were understandably banned as punters indulged in painting the nude models.

You didn't go in around 11pm on Thursday night did you?

 

[Tort]

You didn't go in around 11pm on Thursday night did you?

Nope it was Friday. Why?

 

[newbie]

I'm not convinced by this 'crew bar' game. It's been going on for a few years but this year seemed much more competitive. B9, Acoustic, Avalon and the Green Room all seemed to me to be promoting themselves on exclusive entertainment, insiders only <big benefit: No/few Punters>, cheaper, better, more desirable, exclusive. Is that what it's all about these days?

 

[JTG]

I'm not convinced by this 'crew bar' game. It's been going on for a few years but this year seemed much more competitive. B9, Acoustic, Avalon and the Green Room all seemed to me to be promoting themselves on exclusive entertainment, insiders only <big benefit: No/few Punters>, cheaper, better, more desirable, exclusive. Is that what it's all about these days?

Is that true about Avalon? I was told on Saturday that I should tell my mates to say they knew Bex and they'd be let in I know Acoustic were trying to get more visitors and there was possibly some deal they were making with Oxfam to get stewards in there (no idea if it came off). Avalon had run out of decent booze by Saturday anyway and was selling the same stuff as out front and at the same prices...

 

[Gerry1time]

Nope it was Friday. Why?

I gave nude modelling a go in there 11pm Thursday. The photography ban didn't seem to be in place then, and there are doubtless now naked photos of me all over the web. Still, in for a penny and all that.

 

[newbie]

I've no idea who Bex is, but he seems to pop up on every thread this year . Whisper the right codeword and you'll get in seems like advertising based on exclusivity to me. It obviously worked if they'd run out by sat.

 

[JTG]

Maybe, but tbh it felt more to me like they weren't too bothered about exclusivity and just wanted to sell some ale to whoever would buy it

 

[free spirit]

I've no idea who Bex is, but he seems to pop up on every thread this year . Whisper the right codeword and you'll get in seems like advertising based on exclusivity to me. It obviously worked if they'd run out by sat.

she

she's one of the lovely hubs around which avalon / glade chaos circulates... aka one of the team that runs the production office.

there you go, you can blag in convincingly next time.