tisdag 28 Jun 2011, 14:51
Wed 22 Jun – Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts 2011
This years Glastonbury will probably remembered as 'The one that had every extreme weather condition possible at Glastonbury' a comedian at the cabaret tent summed it up best I thought 'Pneumonia Friday, Trenchfoot Saturday and heatstroke Sunday' the mixed weather condition definatly left it's tool on me as I lay here with sun burn and sore feet & legs as well as a bit of a painful back!
Wednesday; As to be expected the isn't too much to say about the opening day of the festival, the queue to get in was a long but bearable 1 hour roughly at around 3.30pm. The staff were friendly and once again we are greeted with a FREE (you hear that Reading, no 7quid guides for us!) which is of high standard filling you in on some of the picks of the festival. The ground was quite muddy but nothing to moan about and the were a few grassy places to sit, the site is as usual easy to learn, spent most the night at the cubana bar with it's lovely Cocktails and cheap beer at 3pound per 500ml (not quite a pint). I saw a really good act at the Bourbon stage but have no idea who it is, he was a really good guitar player though and had an incredible voice! A good day to start Glastonbury, it was dry the whole time we were there which is lucky for me and my inside first 2 skin tent :)
I ate an Oggie, it was delicious and huge & at 4.50 fantastic value for money!
Thursday; I got woken up by a combination of loud (but very funny) neighbors and got kept up by excessive rainfall (which had woken up the loud lads) this left me with a huge hangover and server lack of sleep! (I'd say about 2 or 3 hours) by about 9am I grew tired of this and dragged my very ill looking friend out to take in some more of the site. We quickly grew tired and laid in the Pyramid field where some lovely Oxfam fight for the cause types sat with u and pretended to 'work' and chatted to us for ages about stuff that wasn't related to the charity. They let me do a circular pattern on my top with green hands and then they were on their way, I continued to show my housemate around the site to ever improving weather, I was really enjoying myself.
I discovered the Lizard music cafe and spent a lot of time in there eating some superb pizzas and drinking some amazing baileys and chai teas! The staff were really friendly and the atmosphere was incredibly sombre and welcoming, we also spent some time around Croissant Neuf as well as the Blazing Saddle stage which was a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly! One moment on said stage that stood out for me was the never ending soundchecking of this incredible looking band, which we never heard!!! By the time soundcheck had finished (one long hour in) they had obviously ran out of time and had to go off stage, the crowd didn't look ammused and I was upset as what we had heard in soundcheck made me excited and whiling enough to sit around for an hour doing naff all!
Being the respectful and observant sort I noticed that the one way traffic system of the south east corner started at 4.30PM (at least according to the guide) and I wanted to see the wrestling at The Common which was in the corner, arriving to the entrance of the one way area at around 7.30pm I was horrified to be denied entry! I said it said 4.30 in the guide and 6.30 on Worthy FM but it still hadn't opened, they told me I couldn't go the traditional route either because they were 'PROBABLY' closing! They told me it would be open by 8… 8pm had come and still nothing, then they told me around 8.30pm… again nope not allowed in. I eventually gave up when they sad 'any time now or by 11!!!!' I missed the wrestling which left me disappointed but returned to the Lizard Cafe where this brilliant funk band (the name escapes me) who closed the tent with a fantastic cover of Kool & The Gang! Apart from the really aggravating moment of sound checking and confusion about the one way system a very nice day overall I thought!
Friday; Wow, it's sunny! And the ground is fairly dry AT LAST! Now the festival is really going to get going and be incredible, bring on the bands ROCK N ROLL! This day started off incredibly, I quickly ran over to the Park to catch the first 2 acts.
Narasirato (The Park Stage 11.00am - 11.30am)
-> This set was lively and great fun, some world music to kick off a festival bloody brilliant. They worked the crowd surprisingly well given that most of the audience (myself included) had no idea who they were not to mention it wasn't even MIDDAY! The whole crowd amongst the hill were dancing and having a great time, they ended with really catchy song leaving smiles all over the crowds faces 'Your life your culture' was one of the first true festival moments for me and it hadn't even hit lunch! A-
Grouplove (The Park Stage 12.00pm - 12.30pm)
-> I had my reservations about their live show, I love their self titled mini album but as with most 'new' guitar based bands I thought the show could have a lot to be desired, I was proven wrong, Grouplove played with lots of energy and stage presence and even had loads of huge balloons which the crowd vollyed which when burst shot glitter all over the crowd! FANTASTIC! Their new material sounded incredibly catchy and they have a full length LP out this year, they played like a band that should of been much higher up on the bill, the bassist was full of charisma, the woman was strangely sexy and pulling shapes and the guitarist/lead got so lost in the moment he fell off the drum stage in excitement at the end of 'Colours' GREAT fun. B+
After these acts I saw a very good Dubstep DJ set at the East Dance and went on to Chill n Charge, noted the Chill N Charge was now made up of numerous smaller tents, this meant that the queues tended to be a lot smaller this time around (well as long as you didn't have an Iphone) and I liked this, longest I had to queue this year was this time at 2minutes!
The Naked & Famous (The Other Stage 13.30 - 14.20)
I missed the first few songs on this set but liked what I saw, they weren't anything spectacular and didn't quite get the same response from me as the first 2 bands I saw but it was a solid set & predictably their big hit 'Young Blood' got by far the biggest reaction. They had a lot more stage presence then I was predicting but at time it felt like it fell a bit flat. B-
Wu Tang Clan (Pyramid Stage 15.00 - 16.00)
After experiencing some TERRIBLE traffic problems getting from The Other Stage and Pyramid we finally arrived and secured a good spot for the WU Tang Clan, the performance it's self was incredibly solid getting the crowd involved and Method Man in particular was in fine form however muddy sound really hurt this gig and the were periods where they seemed dissatisfied and even angry with the level of response and reaction from the crowd but what were they to expect? By this point the rain had really started to get it's grip and it was 3pm, a later slot on the West Holts may of been a better booking. Great performance but external influences hurt this one, mainly the sound could barely identify songs, even the ones I loved for several minutes. B
BB King (Pyramid Stage 16.30 - 17.30)
Didn't catch ALL of this one & was tempted to not see any of it because I wanted to slip off and watch Katy B at East Dance before Bright Eyes at The Other Stage but my friend convinced me to stay and what I got was a lovely performance from his backing band and BB King is one charismatic mother fucker & a total Diva or whatever the male equivalent is. I hear it really got going towards the end but I missed the majority of this set in order see Bright Eyes but what from what I did see I was impressed and danced the whole time I was there. B+ (probably would of scored higher if I had stuck around)
Bright Eyes (Other Stage 17.35 - 18.40)
It must be noted that by this point the mud started to go to the point of no return, it was getting progressively harder to navigate the site and the atmosphere of the festival had begun to drop at an alarming rate, it had started off so nice as well! Anyways to this show, in theory I should of loved this one, Connor presented an energetic performance with all the stage presence in the world and an incredibly strong set list and big sound… but it never connected with me or the audience. A clearly drunk Conor did throw out a combination of face palm moments and titter worthy moments in terms of banter but despite all that was going for it the atmosphere wasn't there and I was bored & I still have no idea why! C-
The whole Radiohead thing;
Now the idea of bands of such great stature playing such a small stage is a very nice one but the whole park special guests thing is starting to become an annoyance more then a special treat. First of all that area is NOT desiged for that much traffic, it's all very narrow paths and roads in an area full of tents and not field & this was even more apparent in the bad weather conditions! Trying to get and from this was a disaster, it ruined the Big Audio Dynamite gig for a lot of people and it was at this point that a very enjoyable day for me became a very frustrating and miserable one. After all this and me having to skip Caribou for fear of being trapped I ended up at a loss, it was so muddy you couldn't and didn't want to navigate around the site (at least in that area from about The Other Stage to the Cabaret Tent). Not to mention it's not even that Special anymore, everyone knows it's going to happened and the are still 10's of thousands of people there, so it's hardly Intimate. It also sucked the rest of the site dry of atmosphere (what was remaining after the miserable weather) and I could easily say this whole period was the first time I was upset to be at Glastonbury and not in the comfort of my own home….. We wandered to see a range of underwhelming things at 'The Spirit of 71 stage' as opposed to Arthur Brown as billed (we may of missed him but he was still billed to play another good 40minutes by the time we got there) so we continued walking, the was something that looked fun at the G-Stage but my friends where so down at this point they dismissed anything the slightly bit spontaneous (I should of left them by this point, but didn't) and ended up all the way to the Acoustic field which looks like it's should be put out of it's misery! No life there what so ever! F-
U2 (The Pyramid Stage 22.00 - 23.45)
I really don't care much for U2, sure they have a couple of solid albums… mainly Achtung Babgy and Joshua Tree and a handful of great songs scattered all over the place & they did deliver a strong set list early long…. but my God how disappointing was it all? ATMOSPHERE?!?!? What atmosphere, it's the first time (okay it's only my 4th pyramid stage headliner) where I didn't feel like I was at the heart of the party during a Pyramid stage headline & why? Was it the preachy bollocks Bono provided? Was it the pompus visuals? Or was it just the fact that despite all the prancing around he does that Bono just had no presence what so ever, yeah I left early to spare myself the frustration of leaving the crowd in prime gridlock, underwhelming in every sense of the word apart from a very good setlist from what I saw of it. By no means bad but just very forgettable and kind of dull, the David Bowie intro was my favorite part. C-
DJ Shadow (John Peel Stage 22.30 - 23.45)
I camped near the John Peel stage and was stomping off back to my tent feeling truly miserable and cold and ill and in pain… it's been a long day and one that had most certainly taken a turn for the worst (on no part mainly due to the decisions I had made I know but this is a review from my perspective). It was nice to see Mr Shadow get a good crowd in given his competition (I walked passed Primal Scream and was shocked how small their crowd was btw) and yeah this provided a little glimmer of hope for the rest of my weekend, it was a solid and very enjoyable set with a very game crowd, Organ Donor kicking in being one of my favorite memories of the weekend! B+
Saturday:
I woke up and opened my tent, it was bloody wet on the ground and overcast but I was promised better weather later so I pulled on my wellies (with an unusually high amount of of unwillingness, the first time this has ever happened to me at a festival), I was just not excited or even happy, Friday evening/night left me so miserable that I was suck dry of any enthusiasm and energy! It wasn't raining at least, it finally stopped after a good 14hours of persistent rainfall but the rain had definitely left it's mark on the ground…. it was horrible to walk threw! I had my first proper nights sleep though after coming back home so early the night before! And the rain kept noise at a bare minimum! This would make or break the festival for me, I was at a real low & saturday had to provide!
Treetop Flyers (The Other Stage 12.20 - 13.00)
I felt like seeing anything I was close to at the time, I had left my mobile in my tent and decided today to hell with guides & to hell with making prior arrangements with friends.. if I bump into them then great we can spontaneously party but today it was all about the spontaneity (I had a plan but I didn't care if I stuck to it) And this band didn't leave me in high hopes, they won the new band comp you see and thats how they nabbed this spot, the crowd didn't seem too keen minor a few people and I was very bored, not a great start to the day. They weren't terrible they just seemed like any other band I could of seen at my local is all. D+
Narasirato (Westt Holts 12.15 - 13.15)
I went over here because the West Holts never fails but to deliver for me, it truly has one of the best atmospheres of the festival with fantastic bands, great sound and a lively crowd willing to dance and chat. It's a mix of the chilled out and the free and energetic but never ROWDY or UNCOMFORTABLE it's such a nice place to be. Unfortunately the site was too muddy to sit down which knocked away part of it's charm. I was delighted to see it was these guys on again and as they did at The Park they got the crowd up, dancing & raised the atmosphere a few DBs… it was no better or worse then their Park appearance so I will score it the same A-
Nicolas Jarr (West Holts 13.45 - 14.45)
Remember how I mentioned the muddy ground? Well it wasn't muddy anymore as the West Holts raided the Hey supplies intended for the stalls and spread it all over the West Holts floor in one of those glorious Glastonbury moments the floor went from stodgy sticky bullshit to nice bouncy and dry.. perfect for sitting and perfect for dancing! The place suddenly felt even more alive and my mood shot up a great deal… I had a huge smile on my face… the smile I thought I wouldn't see after Friday! As for Nicolas Jarr, yeah a very solid set… whilst nothing spectacular I enjoyed it and the were a few glorious moments where the songs kicked in and the sun came out where the crowd went nuts… the weather was on the up as was my mood FANTASTIC! The performance wasn't anything special though B-
As I was on the way to Pulled Apart By Horses at Oxylers In West (what a tough walk this proved to be, but I skate on the mud so it was down to the slow movement of others, I was by far the quickest in the mud on Saturday and no one can take it from me traveling at around 3 - 5mph ;)) I saw this really funny guy on the street performance areas by the circus, he unicycled on a ladder and juggled flaming torches… excellent I thought! & he was funny… then I moved on continued on my skating mission with an even bigger grin on my face, my glastonbury joy had come back in full force!
Pulled Apart By Horses (Oxylers In West 15.00 - 15.40)
Yes I left Jarr a bit early, forgot to mention that, but you know what I hadn't had for a while? A truly stellar back to back well this was the start of one… this band were incredible live… got the crowd ryled up and were full of energy… if I had any doubts about Glastonbury they were long gone by this stage! A
Patrick Wolf (Oxyliers In West 16.00 - 16.40)
Now before I go on, yes Patrick Wolf can be a bit of a dick and yes I don't love his newer material as much as the older stuff in that typical 'O I'm so Indie sort of way' but you know what FUCK IT! What a great performance, despite some early mic issues Wolf commanded the stage and grabbed the crowds imagination… he only played one song from his 'Dark past' (a dubstep reworking of Tristan) and ignored The Bachelor entirely, which surprised me, and focused on his 2 poppier albums 'The Magic Position' & 'Lupercalia' and you know what… I wouldn't have it any other way…. I didn't think I would be saying that today I can assure you! For the first time Mr Wolf seemed likable and truly happy (at least from when I've seen him) he apologized for his appalling behavior and performance in 07 & he performed in the crowd (always a winner) including pulling shapes with yours truly ;) great performance and when I got back home his new stuff suddenly makes sense & I couldn't be happier! A+
The Walkmen (The Park 16.45 - 17.45)
Caught a lot more of this then I imagined (mud skating BABY!) and they did alright… you know it was one of those sets… nothing you could fault them with but nothing which made you overly glad you were there and not somewhere else… it was okay and really looked a bit blah blah compared to what I saw in Oxylers just an hour earlier! C
Tame Impala (The Park 18.15 - 19.15)
Okay, this was one of my picks of the festival & for all those of you that took my advice I appologize sooo soo sooo soosoosoososososososososo much! My GOD! Talk about a crushing disappointing! You might as well of whacked on the CD and fiddled with the EQ until all the lovely dreamy pop driven elements of their song where missing and slowdown the plaback a tad…. except even if you did do that you wouldn't of got the full experience because chances are your CD player would have more stage presence… put me to sleep & with the upcoming Park Stage crowd of doom we experienced with Radiohead I just had to slip out before I died of boredom. F+
DJ Yodas AV Show (G Stage 18.00 - 19.00)
It could be said that God works in mysterious ways…. if it weren't for the fact God had made Tame Impala such a God awful thing to watch live I would of missed this fantastic show! I can't really describe how much fun this was, Yoda mixes cult TV Show themes, soundbites,movie themes, chart pop songs, rock classics, video game music & alan partridge going AH HAH! all in one all topped off with a truly brilliant AV to accompany it! A+
Aloe Blacc (West Holts 18.15 - 19.15)
I have no idea how I caught any of this and saw the above two, I think times on one of the stages must of gone wrong somewhere, for I saw at least 40minutes of the above and 30minutes of this set…. weird huh. Anyways I baught meself a Brothers and sat myself down on the ground (as I had intended… didn't remember mr I need A dolla dolla was playing) and I enjoyed it very much so… good crowd participation and a solid performance. B+
Janelle Monae (West Holts 21.15 - 22.15)
Excuse me if I'm a bit Gushing here by OH MY FUCKING GOD! Knowing I had missed Pulp left a tad upset and whilst the AV Show did more then enough to make me not totally regret it I still sort of thought I missed a 'Glasto' moment. I came here expecting a very good strong and she was one of my main picks for the festival and it was about time I got one right! Did I get what I expected? NO! I got that and a whole whole whole whole lot more. What can I say other then this may be one of the single greatest live shows I have EVER seen & that whilst I was in the crowd watching it this will probably end up being a Glastonbury performance that will be shown again and again in the future… it was not only outstanding on a musical level but the amount of energy and theatrics that went on the stage set this show apart from anything I had seen all weekend. The 2nd half of the show in particular totally kicked the crowd into a frenzy, the was uncontrollable applause, woops, dancing & smiling not from a select few but the ENTIRE DAMNED CROWD! The Jackson 5 cover of 'I want you back' was the best I had ever heard and the crowd fucking loved it! It was deafening to be in that crowd I can assure you and it was the first thing I watched on Iplayer when I came home…. if not exclusively for the ending of 'Come Alive' which is one of the most incredible things I have seen and even that incredible spectacle couldn't do it justice… not even close! I feel privileged to be at what many people on the Internet are calling 'one of the greatest Glastonbury performances of all time', Pulp WHO? Elbow WHO?. Made the weekend for me, I could of fallen into the longdrops and still would of been smiling it was THAT good. I mean her album sales have gone up at least 5,000% approx since it was shown on BBC (an actual figure) that must say it all…..A++++++
Big Boi (West Holts 22.45 - 23.45)
How do you follow that? Well Big Boi certainly did a good job if you're wondering but fell a few hurdles shy of his protégées set. It was a Outkast greatest hits set in the truest sense of the word (with obvious omissions such as Hey Ya and Roses) but to my surprise Big Bois own stuff got the biggest reactions of the night. Singing Ms Jackson in a field was incredible and he delivered an energetic set which unfortunately lacked the special spark Monae had going on, it was very good don't get me wrong, just wasn't as good as the spectacle I had seen before! A-
RSVP (The Bandstand 23.30 - 00.30)
What a lot of fun this was? I can't say much more beyond that but it got a huge crowd going and they seemed to love every minute of it. I couldn't quite get my shapes in as much as I'd like due to feeling EXHAUSTED after Big Boi, Monae & DJ Yoda but this did a bloody good job in drawing out everything I had left in the tank without shame. A
SUNDAY NOT AT ALL MUDDY SUNDAY!
Last nights sleep could be best described as non existant, I was bloody knackered after the Quad of awesome the night before (I must've clocked in a good 3 or 4hours dancing in about 5 hours in very difficult conditions) but alas I was kept awake by a group of particually drunk campers singing the hokey kokey for a good hour or so! It lead to some brilliant heckles though from the rest of the camp site 'RUN INTO A KNIFE!' being one of my favorites!
So far in the festival I hadn't experienced a tent sauna & until today I had forgotten why I hated such amazing weather early in the morning and woke up sweating like a sandwich in a polythene bag, I went into old man mode despite being only 23 grumberling to myself 'THE SUN WASN'T THIS HOT BACK IN MY DAY RHANDFHUEHGUHW' so I crawled out and noticed the ground had pretty much dried up! The sweaty moody face quickly became one filled with joy and hope as youthful exuberance once again filled my body….. which just meant I cracked open a cider before 10am but still it was a lovely feeling to have.
The Hidden Orchestra (West Holts)
Seeing as I did the Sunday portion of the review a couple days later you may of noticed I can no longer be bothered with keeping time & if you don't like that well… what the fuck is wrong with you! The Hidden Orchestra was a band I have had previous flirtatious moments with but have never gone the whole way with, that is until today! My audible passion with Hidden Orchestra was full of majestic sweeping strings and electronic beats & chimes that seemed to exist purely to help sooth my poor head! Laying down in the lovely 25deg c sun, sipping on a brothers and listening to gorgeous music all made sense. I feel I may not of enjoyed it as much in any other circumstance but at that moment in time it was like I found my soul mate and she had healing hands. A-
Jamie Woon (West Holts)
Jamie Woon's Mirrorwriting is one of my favorite albums thus far in 2011 but I had doubts about his live show and whilst I was standing I didn't 'GET IT' but putting this down to my extreme fatigue more then Jamie Woon I resumed to laying down in a helpless muddle and seeing where that took me & it took me to places where I needed to be, I couldn't think of any better music at this given time… the sound was huge and reassuring, it was gentle yet energetic… it helped me stay calm and peaceful yet woke me up, it was the worlds greatest hangover cure! A-
The Wombles (Avalon Stage)
I said I would got to this just so I would be able to talk to my dad about Glastonbury without boring him but I never thought I'd actually go to it. But as luck would have it I was a 2 minute walk away so I went and it was a show with a single glorious high when they Wombles first came out and went straight into 'Remeber Your A Womble' Ihad a great time… then it went a bit shit as I realized I didn't care at all about any of their songs and the novelty had long worn off… and it looked to be the case for most in the audience as many left after 5minutes, maybe Michael Eavis was right all along! D+
Robin Ince (Cabaret Tent)
Now this is what begun my prolonged stint in the Cabaret tent, I was so exhausted still from the previous 4 days and physically battered as well as a bit ill by this point that I just couldn't walk around the site & really didn't fancy standing/dancing or hearing much more music! So I went to one of my favourite stages 'The Cabaret Tent' you see for me the Cabaret tent provides a nice amount of variety in a very chilled out atmosphere with no pauses, the is always something on show & it's perfect for those suffereing exhaustion (looking at the crowd you would totally see what I mean). I had seen an act before Robin Ince, he was some sort of Magician who was a bit pervy but fucking funny! He juggled a machette and 2 stun guns over a poor topless bloke and I loved it. The compare was also very funny, Robin Ince took to the stage and delivered a fairly solid if not unspectacular set, the were a couple of moments that got the crowd laughing but nothing really stood out in terms of jokes and it felt like it lacked momentum. C
Attila The Stockbroker (Cabaret Tent)
Poet Attila The Stockbroker came out and did his thing, didn't particularly enjoy it, he never felt like he commanded the stage and his poems where decent but nothing particularly gripping. No one in the crowd seemed too fussed by it either, the was very little in the way of response from the crowd, shame really I had heard good things! D
Paul Nathan (Cabaret Tent)
Still slumped like the ill little boy I was in the Cabaret tent and nursing a bit of a cider buzz Paul Nathan came out and did a fairly amusing short comedic magician show & performed a decent 'guess the card' trick. The highlight being the audience involvement, 2 of the selected few being too hungover to actually follow the instructions properly and messing up the trick mid flow was actually really funny to see… the trick in it's self was quite impressive but didn't flow as well as I would of liked. C+
Mary Bourke (Cabaret Tent)
Now guys, don't have a go at me for going against all Glastonbury rules and spending my entire day in front of one stage, it was seriously all I could muster by this point okay! Mary Bourke put together a decent set following the typical women stand up motions of men, mothers and dads and did an okay job of it. Her 'Your Mum' jokes where funny and she did get a few laughs out of me but she didn't seem that great of a comedian if I'm honest. C
Rod Laver (Cabaret Tent)
Rod Laver did a very short but impressive show involving pingpong balls and hist mouth, I have seen it done before & It mad of been him but it was impressive for all it's worth. C+
Abandonnman (Cabaret Tent)
Just as it started to feel I was sitting in a tent quite content in serving up a lot of mediocrity and the only reason I was staying there was due to my bodies incompetence along came Abandonman & my word weren't they incredible! Now the are many reasons why I loved this set, was it the freestyle rap they performed based on what was in our pocket?, was it the fact they dragged me up onto the stage and did a freestyle hip-hopera based on mine and this girls life which resulted in marriage over both our desires to be a citizen of buttonmoon?, was it the rap about the guy in the crowd that used to walk a puma OR was it the hero vs villain rap battle between Rocky Balboa and Bono! The answer to this wall all of the above and they got rewarded with not one but two standing ovations from a crowd that could barely move…. incredible stuff, incredibly funny & highly recommended to all A++
Tiffany Stevenson (Cabaret Tent)
Tiffany Stevenson had a tough act to follow & amongst the apparent slur in her breath and apparent heat exhaustion she delivered a lack luster set which had very little in the way of structure and bored me pretty effectively a good majority of it. The high points in her set resulted in a couple sniggers amongst the crowd & I don't recall one big laugh, you could tell she was dying on stage at places. D
Nathan Caton (Cabaret Tent)
Before you judge me, YES! I'm still at the tent!
Nathan Caton came out an I was a little unconvinced at first but he totally won me over. His story about getting in a 'Your Mum' battle with his 9year old sisters best friend had me in stitches or his lactose tolerant sex moment. His hatred for Tinnie Tempah didn't come across as pompous or spiteful but hilarious and in parts a tad irrational but intentionally so, the punch line involving a McVities truck had the entire crowd rolling on the floor, good job! B+
John Grant (The Park)
Why yes, I did drag myself away from the Cabaret tent & enjoyed a very solid performance from John Grant. I had had a long break from music and loved every moment of his set and whilst nothing groundbreaking or life defying was to be found here I was assured he was at least 1,000x better then Paul Simon who I had chosen to miss out on because of 'Guy Instinct' earlier that day….. which turned out to be right apparently the crowd for Paul Simon was full of middle aged fucks taking up large portions of the floor with towels and chairs in totally inappropriate places, Paul Simon apparently forgot this wasn't part of his promotional tour and didn't seem to remember it was a music festival and played a totally self indulgent set and apparently Paul Simon has nothing in the way of presence and a fucked voice…. why would you do this on the 'legends' slot Paul Simon you eejit B+
Hercules And Love Affair (West Holts)
A surprisingly small crowd, was what ran threw my mind as I entered the West Holts once again, but it was a crowd damned content on dancing & my what a fun atmosphere. I forgot about my body ailments and ended up busting several moves…. maybe a few too many moves as my exhausted body completely gave up :( Awesome set though! B+
Some guy PLEASE TELL ME WHO HE IS, HE WAS ON BEFORE MATTHEW HARDY BUT WASN'T ADVERTISED AND I LOVED HIM(Cabaret Tent)
So I stumbled into familiar territory once again because my back simply couldn't take the strain (I'm fucking 23!!! What is wrong with me) and this guy did a truely hysterical stand up set & I need to know who he is, please let me know! A+
Matthew Hardy(Cabaret Tent)
This asutraillian comic appeared to have a lot of potential but never got going, he looked totally lost on stage and clearly let the lack of crowd response or participation get to him, his jokes often started well but lost a lot of steam by the punch line, what a shame! C-
Mitch Benn (Cabaret Tent)
Mitch Been whose best known for 'Everyone sounds like Coldplay now' pulled out an incredibly funny set and was the guy behind the 3 extremes I mentioned in the first paragraph, great fun and got a relatively big crowd. A-
Shappi Khorsandi (Cabaret Tent)
Possibly the biggest star on the stage the night Shappi pulled together an impressive set which as per usual had her OTT pc views and finding a new husband routines but it still seemed fresh and enjoyable. I liked that she got in a 'Row' with me because I suggested I would dump her after if she didn't do the washing up after 3 days, it made me feel more involved with the show… it was very funny but not the best thing I had seen at the tent. B
Alice & Alice (Cabaret Tent)
This was weird, I don't think the is much more that could be said about it, two nightmarish representations of Alice from Wonderland were on stage reciting poetry and slogans in sync… nightmarish and interesting but nothing I'd ever go out of my way to see. C-
Simon Munnery (Cabaret Tent)
Introduced by the compare as one of his favorite comedians I really looked forward to this set but it fell short for me… sure I laughed and his style and delivery was pretty unique but it never truly grabbed me nor the audience… the were smirks a plenty but nothing much in the way of actual laughs. C
Feeding The Fish (Cabare Tent)
Having made the bauld decision to miss all 3 of the headliners I caught this show which looked AMAZING! Basically they were an act that did dancing with LED POIS…. big deal I hear but when spun these sticks created shapes, patterns and visuals and played out like a 3D visualizer/'Kaleidoscope and it was superb… I wish it went on for longer… check it out on youtube it's brilliant! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riP1tvlgjUo A
ANDREW MAXWELL (Cabaret Tent)
I had no idea he was playing! One of my fav comedians and he pulled of a killer set as per usual, the highlight would be the way he handled a particularly miserable and cuntish heckler… couldn't fault the set really.. a little aimless but it added to the charm as opposed to hindering the chow A
Overall: Had a great time, the were few tough times in there and I perhaps spent more time in the Cabaret tent then I would of liked but man… fuck it I saw lots of cool and interesting stuff and I can't wait until 2013!