24-26th June 2007All the rain and mud stopped some from having a great weekend at the legendary Glastonbury Festival however it didn't stop the music. If you have been to Glastonbury before, you wouldn't be fooled by the "it's all part of the experience" excuse on poor planning causing chaos and injuries. A legendary festival should not have any excuses, especially after increasing the capacity. At the end of the day as much as they say Glastonbury is an all around experience, the focus is on the music. And music was what made many forget about how you would be able to get back to your tent without slipping on mud and injuring yourself.
Started Friday with Remi Nicole, a much anticipated new young singer with a guitar destined to be branded as "PJ Harvey on (insert word)". Next we waited for Los Campesinos. Unfortunately the sun didn't wait for them and it started raining. After what seemed like ages, the band finally took the stage. I was going to write stormed the stage but it would be more suitable for the next band - The Automatic. The Automatic has been touring their album Not Accepted Anywhere so their set was predictable but it is always a joy to see the guys putting their 100% (200 in Alex Pennie's case) and put on an amazing show.Their set was followed by Bright Eyes with a full band wearing all white with Conor Oberst apologizing for his drug fueled rant that happened 2 years ago. After a set from Charlotte Hatherley, it was Martha Wainwright's turn to showcase some new songs from her second album with a tentative release date of January 2008.
A sing-a-long during BMFA brought a smile on Martha's face, then again it might have been the fat joint someone threw on stage for her smoking pleasure. And off she was to join her brother Rufus Wainwright on the Other Stage. And so were we. This is Rufus' second consecutive appearance at Glastonbury on the same stage. He belted songs from his new album and finished his set with a pre-recorded cover of Get Happy...only he couldn't as the CD skipped and he had to do it all over again. Arcade Fire was next and they put on a fantastic show and get the people jumping and dancing in the muddy ground. Headliners of the evening were Arctic Monkeys and Bjork. We stayed at the Other Stage for Bjork of course and she was by all means worth the wait. She sang songs from her new album Volta as well as reworked to sound ravey classics such as Army of Me, Hyperballad and Pluto. Towards the end of her set the speakers on the right stopped functioning however this didn't stop anyone dancing like they were participating the biggest rave on earth.Saturday saw Kate Jackson sharing the Other Stage with the Brakes for a duet of Mrs Jackson. She later appeared with her band The Long Blondes and bear the torrential rain while singing songs from their fantastic debut. My first and last trip to the Pyramid Stage was to see Lily Allen. Unfortunately Lily's attitude outshines her talent which is a shame. Pigeon Detectives raised the roof in the John Peel Tent with invitations to sing-a-longs and crowd surfing. They deserve to be heard and seen. For the curator of the Peel tent, Bat For Lashes was the band he's been waiting to see all day long. He was left very satisfied with Natasha Khan and her band singing songs from their critically acclaimed album Bat For Lashes creating a paganistic ritual atmosphere. The next band was the one I've been waiting to see all day and he lived up to my expectations as usual. Patrick Wolf was on top form, dancing on stage, being rude with a cameraman and just being playful in general. He was join
ed on stage by Edward Larrikin who was supposed to be performing as Larrikin Love at this year's Glasto before they split up. Not knowing who to see next, we watched Get Cape Wear Cape Fly and then ran to see the Saturday's headliner, one Mr Iggy Pop and the Stooges. Iggy Pop is an icon; unlike some, his legendary status didn't stop him from getting down and dirty with his fans. So when he demanded the fans be let on stage there were people jumping the barriers everywhere (I tried and failed). This chaos stopped him from continuing his show as there was no space for him on stage. After about 20 minutes of socializing with his fans he reclaimed it back and finished his set with an extended version of I Wanna Be Your Dog.A stellar line up on Friday and Saturday left Sunday as a bit of an anti-climax but gave us the opportunity to walk around the site. Walking around the dance tents we went into one to see Dragonette. It was their third show of the weekend so they were understandably tired but performed well. The Go! Team was on the list of acts to see so we headed to the Other Stage and see them bring the tired and rain drenched audience back to life with their up beat happy tunes. The View was the penultimate band of the night and continued to entertain the crowd and warmed them up for the festival closer Chemical Brothers. Flares and lasers and a huge screen with amazing light show was what they offered us on plate and the songs spanning their decade long career was an added bonus.
Overall it's best to limit the experience with music and when the experience is the music I doubt anyone can say "I'm not coming back next year" and even if you say you won't, you know you will because at the end of the day, it is the Glastonbury Festival.
Official Glastonbury Site
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