Glastonbury 2009
Wednesday 24th June to Monday 29th June
Wednesday / Thursday / Friday / Saturday / Sunday / Monday
Sunday
There is one advantage to toilet-driven early morning wakefulness (apart from no queue for the cubicles), and that's the opportunity to take shots like these.
Another warm one in prospect for the final day of music, with us again being treated to a baking hot tent in the morning. We shuffled into action slowly before noon, getting slightly caught out by a shifting in the Other Stage's schedule (seemingly to lengthen Bon Iver's set - in retrospect, they didn't seem to have been given a long slot).
The Boxer Rebellion, 11.40am, Other Stage
Consequently, I was getting a breakfast baguette when The Boxer Rebellion began, 20 minutes earlier than scheduled. I could still hear them pretty well, though, so all was not lost. Another new band for the weekend, I was suitably impressed. Searching for a description (as you occasionally have to do), they are perhaps a combination of the melodic poppiness of Nada Surf layered over angular Editors-like rhythms but occasionally employing falsetto vocals reminiscent of Sigur Rós.
Dedicating one song to The Boss, they are a band whose albums (they have released two, I found out later) I will definitely be purchasing - my kind of music. (In fact, they were only available as download purchases, as they had no label. Things are changing, but chart ineligibility due to a lack of a physical release cost them a decent chart position (they were outselling the Kings Of Leon at one point).) One final point of note: the lead singer looks a bit like Kelly Jones, lead singer of the Stereophonics.
Art Brut, 12.40pm, Other Stage
Another new band for me, Art Brut were a punky band employing more of a talking than singing vocal style, including some outright spoken anecdotes amongst the rock noodlings. Some of it was reasonably witty, and I particularly liked the line: "I'm really sorry / I didn't love you / One more try / With me above you". He was also fairly chatty between songs, including recalling a story from the previous evening about how he got mistaken for the lead singer of Maximo Park (Paul Smith) - while Maximo Park were playing. Most songs seemed to be about girls or music, although one song (The Passenger) rewrote (both musically and lyrically) the original Iggy Pop song to be about what it should have been about - buses and trains.
Another song, Modern Art Makes Me Want To Rock Out including a narrative focussing on a trip to a Van Gogh museum, spending 13 Euros and going crazy at the sight of art. Amusingly, the singer began each of the later songs with rhetorical question "Ready, Art Brut?" and introduced the band in the finalé as "Art Brut on the drums", "on the bass guitar, Art Brut", etc. A band more likeable for their attitude than their music (if only he sang more), but there some good riffs and it was an enjoyable enough experience. Random fact: the drummer was standing throughout, much like Glasvegas. At some point around now, Mark and Kate headed for the Cabaret tent to watch Robin Ince (the comedian who unluckily is a mate, and a pet, of Ricky Gervais).
Brand New, 1.50pm, Other Stage
Hailing from New York, Brand New were a bit of a shock to the system. Their chunkily heavy rock had cleared turned the amp up and the singer's tendency to scream lyrics somewhat shattered the serenity of the lazy Sunday afternoon. Thankfully, they did have some more melodic, easy-on-the-ear moments and some decent-ish songs.
Emmy The Great, 2.40pm, John Peel Stage
A wander over to the John Peel Stage in the light drizzle and we caught the end of upbeat folksters Emmy The Great, who appeared to feature Jenny (or maybe Jonny, I can't read my writing) from The Kills and Steve Buscemi on guitar. not much more to add - we weren't there for long - but it was a chance to visit the John Peel Stage in sobering daylight. It was a smidgeon less busy than Friday night for Doves. Emmy The Okay, perhaps.
Whilst at the John Peel Stage, we noticed this large peace-related mural - we were stood near it during the Doves gig too.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 4.30pm, Other Stage
Back to the Other Stage after an aimless wander around, Karen O came on stage in a typically ridiculous and colourful outfit with a large headdress, although it was soon shed. She was her usual vibrant, crazy self, engaging in the songs with gusto (although I think I read later that she wasn't feeling well - it didn't really show). They played heavily from their new disco album (It's Blitz!). They finished with Maps (dedicated both to Michael Jackson (sort of, she said it with a slight chuckle) and the lovers of Glastonbury), Dance With Him and another I recognised but could not name. Alas no Pin or Y Control from the first album, but a very bold and bright performance nevertheless.
People had evidently been caught unaware by the earlier playing times. When the Yeah Yeah Yeahs started, the Other Stage field filled up rapidly as the eager hordes rushed onward. There seemed to be a mass exodus heading for, we reckoned, Madness on the Pyramid Stage just before 6pm.
Bat For Lashes, 6pm, Other Stage
I'd not heard Bat For Lashes before (they had supported Radiohead at Old Trafford, but I didn't get there for the support bands). They combined Kate Bush-style ambient sounds with haunting female vocal and some big drums. Lynne liked the lead singer's outfit, specifically the top.
Mark and Kate tried to remember the complicated drinking arrangements (they had arrived back in time for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs - somehow we managed to find each other again). Or maybe Mark had rationed Kate given her tendency to keep falling asleep.
Bon Iver, 7.30pm, Other Stage
Pronounced, it turned out, like the French for "good winter" (i.e. bon hiver), Bon Iver have been championed heavily by the UK's music magazines following last year's For Emma, Forever Ago album. They managed a reasonable crowd for the Other Stage given that they were still fairly unknown. He started very quietly, in danger of being sonically blasted away by the annoying and loud dance-y Glade stage, but the first song ended in a big wig-out, which resulted in fewer sound conflicts.
I've not really given the new album much of a listen yet, but the harmony-laden songs were pleasing enough to the ear and the set was generally successful. The singer was quite chatty towards the end and made us laugh with his comment "no, go on, clap" to the moshpit. He then described how the crowd would assist with the second half of the final song ("the first half, we got it"). He instructed the audience to scream with pleasure at a certain point, so much so that they were a little overawed and took a few moments before leaving the Stage. The two nutters from Manchester posed for a self-taken photo.
We noticed that some resourceful guy had made his trousers out of bar towels. Splendid stuff. There was also a very drunk/stoned man for whom it was a clear challenge to stay stood upright in the same place for more than a millisecond. He was a friend of the beer towel trouser boy. He ominously swayed close to where we were but eventually staggered off somewhere else.
And some guy decided to get a bird's eye view of the place.
Glasvegas, 9pm, Other Stage
As the day went on, I was convincing myself more and more that I would stay for the whole of the Glasvegas gig, despite this meaning that I would miss the opening few Blur songs (in the knowledge too that it may be the only time I get to see Blur live). But a sacrifice had to be made. And when they opened with a blinding combination of debut album anthems (Geraldine, Lonesome Swan, It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry), it had me standing out of my seat and my hairs on the back of my neck upright too. I knew then that I would not be leave the Other Stage until the final chord had been played. "You gonna have a fucking good time here Glastonbury?" asked singer/guitarist James Allan - the answer was a resounding yes. He was clearly enjoying himself, bending his back to sing into the microphone at awkward looking angles, and the sound was much more balanced, and epic, than at the recent NME tour gig.
As the sun went down, they played almost exclusively off their debut album, including a memorable Flowers And Football Tops, adding only Fuck You It's Over from their Christmas mini-album and a super-slowed down cover of the Ronettes' Be My Baby. We can all do the shades at night look. Although not all of us can pull it off.
They finished with Daddy's Gone, as they had done at the Manchester Academy, I think - the contrast in settings could not be more stark. As soon as it was clear they would not be coming back on, we legged it round to the Pyramid Stage to see Blur, humming Glasvegas all the way.
Blur, 9.50pm, Pyramid Stage
Fluorescent Lynne proving hard to lose track of (or should that be easy to not lose track of). As we got closer, we could hear the strains of Tracy Jacks, and we subsequently found out that we had managed to miss only She's So High and Girls And Boys. The right choice had been made.
Mark and Kate had left in time for the start, and were deep in the throng, but we eventually (somehow - not sure how Lynne does it) located our music buddies and, after a wearying day watching music, the girls were content to plonk themselves back down in the director's chairs.
After playing a few old songs, they reverted a pleasingly modern collection of tracks. Given that I prefer the rockier Blur to the Britpop variety (the self-titled album being the pick), the sequence of Beetlebum, Out Of Time, Trimm Trabb, Coffee And TV and Tender were undoubtedly the pinnacle of the gig. Unfortunately, no more songs of that era were played, but not to worry. Graham Coxon wore a T-shirt with Cheryl emblazoned on it (attire he wore at a previous gig apparently). Mark's and Kate's well-lit heads enjoyed the crooning of Mr Albarn.
It was all too much for Damon after a particularly emotional To The End. Rumours were abound after the gig that he had had an argument with his girlfriend; at the time, it was not clear whether it just triggered some long-lost unhappy memories. Whatever it was, he went to the back of the stage and had an uncontrollable sob. After a little while, he came back to the front and launched into a powerful This Is A Low, almost as if his life depended on it.
The two encores included Song 2 (inevitably) and finished with The Universal (leaving no place for Charmless Man, which disappointed Lynne a little). But it was still a triumphant gig. And finally, a picture of our (slightly tipsy) photographer, making the most of the final evening.
We trundled back to the tents, knowing that we wouldn't be asleep for long. Some people were leaving for home at this point - that was not for us.
Wary of spending another 11 hours on the road, we were up at 4am, packed away by 4.30am (again, having already practised, packing the tent was nowhere near as hard as it might have been) and in the car by around 5am, having had not much more than 3 hours sleep. It worked, though - whilst there was a procession of cars heading out of the festival site, it was still at comfortable speeds. We somehow evaded heavy rainstorms - the tent was leaden with droplets of water and the heavens opened pretty much as soon as we got on the open road. Packing the tent in the rain would not have been fun, and we spared a thought for those that were when it got particularly torrential.
We were soon on the motorway anyway, and despite heavy-ish traffic around the Midlands and a stop off at our favourite motorway service station (albeit on the other side), we made it back in a crisp five hours, happy but exhausted. Watching Wimbledon proved beyond me, and I succumbed to the bed at some point during the afternoon for a welcome couple of hours' sleep.
All in all, despite the line-up not being the best it could have been (for example, with Radiohead, the Arctic Monkeys and the Kings of Leon playing Leeds later in the year), there were some outstanding performances from Doves, Blur, Glasvegas and Kasabian (to name but a few), and plenty of new bands to get accustomed to.
And above all, there was a laidback magic to the whole event which made it well worth going. We may never go again (then again we might), but we can say we have been, and we'll have happy memories of it...
The end.
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