The Jasper Stone Report from Glastonbury 2005 What a start to Glastonbury weekend - the most horrendous thunderstorm to visit the Somerset county in probably 50 years and a downpour that managed to turn most of the site into a muddy swimming pool. IF 98 was 'muddy' then this was a whole new phenomenon for which has yet ot be invented! Friday daytime caused so much chaos that bulletions were being fired out to tell people not to come in until some kind of order had been restored!! Of course I ignored all of that sensible advice!!
With each step I got higher and higher as the mud collected and my muscles strained and the bog sucking you down. How many lost wellies and trainers I had to pass I will never know, so sad to see them so lost and alone in the cold and the mayhem! (That's when I wasnt doing doggie- paddle of course!)
But I knew I had succumbed to the festival fun as I drifted into Liza Carthy midway through her set with the Ratchatchers on Friday night in the Avalon stage. So English, so folky, great harmonies, accordion, brass, violin and stories of eras gone by. She went down fantastically and with a few cans of Grolsch inside me I was well into it (it helped that there seemed to be plumes of gentle 'peace smoke' drifting up my nostrils from the rest of the crowd too!)
Top 10 bands of the festival
1. The Magic Numbers The John peel stage was feeling the love for this new band on Saturday night. Not since The Music bounced the tent up and down have I seen such a good reaction. Their debut album was only released a few weeks ago but everyone was in total adoration. I even bumped into David (lead singer from The Departure) who was admiring the set... "It's all about emotion, innit. These guys have got it in spades" (or words to that effect).
2. Coldplay I would stick them at number 1 normally as they are the band of the moment and everyone in the world is loving them but I kinda felt that they had already had a big moment at Glastonbury when they first headlined. Stirling stuff from them nonetheless with 99.9% of the festival go-ers all in one place!
3. The Killers If they are not headlining at the next Glastonbury (2007) then I dont know anything. The band were well received and it seemed that everyone new the words to every single song off 'Hot Fuss'. they wrapped up the set with the best tracks concluding with the awesome 'All the Things that I've said'. Cracking stuff.
4. Bloc Party For a band playing the Other Stage at 7.30pm, you would think, hang on what time is it?? For this band were going down so well, that surely they must be headlining the Pyramid and its really 11 o clock. Great gig from kele et all.
5. Liza Carthy really captured the spirit of alternative Glastonbury with traditional English folk violin, brass and close harmony style. Wonderful duetting at the end.
6. M.I.A. The next big thing...well yeah havent you been reading the papers. obviously the future of hip hop.
7. Keane The one thing that struck me about backstage was..."Its pretty skanky round here too... and mygod, I didnt realise Tom from Keane was as tall as that!!! As I walked past he was asking someone if he looked ok to which the other guy replied "Yeah of course, a little cherry red but good!"The guy has got an awesome talent for writing tunes and for hitting the high notes with power and character. Maybe should be in the top 5 on second thoughts!
8. K.T. Tunstall As I went around the field doing vox pops, I noticed that KT's name just kept cropping up, again and again. Its not really surprising though as she is surfing on a wave of success that she more than any other deserves. With tracks like 'Other Side of the World' and 'Black Horse and The Cherry Tree' she has spawned herself a monster (doesnt make much sense, but she's just gone platinum on the album and soaking it all up.) When I spoke to her, she was loving the Glastonbury experience (she has played as a guest before but never as a solo artist) but was bemoaning the fact that her wellies were really dinky!
9. Brian Wilson Brian played the Pyramid on the Sunday afternoon (some say in response to Macca having played last year! ) and he reproduced the style that got everyone talking about his smile gig at festival Hall last year. He played the hits and kept everyone smiling - the sun was now full in the sky and it was hard to believe that we had had to endure the worst rain i have seen for years.
10. Willy Mason / Clor We were unlucky and managed to miss Willy when he played the Guardian lounge but we did catch up with him at the John Peel stage and his martha's Vineyard bluesy folk approach had the crowd lapping up Willy's words and melodies.
Close but no cigar The White Stripes were on the lips of most people Saturday morning but I have to say I only saw the first few songs. Incredible that Jack and Megan create such an immense sound for a 2 piece... no absolutely incredible. As I was walking away it sounded like Led Zeppelin in the late the 60s, haxy crazy bluesy days. If I had seen the whole gig I would have almost certainly placed them high.
Royskopp went dow well and gave a much more pacey account of themselves than you would think would be the case.
Kiaserchiefs Heard good things about these lads but hey yopu cant do everything!
The Thrills Didnt manage to get to see them this time but they are always great value... they had to rush off to support U2! I did speak to daniel backstage who had been enjoying the tennis and predicted a Murray win..we'll see
The Departure Another band that I didnt get to see. I've seen them before and love their brand of 80-s uber cool pop. Would have been a good one but I'll get them next time!
Top 5 festival things
1.Wellies Obviously the most essential item (I was accused of looking like a Swiss schoolboy with my shorts and trainers and legs totally soaked!
2. Flags I've never seen so many flags before but this year it was like the Roundheads on the march. There were flags from all round the world with messages about bands to even lyrics 'Smile Like You Mean It' (Killers) was on one. Flags from New Zealand, Australia, Wales and England, monekys on stiff, flying plates (not exactly flags but they dont deserve their own section!)
3. Little stools/deckchairs As it was impossible to sit down anywhere without being caked head to toe, these made life bearable!
4. Headscarves The Greenfields are getting closer to the main area every year!
5.Weird Fatboy Slim glasses Great glasses, what do they do again?? Oh yeah, when you look into the light weird shapes start appearing!! Cool.
Anecdotal Glastonbury experiences! Glastonbury is all about personal experience and is different for everyone. I spoke to one lady who has been to every single festival (Glasto) there has ever been and when I asked her which was the best / had things changed, she told me that every year it was a totally different experience which is why she kept coming back year after year.
I spent Saturday afternoon wandering around the Healing fields. It was oozing spirituality and good health from every remaining blade of grass. People chilling out in Gong baths, Shiatsu and tarot at each corner, Indian head massages, you name it, it was all going on.
I bumped into a bloke and a woman who were head to toe covered in mud. They were enjoying themsleves immensely and when I asked them how they managed to get that way, the guy replied it was a natural reaction to watching the Zutons playing!! I think he was suggesting that they were good!!
On my travels I spoke to a lot of different people aging from a little girl with painted butterflies who had been helping out and showing people how to groom themselves to all manner of naked people who were spreading the message of peace. All of them seemed to agree that The Killers and The White Stripes had been fantastic.
The biggest draw of the festival was obviously I knew I had succumbed to the festival fun (despite the mud and the rain) as I drifted into Liza Carthy midway through her set with the Ratchatchers in the Avalon stage. So English, so folky, great harmonies, accordion, brass, violin and stories of eras gone by. She went down fantastically and with a few cans of Grolsch inside me I was well into it (it helped that there seemed to be plumes of gentle'peace smoke' drifting up my nostrils from the rest of the crowd too!)(I guess having a number 1 album in 28 different countries this week qualifies them as the biggest band on the planert right now!).I am reckoning that about 98% of the people of Glastonbury turned up to see them (which would be over 100,000) as the roar could be heard from miles around. Chris Martin and co didnt disappoint with new tracks 'I Will Fix You' and 'Speed of Sound' going down particularly well (needless to say 'Yello' was sung by just about everyone). The gig finished with a suitable display of pyrotechnics...... I heard and saw them from the Other stage!! Having seen Coldplay before I headed round the corner to watch Razorlight headline the Other Stage. I bet that is one gig they would rather forget as there must have been only about 1 or 2 thousand people there (what with everyone at coldplay)... I felt very sorry for them as they gave it their best shot as they are a genuinely gifted band with osme great songs...
We did however get to the Guardian Lounge to see Kasabian (who were good) but it was Clor who really impressed us. The band are simply the tightest band I've ever heard (and I saw them last year at the ICA and can now validate that they've been the tightest twice!). OK it wasnt the biggest crowd of the festival (and well they';ve barely released anything so fair enough) but the people who were there absolutely loved it. plenty of guitar action done in a kind of modern progressive take and maybe even the future of dance and they played a very energetic and funky set. Brilliant.
A truly memorable weekend for all the right reasons.... mud... if you dont get muddy then you aint been to Glastonbury. The rain, the sun coming out, the stalls with so many fantastic and artistic things to buy.But of course most of all the performers, the impropmtu circus type performers to the headline acts, everyone contributed to one of the best Glastonbury festivals in recent years.
I would liked to have explored the circus and theatre fields more _ i saw a troupe going by the name of Incandescence who were flinging themselves through the air with grace, poise and miraculous acrobatic ability. I had to leave though when they came out in skin tight clothes as my girlfriend seemed to be gettting to excited at the vision! I chatted to onhe guy who had invented a bellows type instrument out of a bicycle, another who was wandering round with green makeup and would be whoever I wanted him to be. I even met an engaging local person backstage (going by the name of Steve) who was happy to get chatting a.........
Last year 20,000 fish were killed by the amount of ammonia urinated into the river. this year they had the Green Police. This was a team of dedicated young professionals wearing green (including green paper mache Policemens helmets) going round asking people to wee in the toilets... only at Glastonbury.
Protection - we do a lot of it these days. Sun cream for our skin, sunglasses for our eyes, condoms for you know where - but do you remember to protect your hearing?
Click to find all the information you need to look after your hearing now so you can enjoy music for years to come
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DFA Records: Holiday Mix 2005
DFA Records: Holiday Mix 2005
