Glastonbury 23 what do you reckon?

[malumbu]

Pre-Covid there'd be discussions on what to tune into for those watching on the box.

A bit late this year but what did people reckon?

I was rather underwhelmed but I am probably biased as I find the Beeb have just become so sycophantic.  In earlier coverage they seemed to go round the site more finding unusual stuff, it now seems to focus on the big acts doing their Las Vegas sets.  Well one of them anyway.

Just to show that I am not always bitter and twisted thought Yusuf was excellent - just a lovely man with lovely songs.  And unlike four years ago when I was there as a voluteer when Kylie did the same legends slot, you could actually get into the pyramid arena, and even sit down further back.  Elton John looked even more crowded than Kylie - only there for 15 mins for Kylie, couldn't see a thing because all of those bloody flags, but great audience watching.

And Rick Astley singing the Smiths - wow!

 

[Jules-and-Boo]

lost its appeal to us when the crowds changed and the whole things needed security. Now just really middle class and mainstream. Shame really

[celtspur222]

I’m sure there is plenty of alternatives to the corporate main stagers at Glastonbury that can still be found and they’d a whole myriad of experiences you can have there but it’s definitely changed a hell of a lot from the days when I used to go. Tbh you’d have to pay me to go there now.

[DuncanW]

The thing that really stuck out for me was the absolute dominance of heritage acts on the first three stages, certainly in terms of the styles of music that I listen to which is pretty broad. There was a smattering of newer R&B/Pop and Rap acts but very little when it came to anything else.

The festival had loads of new and innovative acts I like; Ezra Collective, Comet is Coming, Young Fathers, Billy Nomates, Confidence Man to name but a few - so I would have had a ball, but wouldn't have gone near any of the main stages, I don't think.

The other thing that would really bother me is the ever-increasing number of punters with high levels of main character syndrome. 

 

 

[Rockets]

Problem is that the music industry is in turmoil and there is a massive dearth of current "headline" talent but the main stages at Glastonbury have always been about heritage acts (in some shape or form). But look beyond the Pyramid and Other Stage and there was a plethora of diverse musical talent on show (the schedule this year was phenomenal for the choice) - but that was always the point (certainly from my experience at the event in previous years) the things you discovered by accident when wandering between the two or three headline acts you had to see on the main stages.

 

Problem is the event is so painfully white,  middle-class and middle-aged - Dulwich is always very quiet during Glasto weekend!!! 😉 I always laugh when I used to see cars parked in the Dulwich area with their Glastonbury car park stickers in the windows like a badge of honour - most people tear it off the moment they leave. There were a couple of cars that still had the stickers from many years - like aircraft kills painted onto the side of a WW2 fighter! I had friends who even kept their wrist-bands on for weeks after the event finished - I was like, really......who are you trying to impress?

 

And remember they had to increase security at the behest of the local council because the fence-jumping had become such a problem, they reckon over 100,000 jumped the fence in 2000 and they cancelled the 2001 event so they could improve security.

[Sue]

9 hours ago, celtspur222 said:

I’m sure there is plenty of alternatives to the corporate main stagers at Glastonbury that can still be found and they’d a whole myriad of experiences you can have there but it’s definitely changed a hell of a lot from the days when I used to go. Tbh you’d have to pay me to go there now.

The first time I went, early eighties I think,  you could camp in front of the pyramid stage, and at night it was amazing, like a medieval village.

The second time there were rows of tables openly selling drugs. Fine if you are happy to run a gauntlet of drug sellers on your way to somewhere else. Not if you aren't.

The third time there was a lot of mud and my then partner had his boots nicked and refused to come out of the tent  🤣

Haven't been since and don't think I'd like it, but then it's not really there for people in their seventies, is it? AAARRRGGH 

[DuncanW]

@Rockets, you make some good points there and I agree with much of what you say. There definitely seems to be a dearth of new(ish) contemporary headline acts at the moment - especially in the rock/indie space. Or a reluctance to book those that could be.

I don't think the main stages have always been about heritage acts though - not to the extent it seems now anyway. I looked back at the line up for one of the ones that I attended, 2005 and the later acts on the big stages included:

• The White Stripes who were at the tail end of their most creative period - Icky Thump having entered the UK LP charts at no 1 the previous week.
• The Killers - touring their second album, Sam's Town
• Razorlight - had released only two albums 
• Coldplay had just released their third LP, X+Y - 

Sunday was the day you expect to see heritage acts - that year they had Van Morrison and Brian Wilson.

The next Glastonbury in 2007, The Arctic Monkeys were the Friday night headliner... fifteen years down the line and they look like one of the younger, fresher bands on the bill - FFS!!

Compare that to this year and I don't think there's an indie/rock act who haven't been at it for at least 10 years MINIMUM on any of the three main stages.

You're 100% right though, that the rest of the festival has no end of newer, more innovative acts so they still exist - they're just not getting booked for the main stages, and I'm not sure why. 

And also right that it is very white and middle-class. I'm sure the organisers would like to change that - they certainly book a fair number of acts who are more diverse/representative than their audience. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by DuncanW

[Rockets]

I think the problem is that there is now such a huge gap between older more established artists who have a huge back catalogue of work and newer artists. The music industry has become more fickle as its audience is more interested in individual Tik-Tok tracks than albums and because no one can afford to tour (unless you are a well established artist already) then artist shelf-life is greatly diminished. Headliners need a body of work that everyone knows - just look at the reaction the Foos got in their surprise slot this year.

 

Also, there are so many people going to Glastonbury now that you need a huge name to fill the hill in front of the Pyramid stage. I remember going in 2004 and Elbow were playing the Pyramid stage mid-afternoon and there was hardly anyone there (which was good because we could get to the front) but then James Brown on the Sunday at a similar time was rammed. I also used to go to Coachella and so much of Glastonbury  seems now to have adopted some of the more negative elements of that festival - where being seen there or saying you were there has become more important than actually being there - the negative effect of social media.

 

I suspect Elton will go done as one of the all time great headline acts and I do wish I had been there - in the same way that I was glad I saw Bowie, James Brown and Van Morrison over the years. 

[SpringTime]

I think the last time I went was in 1994 - ticket purchase was still an option. Orbital and Beastie Boys still stand out for me even though it was that long ago. Oasis were shit and will always be shit as they always have been and always will be. Blur was great. Think I've got the right year, could be wrong. Were The Cure also on Sunday that year? We took lots of acid and E's in those days, were mugged at knife-point in our tent. It was still good though. Lots of late night and early morning dancing. Seems like a middle-class corporate mainstream lib-fest nowadays far as I can tell. At least that's what the BBC seem to want to portray - wouldn't know since I haven't been there for so long! Good luck if you can afford it. 

[vladi]

I would love to see an age analysis of the attendees at Glasto for each year since 1970.

Glasto  has evolved  since its original aim of being a showcase for contemporary preforming artists.

My guess is that many of these early attendees kept on returning and "stayed loyal" for many years to that ethos. But they are now aging and dont feel comfortable sleeping in a tent for four nights to hear innovative new performers. Or they are dead!

But Gasto still caters for that diminishing demographic with headline acts such as Cat Stevens,  Elton Joh et al.

Isn't there a case now for Glasto to go back to its roots and cater for the young and adventurous, with tickets at £150 instead of £350?

[malumbu]

What is Glasto?  An annoying term no doubt introduced by the Beeb.  Once I have stopped being grumpy I'll post.  Just reaching for a chill pill, lit my candles, got my incense and my Enya cassette (shame don't have a tape recorder).

[Rockets]

Problem is the young and adventurous have the attention span of a gnat nowadays and spend more time staring at their phone than they do listening to music - yet alone going to gigs and exploring new types of music, I heard Tom Hanks speaking recently and he was saying that the big challenge for the film industry was how do you cater for an audience that is made up predominantly of people who can't sit and concentrate on one thing for 90 minutes, who gorge themselves on platforms like Tik-Tok; the music industry is wrestling with it as much as film.

 

As a youngster if I wasn't doing a gig every couple of weeks I felt like I was missing out (and if I ever went to a gig in a venue bigger than the Shepherd's Bush Empire I felt like the band was too commercial!) I keep thinking I will take the kids to Glastonbury but then wonder if they would enjoy it as much I would and whether I am trying to relive past adventures.

 

I think the days of the £150 festival ticket are long gone - standing tickets at one-off stadium gigs cost around that now and so many smaller venues have closed over the years - Astoria, Hammersmith Palais etc - there isn't the breadth of gig options now.

[malumbu]

When I was there four years ago there seemed to be much less smart phones on display - I assume then due to limited opportunity to recharge.  You could pay to get this done, once your power pack had gone.  Maybe batteries are better, maybe there was more or cheaper recharging.  Oh my word, there is something we definitely agree on Rocks.  And you will also be pleased I spent most of my time in 2019 when not doing boring work breaking rocks in the hot sun in the smaller venues, and on the Sunday just in the Green field and Strummerville where all the youngsters paid homage to me as the people's poet.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtl8gCDrpcY

 

 

[Bic Basher]

2 hours ago, malumbu said:

When I was there four years ago there seemed to be much less smart phones on display - I assume then due to limited opportunity to recharge.  You could pay to get this done, once your power pack had gone.  Maybe batteries are better, maybe there was more or cheaper recharging.  Oh my word, there is something we definitely agree on Rocks.  And you will also be pleased I spent most of my time in 2019 when not doing boring work breaking rocks in the hot sun in the smaller venues, and on the Sunday just in the Green field and Strummerville where all the youngsters paid homage to me as the people's poet.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtl8gCDrpcY

 

 

The mobile networks have also invested in booster masts around the festival site, which has allowed festival goers to use their phones without reception/data loss.

It's normal for large public events for the mobile companies to add additional cells at stadiums etc.

[DuncanW]

I think one of the other big shifts with Glastonbury, is that regardless of what acts the organisers book, it's now seen as an absolute mainstay of a mainstream British summer, kind of like Wimbledon. There are loads of people (including me) who don't mind tennis, will switch the TV on for the big matches and would quite like to go if they could get tickets... it would be a fun day out right? And that's how Glastonbury is now, for a lot of people it's just a big summer event to tick off the list and say you've been to.

The net result of which is you have a main stage environment which needs to hold the attention of high tens of thousands of people who are really happy to be at 'Glasto' but not desperately keen to experience new or challenging music. 

This was noticeable during the Arctic Monkeys set when you could see the crowd going crazy for IBYLGOTD etc but visibly drifting away during the newer stuff. And if that's happening to bands like AM live on TV, I can understand the bookers' reticence to push newer acts.

Edited June 30, 2023 by DuncanW

[Rockets]

DuncanW - completely agree - it's now very much part of the middle-class social circuit. How many shots do you now see on TV with immaculately presented audience members filming themselves during the main sets - it's no longer about immersing yourself in the experience but sharing the experience? One of the key USPs for some of the glamping sites dotted around the perimeter now is that they have hair and make-up artists on site - I am like...WHAT, whatever happened to washing with nothing more than wet wipes for 5 days!!!

I remember going to one of the very wet Glastonbury's and marvelling how my friends and I were dressed like extras from Platoon with ponchos, walking boots and hats and seeing groups of girls in heels wading through ankle-deep mud - it was like how did you not know it was going to be like this?

I do wonder what a lot of the crowd now make of some of the fields further away from the main stages and whether they immerse themselves in it or look on it like a bit of a Victorian freak show - my motto was always if you haven't thrown yourself into something Victorian Freak Show'esque then you haven't done it properly. Oh but I was heartened to hear the Cider Bus mentioned in dispatches during the coverage is still going strong - I don't even like cider but always seemed to find myself there!

 

Yes, the mobile companies put huge amounts of equipment on site to ensure good connectivity  - EE used to sponsor it but Vodafone has taken it on from this year - some of my journalist friends get to go each year as guests of the mobile phone sponsor.

 

[malumbu]

Connectivity was fine, certainly on EE/T-mobile when I was there 4 years ago, I tool loads of photos of stuff going on but not bands whilst they were playing.

You used to get cider in lay-by's near the festival for the equivalent of two or three pounds a pint.  Very hard core to pass a gallon/five litre containers amongst a group.

Picking up on pricing and the Wimbledon comparison, happy to pay £80 plus for a day at Wimbledon but would balk at paying that for a gig, Premier match or three times and more for a Glastonbury ticket.  But that is for another thread.