Uber Rock pops its Glasto cherry
Written by Ben Hughes
Wednesday, 06 July 2011 05:00
The Glastonbury Festival, the stuff of legends; just think how many top bands have played the iconic stages here at Worthy Farm over the past 40 odd years. It’s steeped in musical history and quite an amazing place really. This is my first visit and one I have been looking forward to, with the promise of experiencing the wild and the wonderful, the beautiful and the bizarre and, of course, some top bands.
So I have an idea of the main bands I want to catch, the biggest decision for me was U2 or Primal Scream? I had seen neither and wanted to see both. I am a bigger fan of Primal Scream than U2, however, I decided that as I would never pay the extortionate prices to see U2 in a stadium and would quite happily pay £30 to see Primal Scream, then U2 it was going to be.
First things first I had to make it to the campsite on the Wednesday and collect my gear from the car park, which was not as easy as it sounds. After negotiating the swarms of people trawling backwards and forwards – why do people bring massive wheeled suitcases to Glasto? Have they not seen it on the telly, do they not realise they are coming to a series of fields that have the potential to become a mudbath in a very short time? Obviously not because they kept on coming, but eventually I made it.
Thursday
As the main events don’t begin until the Friday, the day begins with a trip to find some wellies as my boots are destroyed due to the rising mud levels and continuing rain. Dry feet are essential as I have learnt watching Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel. Thursday is a good day to just look around, taking the opportunity to get some bearings and check out all the stuff going on and, of course, do some people watching, a great pass time and the perfect place for checking out random nutters. The first thing that strikes me about Glastonbury is how big it is, you don’t realise how big until you are actually there, it takes a long time to get from one area to another, and with the fields getting muddier by the hour the day is spent exploring the less 
muddier areas, less chaotic hippy areas like the Green Fields where there are all manner of activities and workshops going on.
Friday
So today the main events kick off and the first band to check out are Brother on the Pyramid Stage, a 90s Brit Pop sounding band and pretty decent actually. Then I make it over to Oxlyers in the West, a tent in the dance area which seems a strange venue to check out the Jim Jones Revue. I have been looking forward to checking these guys out for sometime and they were on my ones not to miss list. I wasn’t disappointed, they live up to their reputation with an energetic performance that sets the tent alive. Jim Jones commands the audience like a man on a mission, like Nick Cave with a Chris Robinson swagger, he howls his way through a fast paced, intense set and their brand of 50s inspired garage rock ‘n’ roll is infectious, we are sent away happy. One of the best sets of the whole festival.
Next we head over to The Park to catch Big Audio Dynamite who, to be honest, didn’t impress much, a combination of being packed liked sardines, not being able to see the stage at all and being piss wet through, but there was the excitement of the impending special guests up next. Rumours ranged from Arctic Monkeys to Radiohead. Unfortunately it was Radiohead, who I can’t stand, and the prospect of standing in the rain listening to them for an hour was not 
something I was looking forward to. So we headed back to camp to stock up on Brothers Cider (7% and the drink of choice for the weekend!) and chill out before heading over to the Pyramid Stage for U2.
I have never been a huge U2 fan, I like their early stuff, the singles are good, I just can’t get into their albums, but I wasn’t going to miss this chance to see them live, a band with a good live reputation. So here they are at Glastonbury 2011 to play probably the biggest gig of their career, the crowd are up for it, there is a party atmosphere all around and the rain ain’t gonna dampen the Glasto spirit. We were expecting a greatest hits set and that is exactly what we got, hit after hit performed to perfection. Opening with ‘Even Better Than the Real Thing’ the band are on top form. Playing ‘One’ just four songs in makes you realise what a strong back catalogue they have to choose from, and it’s the older material that goes down the best. Other highlights were ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday’ which seemed just so fitting watching a sea of flags blowing in the rain, sing-a-longs in ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and ‘With Or Without You’, it’s a triumphant return for one of the heavyweights of the weekend.
Saturday
Following a great day of bands yesterday, Saturday was looking a bit bleak on the rock ‘n’ roll front with little to choose from in the evening. There was no way I was going to see Coldplay, I hate their whiny brand of music with a passion, so it looks like it was either going to be The Chemical Brothers or indie kids Hard-Fi.
But before the evening festivities can commence there are some young lads from New Jersey about to rip it up on the Pyramid Stage. The Gaslight Anthem made themselves some new fans here this weekend. Seeming right at home they rip it up with a storming set, the highlight being frontman Brian Fallon dedicating ‘The ’59 Sound’ to Springsteen’s sax player Clarence Clemons, who tragically died recently.
Heading back to camp for a re-charge, I did plan to go check out The Kills but chilling at camp with some cider felt so good, we just stayed around there chatting while Jesse J was on in the background, and that continued through The Kills set. Did manage to make the trek to the Avalon stage to check out Newton Faulkner who was surprisingly great. On album he doesn’t do much for me, but he is an extremely gifted and original guitarist who does things with his instrument I have never seen done before. Look out for his version of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on You Tube, it has to be seen to be believed! A proper full version, no parts missed, on an acoustic guitar.
After that it was time to head on back the way we came for The Chemical Brothers. I appreciate what the Chemical Brothers do in the nicest possible way, though they are not my cup of tea. Visually they put on a great show, some of the songs I know from the radio, but most of it all sounds pretty similar and there are only so many repetitive dance beats I can take in one go. When the main acts finish everyone heads up to Arcadia and Shangri la where all the crazy shit goes on all night. So we head up there a bit early to try and mis
s the queue….and fail miserably as we are hearded en masse, like cattle led to slaughter, towards god knows what. After what seems like an hour’s walk we reach Arcadia and are greeted by the sounds of Orbital (I think) playing and a massive spider-like metal structure with crackles of electricity spewing from the peak and people trapped in the clutches of the beast, intertwined in the belly of this beast are various dancers and acts all dressed and painted – it’s all very Mad Max and pretty visually stunning.
Then on to Shangri la, a sort of mad series of streets and tunnels, like a mini Chinatown full of doors to other rooms where you may find a mini club going on,a bar or any sort of insanity – it’s crazy stuff indeed. Then onto the Unfairground with Bez’s Acid House, crashed planes and all sorts of wonderment to investigate.
Sunday
Wake up to the hottest day of the year, sweating like a bastard by 8am. With straw hat in place and slathered in factor 20 we head to The Park to find some shade and check out The Pierces, two sisters who play 60s style jangly, folk, pop music – think Fleetwood Mac, Indigo Girls or even Abba. Their great harmonies and pop sensibilities are perfect music for a Sunday lunch time in the sun and, to be honest, I couldn’t think of anywhere better to be. Songs such as 
‘You’ll Be Mine’ and ‘Glorious’ are great and these are only band to really give me goosebumps on more than one occasion.
The heat is ridiculous and we spend a lot of time searching out shadey spots to chill. After a few drinks at the acoustic area we head on to the dance area to check out Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, who mix up street style poetry and raps with break beats and electronica – lots of energy, the kids dig it! Then we head over to the Pyramid Stage to check out Paul Simon who is ok, not really my thing but he’s a legend so it had to be done. This is followed by Plan B who are spot on to be fair – not a fan but the guy is bloody good live. He may look like a bouncer but that’s a hell of a voice,and the soul based songs go down well.
As my mates head off for Beyonce I go solo for Queens Of The Stone Age managing to get a decent spot left of the mixing desk area. The band stroll on and kick straight in to ‘Feel Good Hit Of The Summer’ which sounds fantastic and with Beyonce’s fireworks going off in the background it’s not going to be enough to stop Josh Homme and the boys from giving Glasto a good send off. Stopping mid song for Josh to tell us we look “fuckin’ beautiful” then kickin’ back in with some awesome lasers that I’m sure the TV didn’t do justice to, they go straight into ‘The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret’, that’s two of their best songs straight away. The set list has apparently been chosen by the fans – ok, so that’s gotta be good right? Hell yeah! The kickin’ continues with ‘You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar..’, most albums are covered with a career spanning set and it just gets better towards the end following an awesome ‘Go With the Flow’. The crowd go wild when the opening riff to ‘No One Knows’ kicks in, singing every word it’s a buzz. It’s a goosebumps moment shared all across the field. All in all a cracking set and very enjoyable.
With the fields getting a rest next year, here’s to Glastonbury 2013, I’ll be back.
