John Otway

Glastonbury Festival 2000 reviews

John Otway
Cabaret Marquee
14:45 Saturday 24th June 2000

John Otway normally draws a large crowd at Glastonbury. He has played every festival for the last 10+ years and has even been to the heights of the Acoustic Tent. However, the Cabaret Tent has proved to be a favourite for him and his loyal fans. This year, however, the tent was quieter than usual with plenty of space to sit and be comfortable. The smaller crowd, however, did not dint John's ever present enthusiasm. This is a man who has played to VERY small audiences (and large ones of course!). Whether he is playing in some back water student union bar, Glastonbury Festival or the Albert Hall (as he did a couple of years ago) he puts in all his effort.

In this performance Otway was joined by his faithful guitarist Richard. They played their usual set, starting with the HIT 'Really Free'. Their set constituted their latest album, which Otway reassured the crowd was entitled, 'The Set Remains The Same'. They played lots of the old favourites; 'Blockbuster', 'Beware of the Flowers', etc. But the highlight of the show was a fantastic version of Body Talk. He placed a drum machine in pockets around his body as normal and made the drums beat by smacking those pockets, i.e his backside, thighs etc. He then also used a machine (the name of which I have forgotten) that made a sound as he moved his hand towards it. The high pitched sound shrilled out as Otway beat his drums to Richard's excellent accompaniment.

As usual Otway jumped about the stage in manic fashion. He leapt off ladders, attempted somersaults and ripped his shirt off - much to the amusement of the crowd. As the performance went on the crowd swelled and the cheers increased. An encore was duly played and eventually the crowd left the tent fulfilled by another excellent Otway performance.