Festival review by : Moose

Glastonbury Festival 2000

Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th June 2000
Worthy Farm, Pilton, nr Glastonbury, Somerset, England
£89 including booking fee and postage

Daily capacity: 80,000

We cruised into Pilton on Wednesday morning, setting up camp in the Campervan field - slightly disappointing this year, as it was full of white Transits which people had hired in a bid to outwit the tent thieves, rather than the usual majority of brightly coloured VW's. However, by the time we had put the moose flag up and cracked open a couple of beers, it felt like we had never been away. By 3pm we had already belted down the first of many pear ciders from the Brothers Bar and were happily frazzling our tender Northern skins by the Jazz Stage. Had a quick look around to make sure everything was exactly where we had left it last year (it was!), and lost the rest of the day at the Cider Bus. By the time we walked back to the Camper, it was dark, and the usual groups of Mancunian ladder-touts were already doing brisk trade down the lane, and the familiar whisperings in the hedges had started. So much for improved security.

Thursday dawned cloudier, and by the time we strolled in to the Festival, the mud had returned. I was meeting William of Walworth at the Cider Bus prior to the main Board Meeting, and the inclement weather was an excellent excuse to have some hot spicy cider. The Board Meeting, by the beautiful new Pyramid was great - I recognised some of the Boarders from Julian's site, but after 10 minutes, I had met loads more - I seemed to spend the whole evening saying hello to people and then losing them in the crowd again - even more confusing than being in the Chat Room. Next time we definitely need a venue where you can sit down and chill! The last thing I remember of Thursday was the lad behind the bar at the Cider Bus saying they were going to serve for as long as people wanted to drink......bless him!

Woke up Friday to find the mud had miraculously dried up, lifting everyone's spirits as we entered the Festival. A note on entry procedure: we had to acquire new pass-out tickets every day as we went in and out, and also show our original tickets each time. Whilst this worked well, and was less prone to forgery than stamps, I was very conscious of the mugging potential, and was frequently hassled by people wanting to buy my ticket stub as I walked away from the gate.

We had every intention of buzzing round all the stages in turn, with a busy timetable planned for Friday, but this being a sunnyish Glastonbury, the importance of seeing as many bands as possible diminished as the day went on. After mooching round the Green Fields, spending some time in the Speaker's Forum and admiring a sculpture made of sprouting cress, I sent my partner off to watch Cypress Hill whilst I succumbed to a soothing 40 minute Thai massage - delicious!

Relaxed and invigorated, I headed for the Avalon Stage to see the Priory of Brion featuring Robert Plant. Disappointingly, the Acoustic Tent was so full we had to sit outside, but the fence jumpers provided ample entertainment as they came crashing over the first fence, only to realise there was another to negotiate, and some burly security blokes in between. As the first strains of Robert's voice wafted out of the tent, there was an audible sigh from all we old hippies outside, and a lot of smiling faces. I hadn't seen Plant since Led Zeppelin played Knebworth in the early 80's, and though his voice has lost some of his range in the intervening years, we were captivated, and catching a glimpse of the man himself (well, a blonde mane and a few wrinkles at least!) through a chink in the tent wall made my day.

Decided to have a look at Moby, so settled ourselves down on the grass a long way from the Other Stage. Within 10 minutes, there were several thousand more people behind us, and by the time he came on stage, the pushing and shoving had become unbearable, so I resolved at that moment to stick to smaller stages for the rest of the festival - a great move! We retired to the Stone Circle to watch the Glastonbury sunset - something I never tire of seeing, and particularly beautiful that evening. As darkness fell, the Glade came to life, so we spent the rest of the night there - banging tunes, lovely surroundings. Zion Train were the highlight of the evening, with stunning visuals and the feeling of being at an old-style festival, dancing under the stars.

By Saturday, we had truly settled into the festival vibe - happy to meander slowly from one attraction to another, and with no particular plans. Breakfast of Cajun fries and (surprise surprise) cider kept us going all day. On our way to the Circus, we heard some haunting Indian music coming from the Avalon Stage - Anup Kumar Biswas, a stunningly gifted cellist and his family (?) on tablas and sitars. We stayed to watch the whole set. The youngest sitar player was about 10 years old and obviously used to his audience sitting in reverential silence. He couldn't stop giggling at the whoops of appreciation from the crowd and the groovy dancing going on in front of him!

We changed continents, and saw Baraka in the Croissant Neuf - an African band of drummers and percussionists with a charismatic lead singer who started the set by asking why we were all sitting down. Without further ado, everyone rose to their feet and started to dance the afternoon away.... Saw some Circus and Cabaret acts, and had a bit of a dance to some drummers in the open air, before heading once again to the Glade. Obviously a lot more people had heard about this venue, and it was much busier than Friday, but still with space to chill. After some great DJ's, I was surprised and delighted to see System Seven appear on the stage - everyone was grinning from ear to ear, and dancing, with white beach balls floating round above the crowd and being bounced off Miquette Giraudy's head!

Staggering footsore back to the Camper as the fireworks went off, we admired the inflatables near Gate 3, particularly the giant illuminated hand. That is what makes Glastonbury magical, and so different from other festivals - around every corner someone has placed something lovely to stimulate the eyes, ears and soul. I sat on the side step of the camper, drinking wine and listening to the sounds of the festival as the sun came up.

The stirring tones of the Town Band woke me on Sunday, and the realisation that this was the last day of paradise, for at least another year, hit me - better make the most of it then! We did a little shopping - CDs and T-shirts and a few bits from Green Crafts. I love Sundays because the best flypitchers seem to arrive with the most interesting stuff. Again spent the day at the Avalon, due to its proximity to a cider opportunity and cleanish toilets - all a girl needs!

By this time, I was getting more and more enraged by the amount of litter, and when the announcer in the Avalon tent complained, me and several other people decided it was time to do our bit. Within 5 minutes, we had cleared the tent of dirty plates and cups, and a couple of us started on the area outside the tent. I was amazed at all the people who just stared at us as we cleared up round and between them and couldn't even find the enthusiasm to stack their own rubbish up, or even put in the bag I was holding open for them. You wouldn't do that at home, now, would you?? Within an hour, the mess in the field was almost as bad again, despite the availability of black bags and bins. Kava Kava were good, though!

Seize The Day were on in the Nana Obscuries tent. The audience were all singing the words back to the band and dancing and stamping, and we all came out feeling empowered to make a difference in the world we live in. I was all set to pack my job in, and go and live up a tree on the new runway site at Manchester Airport! If you have any interest in green politics, go and see this band - they are inspirational, even of the initial exuberance wears off slightly when you get back to real life!

And so on to the main event - I had been looking forward to Gong all weekend, and the small crowd of thirtysomething diehard fans had worked themselves into a frenzy of anticipation by the time Daevid Allen strode onto the Avalon stage in the first of a trio of splendid hats. Gilli Smyth's voice had not lost any of it's ethereal beauty over the years and it was fantastic to see this original lineup, with Didier Malherbe. They played 'all the hits', and Daevid Allen held the audience spellbound, but for all too short a time.

We drifted away, and had a last wander around the Green Fields before heading back to the Camper, reflecting on the fantastic weekend - great weather, despite all the gloom-merchants' predictions, and good vibes. We saw no trouble, just thousands of people enjoying themselves, although some parts of the festival were frighteningly overcrowded at times. Here's hoping Michael decides to carry on for a few more years - we're up for it if he is!

Review submitted by
Moose