The Pyramid Stage...

[Justiceforcedave]

Something I notice quite regulaly on these boards is people msking a real point of saying how little they go to the Pryramid stage or how little they like the stage in general. It seems there are a couple of posts every day stating things such as

"Well doesn't matter to me I don't go near the Pyramid anyway"

Or

"Crikey, if they play I may have to make a very rare trip to the Pyramid stage"

Or even

"Well if they play in the park I'll go and see them but if they end up on the Pyramid I'm not interested".

Now this is by no means a criticism, more me being genuinely curious, but is it really that bad? Sure visibity isn't all that later in the day and it can get quite crowded but the Pyramid has such a diverse range of acts surely you couldn't rule it out bassed on the type of acts that play there? I mean if you don't like dance music you would probably avoid the dance stages but the Pyramid has a little of everything right?

I suppose my real question is why do people wish to make such a effort to express their dislike. There are plenty of stages I only visit a few times of the course of the weekend but I usually just don't mention them, I certainly don't make a song and dance about it ; )

Anyway as I said, not a critisicm so I hope no one is offended, Just curious so what's the score with all the hatin playas?

[Mardy]

The Pyramid is a great venue if there's a good act on. Most of the time, it's pretty bland, tedious stuff though. That said, some of the best things I've seen over the last few years have been on the Pyramid

Leonard Cohen

Neil Diamond

Specials

It's excellent for those huge, big moments, but generally, yeah, it's the line-up on there that means I don't visit: It's rare that anything grabs me.

In terms of location, view, whatever, I think it's cracking. Wish there was more there I wanted to see. My problem/fault though, nobody else's.

[coma girl]

I just go to the stages with bands I like, couldn't care less what that stage is. I've found that I go to the mainstages less at fests in general, nothing to do with the stage itself just that my music tastes have changed a little and in general the bands I like are on the smaller stages. In the past I seemed to spend much more time at the mainstage when I first started going to fests. The only festival mainstage I actively dislike is the one at Leeds fest but I still go if theres a bands I like.

Edited January 7, 2011 by coma girl

[ivan]

At a small world music festival a few years ago I met a muscian in the bar who had played that day and was playing one of the smaller stages at Glasto ( I think he played most years tbh )

Now I am into indie/dance/rock etc , we got chatting about music and none of the bands I was into that were playing that year he had heard of - and that includes The Killers. Stretching it about it he had heard of U2 and Coldplay rang a bell.

Anyways in the all years he had been the closet he had got to Pyramid was Jazz World Stage and he was happy with that.

He was not being snobbish ( far from it - he was a lovely guy ) , but there was nothing on The Pyramid

that either interested him or I just think he never bothered looking to see what was on.

[The_Amazing_Oblong]

It's a kind of snobbery. Just as some people think certain types of music or acts are cool and are condescending of other types of music. Daft Punk for example is considered cool to like and Take That uncool.

As for Glastonbury it has historically been split into 2 - The greenfields side which included Lost Vagueness, jazzworld, Stone circle and the like and then Babylon which included the Pyramid, Dance Tent etc. Some people believe that the mainstream side or 'Babylon' is less cool than the Greenfields side, which is of course complete and utter tosh.

I think the ethos of the festival if anything is to do whatever you want to do, see whoever you think you will enjoy and have a good time.

[ivan]

I just go to the stages with bands I like, couldn't care less what that stage is. I've found that I go to the mainstages less at fests in general, nothing to do with the stage itself just that my music tastes have changed a little and in general the bands I like are on the smaller stages. In the past I seemed to spend much more time at the mainstage when I first started going to fests. The only festival mainstage I actively dislike is the one at Leeds fest but I still go if theres a bands I like.

[The_Amazing_Oblong]

At a small world music festival a few years ago I met a muscian in the bar who had played that day and was playing one of the smaller stages at Glasto ( I think he played most years tbh )

Now I am into indie/dance/rock etc , we got chatting about music and none of the bands I was into that were playing that year he had heard of - and that includes The Killers. Stretching it about it he had heard of U2 and Coldplay rang a bell.

Anyways in the all years he had been the closet he had got to Pyramid was Jazz World Stage and he was happy with that.

He was not being snobbish ( far from it - he was a lovely guy ) , but there was nothing on The Pyramid

that either interested him or I just think he never bothered looking to see what was on.

[strummer77]

It's not that bad. Just some shite on it at times but if there's a very good evening act or headliner very little can beat it in my opinion.

Some people genuinely don't go there as there's so little to their tastes (which is fair enough) whilst some are undoubtedly trying to look 'cool' (and probably go there more often than thye will admit). I like some of the stuff on their personally but not a lot of it (it can be pretty diverse so no-one will like all of it). Don't be put off but just don't spend your whole time there is my advice.

Edited January 7, 2011 by strummer77

[strummer77]

He was not being snobbish ( far from it - he was a lovely guy ) , but there was nothing on The Pyramid

that either interested him or I just think he never bothered looking to see what was on.

[eFestivals]

Now this is by no means a criticism, more me being genuinely curious, but is it really that bad?

I think you'll find it's simply the fact that many people have little interest in the mainly pop acts that the stage features.

In the last ten years, I'd guess that I've been to that stage to watch an act - just one - in about half of those years.

[robith]

Cos it equals +10 Glastonbury points.

[/sarcasm]

In the years I have attended (2007-2010) it has had a heavily mainstream angled line up (though it also has some really out there stuff too - especially on the context of the rest). Fair dues, this isn't to everybody's taste, and at Glastonbury there's no reason to spend time watching guff.

But I do find it weird how quite a lot of people on here seem to wear it as some kind of badge of honour. "One more reason to avoid the Pyramid" etc etc - what do you want, a pat on the head?

My personal experience with the Pyramid is I tend not to go there much because the Other, Dance and JP stages are much more aligned with my tastes. I only went once this year for Stevie, but I couldn't miss LCD - so by the time I got there you literally couldn't get in the field so went to see Orbital.

Also after my experiences of The Killers in 2007 (beyond them being gash), frankly I was actually quite scared of the place for a while and I still refuse to go anywhere near past the sound stage.

That said I've seen some magnificent performances there -when it's big and huge it's the best stage in the world - the boss, neil young, blur, jay z, leonard cohen. All incredible. f**king hell, I even vaguely enjoyed Kasabian on there (I was hammered in my defence)

[whatmidlifecrisis?]

Personally I think it is one of the most impressive sights I have ever witnessed.....Standing at the back when the field is packed and the whole crowd is doing something in unison (We Come One - Faithless for e.g.) is quite incredible. It doesn't matter who is playing - witnessing that still takes my breath away.

As others have said is is mainly down to the acts that feature (with an element of 'too mainstream for me because I am cool' thrown in). The accoustics are pretty good, the natural slope makes for great viewing (and I am short!) and the stage itself is handosme beast.

[grumpyhack]

For me Glasto is a mix of re-living past experiences by catching great bands again and discovering new bands. If the Pyramid is primarily mainstream pop it's unlikely to have much for me. I tend to spend most time at Jazz World (I won't call it West Holts) and the Acoustic but will probably catch 4 or 5 Pyramid slots over the festival.

My main reason for encouraging people to venture beyond the Pyramid is that there's so much else to see and do. It's nothing to do with anti-pyramid snobbery.

[5co77ie]

For me it's the heritage acts (the one offs) which attract me to the Pyramid, these tend to be during the day. In the 20 years I've been going I started off spending most of my time at the Pyramid, but as my music tastes evolved, and Glastonbury expanded so much in what it offers I find myself there much less these days. It's not snobbery it's just there's so much else I'm interested in these days on elsewhere.

I tend to find the acts that most appeal are in West Holts, Leftfield, Glade, Arcadia, Bella's field, Acoustic, Williams Green, Blazing Saddles, Croissant Neuf and Avalon and I like the attractions in the Circus, Bella's Field, Greenfields, Craft Field and Greenfutures - which are all close enough to get to whatever the weather. When my daughter was younger it was also a case of the Kidz field being accessible and visiting areas with her which got less muddy thanks in part to a lower footfall.

The other side of the festival (for me) is John Peel, Dance Village, The Park, Other Stage, and Pyramid which are also reasonably easy to get from one to the other - but in bad conditions it's a case of one area or the other for me. These areas are busier and tend to be more difficult to traverse in bad weather.

However there's also the attraction of the cider bus which has to be visited at least once a day (hot spicy cider at sunset) and the real ale bar at Acoustic getting a visit too. I also find the food which appeals most to me is offered in the West Holts and Williams Green areas.

I guess to a great extent it's a case of where I've camped in recent years, and where I'm more used to becoming more of a home for me over the festival, and where I'm most likely to bump into friends, the crowds are so big at Pyramid i rarely spot anyone I know amongst them.

[Justiceforcedave]

I think you'll find it's simply the fact that many people have little interest in the mainly pop acts that the stage features.

In the last ten years, I'd guess that I've been to that stage to watch an act - just one - in about half of those years.

[MEGABOWL]

I can totally understand people not wanting to go there because the line-up doesn't suit or they hate the big crowds but I don't get it when people try and claim some kind of Professional Glasto-goer Superiority because of it. I go wherever the acts are on that I want to see, and while smaller venues are great, I've had some absolutely stellar experiences at the Pyramid that wouldn't have been anywhere near the same without the huge crowd and the atmosphere that went with it-REM, Radiohead, The Specials, Blur, Stevie

[Jackmypie]

I personally love it. Well only if there's a band that I like. The best time is when your right at the front and everyone is all bunched up happily talking to each other. I've had some weird conversations there. I remember last year we were at the front waiting for Muse, some guy was talking to me about how he wasn't a paedophile. If I had that conversation anywhere else other then Glastonbury it would be a bit wierd. Anyway going off topic now...

[anoldhippie@60]

Hi, Like a lot of others I go were the band I want to see is on. Pyramid for Neil Young in 2009. I was going to see U" last year but as they were not playing there was no one on the Pyramid I wanted to see. I ended up watching bloody gorrilaz cos of all the hype and wish I had gone to see the Bootleg Beatles. On Sunday saw orbital fantastic. So for me I do not care what stage I go and see people on.

[Wooderson]

As said so rightly above when at full beans the Pyramid stage at Glasto is the biggest stage in the world. The "wouldnt be seen dead at the Pyramid" brigade make me smile though. I'd go to Bearded Theory if all I wanted was the smaller quainter stages. I want spectacle at Glastonbury. This is what the Pyramid stage provides. Only the very very best artists can make it their own... if you are lucky enough to witness this take place it will be an unforgettable experience (Neil Young, Blur, Stevie, Faithless, Radiohead, Macca immediately spring to mind). These are career highs from these big artists. No mean feat. I saw 4 or 5 songs of Jackson Browne on the Pyramid last summer and it was bliss. Only a few thousand there.

[In transit]

I think the vast majority of the snobbery comes from the music they put on the Pyramid rather than the stage itself. I don't think anyone at Blur or Neil Young was wishing they'd been playing a different stage.

Some of the Pyramid music is total pop gash but there's enough decent stuff to make dismissing it out of hand ridiculous. Just in the last two years: Blur, Faithless and Ray Davies have all been incredible (and Neil Young although I wasn't there).

[The_Amazing_Oblong]

Just to clarify that not going to Pyramid very often isn't snobbery, that's just musical taste and personal choice. It's the coming on an internet forum 'dissing' the stage in general and kind of wearing the avoidance of that particular stage like a badge that I see as snobbery (although that is too strong a phrase anyways), if you get my drift.

[neil999]

its far, far, FAR too bloody pyramidy...i hate pyramids with their stupid points and pseudo mysticism...the sh1ts!

[Toilet Duck]

As said so rightly above when at full beans the Pyramid stage at Glasto is the biggest stage in the world. The "wouldnt be seen dead at the Pyramid" brigade make me smile though. I'd go to Bearded Theory if all I wanted was the smaller quainter stages. I want spectacle at Glastonbury. This is what the Pyramid stage provides. Only the very very best artists can make it their own... if you are lucky enough to witness this take place it will be an unforgettable experience (Neil Young, Blur, Stevie, Faithless, Radiohead, Macca immediately spring to mind). These are career highs from these big artists. No mean feat. I saw 4 or 5 songs of Jackson Browne on the Pyramid last summer and it was bliss. Only a few thousand there.

[LEDZEP66]

Personally I think it is one of the most impressive sights I have ever witnessed.....Standing at the back when the field is packed and the whole crowd is doing something in unison (We Come One - Faithless for e.g.) is quite incredible. It doesn't matter who is playing - witnessing that still takes my breath away.

As others have said is is mainly down to the acts that feature (with an element of 'too mainstream for me because I am cool' thrown in). The accoustics are pretty good, the natural slope makes for great viewing (and I am short!) and the stage itself is handosme beast.

[eFestivals]

Like most people have said it is quite commercial now with a lot of poppier stuff on it.

I'd say it's little different in that respect to how it's always been (at least, since the early 80s). It's always featured 'pop' bands in the main.

Any different perceptions of what it features are, IMO, more the result of people like you and me maturing with our tastes rather than what the stage offers changing very much.