festivals report in the observer yesterday

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

lol

[thetime]

At least we can always be misty eyed over glasto golden years as reading/v/titp have always been shit in comparison.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Yes, when we're in the care home in our dotage we can say " I was there. Or at least I think I was"!

[Ed209]

I think there is more diversity punter-wise, especially at Glastonbury. Maybe it's the diversity that is 'upsetting' people... not so many like minded folk, etc...??

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

It is an interesting way of looking at it and could well be true. However I thought that 'people' were arguing that there was an increasing homogenisation to the attendees at Glastonbury. That this was their fear and not that there was an ever dwindling number of like minded people who happen to be in their 'camp'.

I think I have to sit on the fence on this one because to me there are elements of truth to both, even though technically that would appear contradictory. My heart wants to believe that we are all different so how can Glastonbury not be diverse given the numbers of people there. My head tells me that nearly all those camping around me last year appeared vacuous. They were united in fashion (nothing too wrong with that) and their lack of respect for the place. There didn't seem to be diversity but expect if you 'drilled down' there would be.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

I think there is more diversity punter-wise, especially at Glastonbury. Maybe it's the diversity that is 'upsetting' people... not so many like minded folk, etc...??

[grumpyhack]

One nice thing about being an old fart is that I enjoy sitting around and chatting to people at festivals and I think there's a lot of diversity at Glasto - certainly in terms of age and wealth. One thing that always strikes me, however, is the lack of BME (politically correct speak for 'black') representation. I don't think it's a particularly middle class festival but it is a primarily white festival amongst the audience, though not necessarily amongst the performers.

That said, most of the fests I go to other than Glasto tend to lean towards the folky end of the spectrum, which generally tends to attract a predeominately white audience.

I've never been to Reading or V so don't know how their audience make up compares.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Glastonbury is a predominantly 'white' festival but that can only reflect the numbers of white people who are trying to get tickets as opposed to black people. There's no discrimination - everybody has a fair crack of the whip come sales day.

[strummer77]

Is there? I think even ME has mentioned how concerned he was about the audience.

This is a firmly middle class festival now from start to finish.

[thetime]

Glastonbury is a predominantly 'white' festival but that can only reflect the numbers of white people who are trying to get tickets as opposed to black people. There's no discrimination - everybody has a fair crack of the whip come sales day.

[eFestivals]

I think we all get a bit misty eye about festivals years ago and remembering our youth.

Lets not forget robbing from tents was a major problem at glastonbury before the fence went up and there was alot more trouble. Thieves are less likely to go on the rob if they have to plan and buy a £200 ticket 6 months beforehand.

The robbing was never as bad as it's presented nowadays - it only became an issue from '95 onwards, and was only really a big problem in 99 & 2000.

Even then the instances weren't that big. It's not like everyone was getting ribbed.

[eFestivals]

Wasnt it the upper class that started glasto with michael eavis? Annabel churchill and another guy?

Nope. A common misconception.

Eavis and Jean Eavis started it in 1970. Bella and Kerr organised and paid for the '71 festival.

Bella defo had some dosh behind her, but I'm less sure that the same is true of Kerr (tho it might be) - he worked as a researcher for Bella's father.

But if if they were rich, that wasn't were they were coming from. Making that distinction is an important point.

[thetime]

Nope. A common misconception.

Eavis and Jean Eavis started it in 1970. Bella and Kerr organised and paid for the '71 festival.

[thetime]

Having to take an extended break from Glastonbury while we get through having some children but missing it like crazy...

[eFestivals]

We rely on our internet buddies to supply us with what we should be listening to, reading and watching.

not if you don't have 'internet buddies' you don't.

The whole idea is laughable, hollow, and not what people like to pretend it is. There's been groups of 'best friends ever' that have created themselves on here and other sites, which have got to find out that they're not what they've been imagining when one or more has taken the others for a ride.

The more intelligent will wake up to how hollow the idea is sooner or later. As for the rest, I despair.

[eFestivals]

If i remember right from the film(not seen it in years so could be wrong), didnt the 1970 festival nearly bankrupt eavis and wouldnt of gone ahead without bella and kerr?

yup, Eavis certainly lost money on the first.

[eFestivals]

Having to take an extended break from Glastonbury while we get through having some children but missing it like crazy... and I can't wait until we are in the right place to start taking the kids when they are a little bit older and could hack the mud.

Its a great festival but I suppose I am one of these new "middle class" types. My first time there was in 2007 and we went in 2008 and 2009. I had only been to V Festival before that and the difference was stark. As Neil said above, gig in the park isn't a real festival. You only get that after going Glastonbury it seems.

I love the place and I love all the different people and ideals and thoughts all coming together for a week. It seems to be weird to me that some people are expressing that the types they want to be seeing at Glastonbury are people just like them, who think like them and act like them. I find that totally repulsive to be frank. The whole concept of something like Glastonbury (to me anyway) is to rub shoulders with people you probably wouldn't. I aint going to be spending my average day in my corporate bubble rubbing shoulders with some green hippy type. But my days are better for having done so. And I would like to think his day is better for rubbing shoulders with me.

One of my best moments was up at stone circle when I got separated from my friends and I sat down to a complete stranger who offered me a few smokes with something inside I will never work out what it was (probably stupid to have done that looking back but you do go in a bubble there). Spent the next six hours talking about the whole world with him. Totally different people with different lives but we had one hell of a debate about everything. He was of the hippy type He even found some of my views "wrong" as I did his. But its good to talk and we did end up agreeing on a lot of things. But thats besides the point. Surely this sort of stuff is more the Glastonbury spirt than just hanging around with people you are happy to describe as your type of people ?

Love walking around the Green Fields / Healing Fields etc... Kids field is awesome And then around the late night areas like Arcadia etc.

It just rocks. And I think its better to have a mixture of people. Avoid the main stages is the key thing I have learnt.

Great post Barry - and I agree with almost all you've said there.

But unfortunately, I think that most people who go for the first time nowadays don't have that sort of experience - but then again, they didn't always 20 years ago either.

I think it's the case that fewer people experience any alternative side of life at Glastonbury now than they did in the past, because proportionally there is less of the alternative side of life at Glastonbury nowadays - because the big increases in numbers have mostly been taken up by more normal people.

[thetime]

Great post Barry - and I agree with almost all you've said there.

But unfortunately, I think that most people who go for the first time nowadays don't have that sort of experience - but then again, they didn't always 20 years ago either.

I think it's the case that fewer people experience any alternative side of life at Glastonbury now than they did in the past, because proportionally there is less of the alternative side of life at Glastonbury nowadays - because the big increases in numbers have mostly been taken up by more normal people.

[russycarps]

Having to take an extended break from Glastonbury while we get through having some children but missing it like crazy... and I can't wait until we are in the right place to start taking the kids when they are a little bit older and could hack the mud.

Its a great festival but I suppose I am one of these new "middle class" types. My first time there was in 2007 and we went in 2008 and 2009. I had only been to V Festival before that and the difference was stark. As Neil said above, gig in the park isn't a real festival. You only get that after going Glastonbury it seems.

I love the place and I love all the different people and ideals and thoughts all coming together for a week. It seems to be weird to me that some people are expressing that the types they want to be seeing at Glastonbury are people just like them, who think like them and act like them. I find that totally repulsive to be frank. The whole concept of something like Glastonbury (to me anyway) is to rub shoulders with people you probably wouldn't. I aint going to be spending my average day in my corporate bubble rubbing shoulders with some green hippy type. But my days are better for having done so. And I would like to think his day is better for rubbing shoulders with me.

One of my best moments was up at stone circle when I got separated from my friends and I sat down to a complete stranger who offered me a few smokes with something inside I will never work out what it was (probably stupid to have done that looking back but you do go in a bubble there). Spent the next six hours talking about the whole world with him. Totally different people with different lives but we had one hell of a debate about everything. He was of the hippy type He even found some of my views "wrong" as I did his. But its good to talk and we did end up agreeing on a lot of things. But thats besides the point. Surely this sort of stuff is more the Glastonbury spirt than just hanging around with people you are happy to describe as your type of people ?

Love walking around the Green Fields / Healing Fields etc... Kids field is awesome And then around the late night areas like Arcadia etc.

It just rocks. And I think its better to have a mixture of people. Avoid the main stages is the key thing I have learnt.

[russycarps]

None taken

[thetime]

Perhaps russy needs to work on his confidence and his inferior complex to other people!

NO offence meant!

[russycarps]

I don't know anything about you but aren't you also being in danger of being the same type as me ?

To put it blunt...

if there are two sets of people... Those that can afford a ticket and those that can't... And you are in the bracket of being able to afford the ticket.... Then doesn't that make you ask some questions of yourself in this debate? and what "demographic" you are contributing to the festival ?

Also not meaning to cause offence but you are possibly the same type as me...

[thetime]

Well I've been going for years, and my mindset and outlook on the world hasnt changed one bit.

[russycarps]

Probably says alot really, your telling me you views are the same as they were when you were 21? My views of the world change every year, your views of certain never change talking to people, or experiences? My whole view of the world changed completley from when I was 21, blimey they changed 3 years ago when my daughter was born. Can you honestly tell us your views havnt changed?

[russycarps]

Maybe that is your problem here... You need to be prepared to get out of your comfort zone more often... Break out of your shell...

Specially if you haven't changed any of your views in such a long time...