Your most controversial Glastonbury opinions

[Respectfatfrog]

1,People are quick to judge how others spend their festivals

2, Glastonbury can show the best and worst of people.

Some people can be real dicks in 2009 my first glastonbury I had managed to bugger both my knees believe my cartridge had gone, a few weeks before and got to the point at the festival I couldn't lift my foot to high. Making my way across the pyramid field I manged to knock over someone's drinks not just one but 3 or 4 that were in a holder I dreaded to think about what just about to happen and started to get my wallet out to pay for replacements hpping to not get moaned at , the young guy turned round to me and honestly couldn't of been nicer said it was an accident  and refused to take my money and wished me a good rest of the festival. 

 

2009 was the year Jackson died and for me this was a loss so when passing the guardian stall I picked up the newspaper and sat down near the pyramid stage to read about the tributes etc, midway through some (forgive me for stereotyping) new age hippy come and asked me if I was enjoying my paper I answered yes he then proceeded to shout at me that I was at Glastonbury and reading a fucking paper and that I should a get a life, this left me feeling a bit shit and maybe I was at the wrong place and not doing it correctly whatever it was. 

I have never understood the need to berate others for how they choose to do their festival if to them standing at the pyramid stage to get on tv or never exploring means they had the time of the thier lives fair play and I'm made up for them.

 

I understand the frustration of knowing they could explore but live and let live I say.

 

Rant over 

[stuartbert two hats]

6 hours ago, Rose-Colored Boy said:

Yeah I get their reasons, I just think they could be taking more of a lead on promoting vegan foods and brands

Anyway apparently they don’t actually give it out free anymore which shows how much attention I’ve been paying 

I don't think milk has been free since the first one.

I'm not sure that veganism really is in "the ethos of the festival" as such. I mean it might be part of the ethos of some people who work there, but as previously observed, it's a dairy farm. Michael was once asked at a Q&A whether he supported the festival going vegan, which he shut down pretty sharpishly.

Anyway, I think others have already made the point. 

[Gnomicide]

On 4/15/2022 at 11:02 PM, Beerqueen said:

Yes exactly - I've found the same.   And imagine being New Young Singer with a Guitar who has got a booking in a small tent at Glasto and is incredibly excited and one night after a few bevvies can't resist googling myself to see what the buzz is about me now I've got this booking.  And finding a post from Beerqueen saying "Boring, generic singer guitarist with a not particularly good voice, will be elsewhere".  Soul destroying and unnecessary.

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

Boris Johnson excepted of course.

I need to delete my post in the Bearded Theory thread 😬

[CaledonianGonzo]

9 hours ago, Rose-Colored Boy said:

Have less acts on the Pyramid, with bigger gaps between them, to encourage movement around the site. 

To what end, exactly? They should make the biggest stage less entertaining to encourage....more walking?

9 hours ago, Rose-Colored Boy said:

Kacey Musgraves this year for example, you can’t seriously tell me she wouldn’t be better suited to a smaller but much more interested crowd on the Park without people talking through it. 

 

Nah. Would much rather see her early in the day on the best stage in the country then later on when she's more likely to clash with someone.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

The veganism goes hand in hand with the support of Greenpeace, if you want to save the planet and stop climate change then going vegan is the easiest and best thing anyone can do to achieve that.

[Matt42]

9 hours ago, Rose-Colored Boy said:

Kacey Musgraves this year for example, you can’t seriously tell me she wouldn’t be better suited to a smaller but much more interested crowd on the Park without people talking through it. 

I get where you’re coming from and in some ways I agree with you, but I’m going to argue against this. I think the pyramid is important because it pulls in big international acts and rounds out the lineup. Even if an act is playing 5th/6th/7th down pyramid they are still playing the pyramid. It’s a big achievement and it keeps our lineups strong.

On the chatters point, something I’ve noticed is that some acts are more susceptible to chatty crowds than others. When I went to see the War on Drugs recently (at their own gig) I noticed that when the energy dropped at points in the set, people who are probably mega fans starting having a chat. Festivals make this worse because of the diversity of the crowd.

Some acts are popular because they’ve built up credibility / have records that are critically acclaimed, but the downside of that is they could be jamming out to a deep cut that sounds great live - but if you’ve got a crowd which only care for hits people will start chatting. The National, The War on Drugs, Bon Iver, etc - are bands I’d love to see at the farm but I could imagine walking away disappointed due to the crowd experience. Once their setlist steers away from the most recognised songs and the crowd is challenged, I find people just start chatting. 

Edited April 18, 2022 by Matt42

[kingbadger]

3 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

I get where you’re coming from and in some ways I agree with you, but I’m going to argue against this. I think the pyramid is important because it pulls in big international acts and rounds out the lineup. Even if an act is playing 5th/6th/7th down pyramid they are still playing the pyramid. It’s a big achievement and it keeps our lineups strong.

On the chatters point, something I’ve noticed is that some acts are more susceptible to chatty crowds than others. When I went to see the War on Drugs recently (at their own gig) I noticed that when the energy dropped at points in the set, people who are probably mega fans starting having a chat. Festivals make this worse because of the diversity of the crowd.

Some acts are popular because they’ve built up credibility / have records that are critically acclaimed, but the downside of that is they could be jamming out to a deep cut that sounds great live - but if you’ve got a crowd which only care for hits people will start chatting. The National, The War on Drugs, Bon Iver, etc - are bands I’d love to see at the farm but I could imagine walking away disappointed due to the crowd experience. Once their setlist steers away from the most recognised songs and the crowd is challenged, I find people just start chatting. 

Went to Groove Armada on Saturday night and it was the same. Big drops in the crowd's willingness to boogie and instead just stand there and natter. Think most (I certainly had been) were put drinking all day in the sun with friends, were so perhaps more that way inclined as a result. I mean it's Groove Armada, don't see much point in going if you're not going to get your disco hips on for 90 mins! 

[Matt42]

Just now, kingbadger said:

Went to Groove Armada on Saturday night and it was the same. Big drops in the crowd's willingness to boogie and instead just stand there and natter. Think most (I certainly had been) were put drinking all day in the sun with friends, were so perhaps more that way inclined as a result. I mean it's Groove Armada, don't see much point in going if you're not going to get your disco hips on for 90 mins! 

Now that’s surprising it’s coming from a dance act? I usually equate crowd chatters with respected highly acclaimed bands. 

[One Tonne Baby]

41 minutes ago, Respectfatfrog said:

1,People are quick to judge how others spend their festivals

2, Glastonbury can show the best and worst of people.

Some people can be real dicks in 2009 my first glastonbury I had managed to bugger both my knees believe my cartridge had gone, a few weeks before and got to the point at the festival I couldn't lift my foot to high. Making my way across the pyramid field I manged to knock over someone's drinks not just one but 3 or 4 that were in a holder I dreaded to think about what just about to happen and started to get my wallet out to pay for replacements hpping to not get moaned at , the young guy turned round to me and honestly couldn't of been nicer said it was an accident  and refused to take my money and wished me a good rest of the festival. 

 

2009 was the year Jackson died and for me this was a loss so when passing the guardian stall I picked up the newspaper and sat down near the pyramid stage to read about the tributes etc, midway through some (forgive me for stereotyping) new age hippy come and asked me if I was enjoying my paper I answered yes he then proceeded to shout at me that I was at Glastonbury and reading a fucking paper and that I should a get a life, this left me feeling a bit shit and maybe I was at the wrong place and not doing it correctly whatever it was. 

I have never understood the need to berate others for how they choose to do their festival if to them standing at the pyramid stage to get on tv or never exploring means they had the time of the thier lives fair play and I'm made up for them.

 

I understand the frustration of knowing they could explore but live and let live I say.

 

Rant over 

Agree actually. It’s easy to judge but at Glastonbury you should leave it at the door. Unless someone is endangering themselves or others, or being offensive then people can spend their time doing what they like.

I remember in 2017 a mate wasn’t feeling great so we decided to have some chill time watching a film. Some pissed up bloke stood next to the queue and started shouting at everyone that they were at Glastonbury and that they were idiots for spending their time watching a film. I mean it was the first time I had and it’s never on my agenda but it was what my mate wanted/needed in the moment and didn’t need some idiots opinion on it.

[Jay Pee]

Not much chattering or coke bores at Sparks last week in Manchester.

It was most refreshing

[ProperTea]

1. Block 9 is tired and needs a shake up.

[Tommy Dickfingers]

6 minutes ago, ProperTea said:

1. Block 9 is tired and needs a shake up.

Did you not go in 2019? There’s a massive new stage mate.

[FatAmmy]

1 hour ago, jimmillen said:

There are some alternatives to dance late into the early hours… Small World Stage, Strummerville, etc. 

It would be great to see some stronger non-dance options though, I totally agree. I love it myself but don’t necessarily want to rave it up every night!

Tricky for the festival to programme though. In general - and this is totally stereotyping - people staying up partying through the night are more about the hedonism and abandon than about artistic appreciation 😉 

So if you’re just out for a wild night, some flavour of dance will probably serve as an acceptable soundtrack. Other genres - or a totally different experience like Cineramageddon - are much more niche. 

Not at all to say the festival couldn’t & shouldn't experiment with late night alternatives, I’d love to see it. But it would be something of a risk compared to the proven appeal of dance. 

I think the massive lines outside the wormhole every night could be taken as evidence that there's an audience out there for alternatives

[FatAmmy]

50 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

The veganism goes hand in hand with the support of Greenpeace, if you want to save the planet and stop climate change then going vegan is the easiest and best thing anyone can do to achieve that.

#1 best thing you can do is not have children

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

1 minute ago, FatAmmy said:

#1 best thing you can do is not have children

Well I don’t have children and I’m a vegan. But if you’ve already got children going vegan is the next best thing short of bumping your kids off.

[fatyeti24]

16 minutes ago, Jay Pee said:

Not much chattering or coke bores at Sparks last week in Manchester.

It was most refreshing

So you had to listen to an uninterrupted evening of Sparks?

I know which I'd prefer. 

[Jay Pee]

8 minutes ago, fatyeti24 said:

So you had to listen to an uninterrupted evening of Sparks?

I know which I'd prefer. 

It was an incredible gig for what its worth.  See the bands you have seen thread.

Seriously though, coke consumption is at unprecedented levels.  I really really struggle with the "stranger on constant send" that one encounters at certain events.  Its proper tedious for others and i love to chin wag and engage with people i ain't met before.  Just not on those terms.

I hope something drastic happens to the cost of the gear (upwards) as it worries me how much of an impact it is having on many aspects of life.  

[Florian Saucer Attack]

46 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Well I don’t have children and I’m a vegan. But if you’ve already got children going vegan is the next best thing short of bumping your kids off.

Never having a pet might be better

[clarkete]

1 hour ago, Jay Pee said:

It was an incredible gig for what its worth.  See the bands you have seen thread.

Wise words 😇

Edited April 18, 2022 by clarkete

[Jay Pee]

Just now, clarkete said:

Wise words 

Perhaps we should meet up this year and dress as Ron and Russell?

It's a choice of David Byrne tailored Lime Green Suit or Shaolin monk style rig with a smoking jacket. At least the Hitler moustache has been adjusted 🤣

[clarkete]

1 minute ago, Jay Pee said:

Perhaps we should meet up this year and dress as Ron and Russell?

It's a choice of David Byrne tailored Lime Green Suit or Shaolin monk style rig with a smoking jacket. At least the Hitler moustache has been adjusted 🤣

If only I could make folding a jacket look like such a performance 😊

[Jay Pee]

9 minutes ago, clarkete said:

If only I could make folding a jacket look like such a performance 😊

Just so brilliant. His dancing is something I would love to perfect. Feigning interest at a stratospheric level

[kalifire]

2 hours ago, Respectfatfrog said:

asked me if I was enjoying my paper I answered yes he then proceeded to shout at me that I was at Glastonbury and reading a fucking paper and that I should a get a life

I’ve also been berated for “not doing Glastonbury properly” when I dared to get a bit of shut eye on the Wednesday afternoon in the green futures field. A girl behind me said, loudly: “imagine coming to Glastonbury and just going to sleep”. 

Imagine going to Glastonbury and shouting at somebody else for not doing Glastonbury in the way they think you should. Dickheads. 

[stuie]

2 hours ago, ProperTea said:

1. Block 9 is tired and needs a shake up.

They retired one of their very popular stages and built a whole new one in a bigger field for the last festival. 

[ProperTea]

Just now, stuie said:

They retired one of their very popular stages and built a whole new one in a bigger field for the last festival. 

Oh yeah 🤣 I'm probably thinking specifically about NYC.