Glasto Victories

[Bike_Like_A_Mum]

So I started typing one thing but i've ended up having a little reminisce and writing all my favourite memories. Haha. Long one, but why not.

Got a few from Glasto 2013. Including stumbling into the circus tent at 2am or something and watching a drag circus. Full on somersaults and aerial stuff all in platform stilettos. Bloody brilliant. Also walking into copper dollar and there was some people doing a dance, hadn't noticed a huge skeleton puppet in the corner and it was like they made it come to life with lasers and it started a procession all around the dance floor. Amazing atmosphere, shame that place isn't there any more.

Also, I was never really an Arctic monkeys fan, could only have told you a couple of their most mainstream songs before. But thought we ought to watch the opening headliner on the pyramid stage...my god it still gives me goosebumps. They started with 'Do You Wanna Know' (i'd genuinely never heard it at the time) and it was the most amazing opening atmospheric entrance of a set that I have ever seen. Fan ever since!

Then Latitude, and one thing I like about the crowd at latitude is that they stay quite spread out. So was able to get to the front for Wolf Alice. They are my faves so that was special. Also at latitude...singing 'living on prayer' and jumping around off the sides of the karaoke caravan was fun in 2019. And having my son on my shoulders while he was singing along to Bastille last year - they aren't my cup of tea but he likes them and it's the first time i've taken him right into the crowd and he's fully engaged with a band, he was 6. It was magic.

Finally, Rihanna coming on to perform with Eminem as a surprise performance at V Festival was incredible. Eminem was my ultimate fave as a teenager so to finally see him live was epic.

Hundreds more as well 🤣

 

 

[Bucketsquad]

13 hours ago, Wanderlei said:

Glasto 2008. I lost a contact lens in my tent on the Friday night. Looked everywhere with my torch but couldn't find it. Next morning, not only did I find it, but it was still usable after a good rinse. Victory was mine.

A true victory

[kaytee...]

Left The Jackson's in 2017 when we couldn't hear anything at the back of the field. Ended up at Foo Fighters who in fairness we did plan to catch the end of, best decision I could've made

[Bucketsquad]

I stumbled upon someone on the bandstand in 2013 who was playing to decent sized crowd, we had a little listen and enjoyed it so we stayed, it turned out to be Beans on Toast and he's been out favourite artist ever since. We've came back from Margate a coupe of weeks ago after seeing in on the Albion Rooms for what must have been out 10th gig by him.

[squirrelarmy]

This is a story that goes back to 2011. We were just taking a break from walking in the mud so we sat on a bench carved from a tree at the bottom of the Tipi field. 
 

There was a guy sat sat on one of the other benches, no idea who he was but I’m assuming he was one of the people performing on one of the spoken word stages. 
 

He was entertaining us with random tales then he goes into this massive one man theatrical performance of the tale of Thor and other Norse Gods that must have gone on for about half an hour. I think by the end there were about 20 or 30 us just transfixed by his performance. Amazing random experience. 

[danmarks]

14 hours ago, TheWizard62 said:

In 2011 I went to the Spirit of ‘71’ stage in search of Steve Hillage. Only their timings were indeed something out of the 70s so I sat down and waited..and waited. Then on stage came Noel Harrison and sang the most exquisite version of his song ‘Windmills Of Your Mind’ from The Thomas Crowne Affair to an audience of about 20! It is still up their in my all time top 3 Glastonbury moments - unexpected, iconic and achingly beautiful. He did a version on the TV from backstage but his band version was so much better - check the backstage version out on YouTube! He died 2 years later and I’m so glad I wandered into a Glastonbury moment! 

I was one of those 20. I've always irrationally hated that song. My partner took great enjoyment in saying that out of everything in the world we could be doing at that moment i was listening to windmills of your mind.

So a very special bittersweet memory for me.

[Superscally]

13 hours ago, Divein said:

Going to watch Jagwar Ma in John Peel in 2013 on the basis of listening to them once or twice and seeing lots of hype about them.

That kicked started a very excellent but all too brief love affair with them and they are linked to a few of my favourite Glasto memories.

Others are wandering on my own to see the gaslight anthem in 2009 and we know how that finishes. As well as going to the Park in 2010 for the secret set.

A more recent one is committing to watching all of Stormzy instead of ducking out to watch some of Interpol. 

...but the Interpol gig was incredible. 

[am00]

1 hour ago, Dave_c said:

Unpopular opinion but choosing to see Coldplay in 2016. Not a fan and wasn't bothered but it was ace.

 

Same. But I think probably the Sunday night exhaustion helped, and the whole EU vote despair! 

 

[gooner1990]

2005 on the Saturday night we watched New Order sub the Pyramid, then for the life of me I can't recall which headliner we watched...I know it wasn't Coldplay but anyway....found ourselves drinking in the Leftfield tent and suddenly a load of commotion is coming around the tent and a load of people rush in and then the tent gets closed...with loads more trying to get in.

We wonder what is about to happen and the compare comes on saying he's got a real treat for us and one of my mates spots Kate Moss stood 20 yards in front of us and then suddenly Pete Doherty appears and Babyshambles come out and play a set.

Bear in mind this is 2005 Pete Doherty, peak tabloid interest in him and Kate Moss, drugged up to his eyeballs and having a whale of a time. Also 'secret' sets weren't so much of a thing back then so it caught a lot of people out and so most of the people who got to watch them were just people who happened to be in the tent at the time...although mobile phones were around by this point they didn't really work that well and we were still a couple of years away from smartphones so there was no Twitter posts to let everyone know.

It wasn't a particularly memorable gig in itself but just the general mayhem of it was fairly interesting to see close up when we'd only just popped in for a quick late night pint before going to bed!

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by gooner1990

[Beaver89]

2008 Saturday night after Jay Z - my first year and first night - a friend and I accidentally found Club Dada in Shangri-la (200 ish capacity tent) shortly before a 'highly spirited' Lady Gaga came on at 2am and sung the hits for 20-30 minutes. Surreal accident that hasn't really been topped.

I guess the "If we don't like the pyramid headliner we can nip to the Other stage" three night run in 2009 of Neil Young vs Bloc Party, Bruce Springsteen vs Franz Ferdinand and Blur vs Prodigy and winding up seeing all three pyramid sets in full was a decent run too. That Blur set... still hits me. (before you judge, I was a 19 year old indie rock fan at the time but knew full well the importance of the acts on the pyramid - hence that approach)

[RB85]

 

1 hour ago, Bucketsquad said:

I stumbled upon someone on the bandstand in 2013 who was playing to decent sized crowd, we had a little listen and enjoyed it so we stayed, it turned out to be Beans on Toast and he's been out favourite artist ever since. We've came back from Margate a coupe of weeks ago after seeing in on the Albion Rooms for what must have been out 10th gig by him.

Had a similar experience in 2007. Found a rare spot not underwater near a tent (cant remember which one) to lay down and try and see off a hangover when Beans came on. We were soon inside laughing away at his stories and back on the path to another drunken day trying to ignore the weather! Haven't seen him for a while now but going to his Gig of Trespass in a couple of weeks.

[rwhitehouse13]

A couple of "big" moments...the Radiohead show in '97 still remains the greatest live performance I have ever seen and was even better after a day of battling the mud, I found myself completely engulfed by the entire show. Incredible. Seeing Stevie Wonder was a big one for me as well, a massive fan I was almost pinching myself that I had got to see him. (I did see him again in Hyde Park a couple of years after). A slightly controversial one is the Gorillaz set in 2010 - I loved that show and especially the special guests, particularly when Lou Reed came out. Magical! Oh and Janelle Monae was brilliant in 2019...

Smaller stuff, I remember wandering through The Park and getting caught up in an impromptu singalong at the piano which is located there - just one of those special moments which crop up and seem entirely unique to Glastonbury. The Park is my favourite area of the festival now and so glad to have seen so many great sets there..that Idles show in particular stands out, the not-so-secret Pulp show and, for some reason, Jessie Buckley's set from 2019 (?) which was just a joy.

Man, this has just ramped up the excitement for this year!

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

By complete chance, we walked past Club Dada at exactly the right time to see Lady Gaga's secret set in 2009. Possibly my only spontaneous "victory"

[drunk pumpkin]

2017 I took my youngest daughter who was 13 at the time. After watching the Foo's we took a blanket and an inflatable tube seat up to the green fields. Her with a hot chocolate me a couple of beers.

We found a small stage, sat down and watched the world go by for about an hour. 

She still talks about it now!

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

1 hour ago, Beaver89 said:

2008 Saturday night after Jay Z - my first year and first night - a friend and I accidentally found Club Dada in Shangri-la (200 ish capacity tent) shortly before a 'highly spirited' Lady Gaga came on at 2am and sung the hits for 20-30 minutes. Surreal accident that hasn't really been topped.

I guess the "If we don't like the pyramid headliner we can nip to the Other stage" three night run in 2009 of Neil Young vs Bloc Party, Bruce Springsteen vs Franz Ferdinand and Blur vs Prodigy and winding up seeing all three pyramid sets in full was a decent run too. That Blur set... still hits me. (before you judge, I was a 19 year old indie rock fan at the time but knew full well the importance of the acts on the pyramid - hence that approach)

Gaga was 2009

[tumbles]

Keen to see De La Soul on Pyramid in 2014 I manged to find myself at the barrier.  I also really wanted to see Arcade Fire but had planned to go off get food/chill between. 

With a prime location centre of pyramid barrier I stood there from 3pm and didn't move to the end of the Arcade Fire set.  Somehow holding the need to have a piss for best part of 8 hours along with getting soaked through during the afternoon downpour. 

[BluePaul]

Friday afternoon 2007.  Yes, it was chucking it down.  If for no other reason than to get out of the pissing rain, I ended up in the John Peel Tent listening to a sea of landfill indie.  Good Shoes, Tokyo Police Club, I'm looking at you.

Then, after a pretty decent set from The New Pornographers, I ended up down at the front for The Hold Steady.  To say I was gobsmacked would be an understatement.  On a cold, wet, dreary day, they bought a great big wallop of sunshine and sheer joy to the festival.  My mood was lifted immeasurably.

Then back out into the pissing rain for Rufus Wainwright.

[e_p]

Also - Metallica.  I’m no rock fan, but was passing and the sheer power of them playing enter sandman kept me entertained and i stayed for most of the rest of it. Was perfect for that moment 

[Beaver89]

2 hours ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

Gaga was 2009

You are correct, my bad. Story is still the same apart from that - I think... time fades the mind. Was defo there though!

[gooner1990]

3 hours ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

By complete chance, we walked past Club Dada at exactly the right time to see Lady Gaga's secret set in 2009. Possibly my only spontaneous "victory"

Quite intrigued to hear how this went...was she off her tits? Was it mayhem trying to get near the tent? Or did no one at all know she was going to perform until she appeared on stage?

If something similar happened this year it would be utter chaos.

[WestCountryGirl]

Three moments from 2013 for me. Not the smallest of sets, nothing unique really in my experience, but pristine moments in my life that I revisit again and again.

Chic on West Holts. This was my first Glastonbury, and I'd struck out on my own for most of that day and I decided - despite being a big AM fan in a 'seminal sound of my youth' kind of way - to go to West Holts instead. It was magic, and I found I was at home on my own in a crowd of thousands.

Then the next night with my oldest friend at the Pyramid for the Rolling Stones. That was simply a victorious moment in our lives - one of those special confluences of the universe that won't be topped.

Then the next day back at the Pyramid, on my tod once again, for Nick Cave. I was only just a burgeoning fan at that point but that set sold me.. Push the Sky Away became my soundtrack to the rest of that summer - and it was an amazing, entirely life-changing summer... all soundtracked and propelled on by memories of Glasto.

[BambooShanks]

One time I asked for a haloumi and chicken wrap and only got a chicken one,  when I complained that my wrap didn't have haloumi in it, I got a free wrap. 

Though seriously - Managing to find a to get a ticket / place at Glastonbury every year since I started going in 2010 and never, ever falling over into the mud despite being in some questionable states is a victory that I hope I will continue on celebrating for years to come. 

[BambooShanks]

2 minutes ago, WestCountryGirl said:

Chic on West Holts. This was my first Glastonbury, and I'd struck out on my own for most of that day and I decided - despite being a big AM fan in a 'seminal sound of my youth' kind of way - to go to West Holts instead. It was magic, and I found I was at home on my own in a crowd of thousands.

Chic in 2013 is easily in my top 3 glasto sets.  Wall to wall bangers and probably the best crowd atmosphere I've ever witnessed

[Quark]

Nice thread. Trying to think of the unexpected happenstances that turned into wins.

First one in 2009, having that Blur set as the end to my first festival was just mind blowing. What a year to decide to go.

Also 2009, was intrigued by the 3 Daft Monkeys flyer that had been stuck all over the longdrops. Went wandering on my own and pottered along to watch them at Avalon, had an absolute blast and seen them multiple times since. All because of a vaguely interesting poster and a decision to bimble off on my own.

Sitting in the Pyramid field that year and gradually building an obstacle course of empty cans, giggling like idiots at people actively trying to step through them.  Still makes us chuckle when it comes up 13 years later.

The Kae Tempest set in 2017. Not generally a fan and had no plans to watch them, just happened to be in the field at the right time. Incredible scenes.

One that I've come back to on many occasions (albeit for different reasons) was the decision to ditch my mates and go see Levellers instead of Stevie Wonder in 2010. Would have been so much easier to go with the flow and stay with the group to see a legend, especially as I'd seen them many times before. Aside from being an amazing set, they player a load of material that I love that I'd never heard live before or since. 

Dashing out from shelter into the rain in 2015 on a whim to see Dub Pistols at the Glade for the first time, arrived just in time for Mucky Weekend and again had an absolute blast. Seen them many times since as well.

Watching Circa Waves in John Peel in 2015, again during the rain. Sun started coming through the clouds as they were singing T-Shirt Weather, whole crowd singing "IT'S GONNA BE OK!" at full volume. Perfect timing.

Plucking up the courage to start going to the efests meet in 2017 after bottling it the year before, and meeting lovely people who I'm happy to call friends. Also the year that an impromptu meet on the Thursday ended up in the greatest drinking afternoon I've had on the farm.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

40 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

Quite intrigued to hear how this went...was she off her tits? Was it mayhem trying to get near the tent? Or did no one at all know she was going to perform until she appeared on stage?

If something similar happened this year it would be utter chaos.

If I recall correctly, it was gone midnight. I can't say that there was a mad rush or how busy it was outside, we got there when it was half-full (the vast majority of those in there that we spoke to knew what was going on), only finding out about it as we were meeting a friend at Trash City and she'd bumped into someone who was a Gaga fan en-route to Shangri-La. I'm not sure how she found out but we decided to tag along as we'd enjoyed her set on the Other Stage earlier that day. It didn't feel overly busy about 3/4 in, I've been to much more heavily crowded secret sets but maybe the time of day and not so much of a social media presence meant that the rumour wasn't so widespread. It lasted less than an hour, again, if my memory serves but I do remember it being a largely chaotic set.

She was just on the cusp of blowing up then. If it happened now, of course it would be a health and safety catastrophe. I'm trying to think of an equivalent 

She didn't appear any more or less messy than she did earlier that day but I've since seen a few images of her backstage that night and she does look like she got into the "festival spirit".