So anyone adamant they are not going next year ?

[DeanoL]

Yeah maybe I'm wrong and the Pier is as good as Arcadia and Shangri-La after all.

[gigpusher]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:08 PM, DeanoL said:

Yeah maybe I'm wrong and the Pier is as good as Arcadia and Shangri-La after all.

For me it’s considerably better than Arcadia. I absolutely accept that I would be in the minority here but I have already spent more time on the pier than I ever have at Arcadia and that was my point. It’s a pretty small addition to the festival. I have watched Arcadia once at my first festival. Having seen it in action once I have never felt the need to repeat it. I am not especially keen on the music it plays but other people love it and I am fine with not loving every area of the festival. Even after 9 festivals I still have stages I have never been to. I am sure some I never will go to but I don’t have a problem with them existing. Basically at a festival as big as Glastonbury with a demographic as wide as Glastonbury it’s absolutely fine for there to be a couple of areas that you have zero interest in. 

[plaskins]

I'm gutted I missed the orbital set on the pier this year..

On topic itself. I'm definitely not hanging up my glasto boots yet. Want to do another 15 at least I reckon hah. But I'm (only) 38 🤷‍♂️

[Crazyfool01]

1 hour ago, plaskins said:

I'm gutted I missed the orbital set on the pier this year..

On topic itself. I'm definitely not hanging up my glasto boots yet. Want to do another 15 at least I reckon hah. But I'm (only) 38 🤷‍♂️

youngster 🙂 

[Hugh Jass II]

They need to keep the Pier open one more year at least so I can get some Glastonbury on Sea socks. They'd sold out by the time I got up there last year.

[Ayrshire Chris]

15 hours ago, plaskins said:

I'm gutted I missed the orbital set on the pier this year..

On topic itself. I'm definitely not hanging up my glasto boots yet. Want to do another 15 at least I reckon hah. But I'm (only) 38 🤷‍♂️

Don’t put a number on it. If you’re lucky enough to get the 15 then you will want more. Unlike other festivals Glastonbury is totally addictive, but it’s an addiction you never want to kick! 

[gigpusher]

1 hour ago, Hugh Jass II said:

They need to keep the Pier open one more year at least so I can get some Glastonbury on Sea socks. They'd sold out by the time I got up there last year.

Yep it's probably a good money spinner as well because the merch is cool. We bought some rock for our dogsitters as well.

[Hugh Jass II]

19 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

Yep it's probably a good money spinner as well because the merch is cool. We bought some rock for our dogsitters as well.

One thing I've noticed in the last few years is how quickly the merch sells out across the site. Obviously you can buy stuff online afterwards but a lot of the t-shirts, hoodies and whatnot go very quickly.

Guy on the stall by the Pyramid told me they put some Elton t-shirts out at 9am on the Sunday and they were gone by 9.15.

[dotdash79]

1 minute ago, Hugh Jass II said:

Guy on the stall by the Pyramid told me they put some Elton t-shirts out at 9am on the Sunday and they were gone by 9.15.

That stall wasn't open at 9am and they didn't have any when they opened on the Sunday. Apart from that yes merch is selling faster but are they making less as they don't want any left over.

[Hugh Jass II]

5 minutes ago, dotdash79 said:

That stall wasn't open at 9am and they didn't have any when they opened on the Sunday. Apart from that yes merch is selling faster but are they making less as they don't want any left over.

Must have misheard, but the guy on the stall definitely said they had some. Saw a guy wearing an Elton Glastonbury t-shirt too. Bought one online anyway.

[dotdash79]

Just now, Hugh Jass II said:

Must have misheard, but the guy on the stall definitely said they had some. Saw a guy wearing an Elton Glastonbury t-shirt too. Bought one online anyway.

Other stage merch stand had them but they sold out quite early (think on Thursday).  Still there must be crazy merch sales numbers at glasto

[Hugh Jass II]

1 minute ago, dotdash79 said:

Other stage merch stand had them but they sold out quite early (think on Thursday).  Still there must be crazy merch sales numbers at glasto

I wanted a pair of Glastonbury on Sea socks, didn't get up to the Pier until Saturday but by then they'd all gone.

[Hugh Jass II]

Got both my kids t-shirts on the Thursday though.

[Colorblindjames]

3 hours ago, Hugh Jass II said:

One thing I've noticed in the last few years is how quickly the merch sells out across the site. Obviously you can buy stuff online afterwards but a lot of the t-shirts, hoodies and whatnot go very quickly.

Guy on the stall by the Pyramid told me they put some Elton t-shirts out at 9am on the Sunday and they were gone by 9.15.

Yes the Park t-shirts had sold out by Saturday lunchtime. The guy working they was having a very relaxing afternoon. 

[gooner1990]

On 8/15/2023 at 5:22 PM, DeanoL said:

I'm done for now. Maybe in the future I might look at going and camping in LoveFields but:

1) really physically struggling to lug stuff from the car to the campsite these days. Part age, part fitness. 

2) loss of Rivermead/Pylon makes the walk worse, and as we arrive late Wednesday afternoon, it's a pain no longer having a field that's certain to be quiet and still have space. For years we've camped at the back of Rivermead and could all arrive throughout Wednesday/Thursday and be sure we could get a spot near each other. 

3) the site is busier. It works when the weather is nice but I generally can't see it working in a muddy year, with everyone trying to keep to the paths. The paths+the grass either side are now often as busy as the paths used to be in the muddy years. I do think the festival is in for a major shocker when they get the first rainy year as they've just not had one to stress test them since the numbers went up loads. The old behaviour of people just staying in their tents at the campsites when it's raining that used to be relied upon is just not happening any more. So much of the camping is so far out... it's not like when half the site camping was over the Pyramid or Other stage so you could walk 10 minutes, go watch an act, and then go dry off in the tent when it starts raining. People camped in South Park, Lime Kiln, Darble are not wondering back to the tent then out again multiple times a day. You'd head there and it'd have stopped raining again by the time you're back. How busy the site is now on a Wednesday shows just how dedicated people are to having as much fun as possible for their money... which brings me to...

4) the price. It's not too expensive. But I think it *is* too expensive if you're not that interested in any of the headliners or most of the Pyramid/Other programming. Used to be "there's so much do, you don't even need to go to the main stages" - which is still true but there are cheaper ways to get your folk/comedy/circus fix. Speaking of...

5) age/fitness again - I can no longer sit on the floor for three hours chilling in the circus or cabaret tent. An hour or so and my back is screaming at me.

6) my musical tastes haven't changed much. But the festival has changed around me. I don't begrudge it that, it's the one moving with the times, while I'm staying still. But outside of the booking policy for the main stages, the rest has stagnated. Glastonbury used to keep physically growing every few years. More stages, more stuff, space for interesting and innovative new ideas and people to give us innovative new stuff. It's how we got Arcadia, Shangri-La, HMS Charity, the Greenpeace installations. But now there's no space any more. But there's also no willingness to let the old things go. Arcadia was going to go and get replaced by a new thing... by the Arcadia team. The Pier is a nice idea, but it's Joe Rush again. Carhenge was a throwback to the old days of the festival, and was also Joe Rush again. Rimski's Yard is great, love it as an addition, but it's run by the same groups with the same acts that are on at the rest of the T&C field. The Atchin Tan at the top of the T&C field... I don't have anything against the cause of Travellers and it's a neat idea but that's some prime real estate to give to over to something people were really uninterested in. And it's the political equivalent of booking 90s Britpop on the Pyramid all day. If we're going to have an area for a political statement to be made, maybe we could give it to some young people? Leftfield have done a good job at keeping up with the issues that affect the younger generation but certainly much of the rest of the place hasn't. Green Futures feels so very, very dated.

Similarly the way people engage with stand-up comedy these days: most people go to the theatre and watch hour-long shows by acts they really like. Few people go to comedy clubs and watch a bunch of acts do 10-20 minutes. But the latter is still the format for the Cabaret tent. Maybe more acts doing actual full shows that people could make a point of wanting to go and see, rather it just being somewhere for people to drop in or out of.

All of this you can argue either way, that you'd prefer it one way or the other. But to me it's about moving forward rather than standing still. I would rather the music booking policy was what it was in the early 2000s and they booked more of the bands I liked. But it moved on. I can accept that. But the rest of the site has not moved on in the same way. I've been going for 20 years and the Astrolabe still has acts that have played there every year since I first went. And I've read a bunch of Marcus du Sautoy's books and think he is great but does he really need to be doing three shows every festival?

(And yeah, it's because he probably does it for the price of a couple of tickets and there's no budget put in elsewhere - I'm not blaming the bookers at these fields - modern cutting edge circus/comedy/theatre acts would cost more. But Elton/GnR/Arctics cost more than Muse/Coldplay/Pulp but we're not using that as an excuse either...)

Got a bit ranty there, but yeah, I don't mean to attack the festival or anything, it is what it is and they make the choices to put the money where it benefits them the most, but it does mean it's moved away from my tastes consistently over the past 13 years. Ironically by moving where my tastes are standing still and standing still where my tastes are moving on.

I've thought about the festival a bit since this years.......had a good time as usual, but something has sort of changed for me.

I first went in 2004, aged 22, lots of music towards my tastes, young enough to get smashed 5 nights straight, hack it and be ok again two days later...... and as you noted as well, the festival has now changed in terms of its programming (2008 onwards for me) and the people that attend.  My musical tastes however are still broadly the same, and I'm now 42, the festival has changed around me and I've perhaps not. 

I think, whilst I may still go, that I need to accept that mainstream pop headliners are here to stay (and those further down the bill) and if I really start to not enjoy it, call it a day and go to something else instead.

Sometimes we are guilty of chasing something from yesteryear without realising that just attending the same event doesn't mean the same fun as you as a person are older/like different music/don't do drugs anymore etc.

as a side point, my own opinion is that I think the site is now too big, its a complete chore from start to finish getting in unless you're prepared to pay your way out of it and just going from one stage to another or another part of the site takes an eternity.I think that more than anything may see me retire!

 

(That all said its the best live event offering I've ever been to so don't want this to come across as negative!)

[stuie]

9 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I've thought about the festival a bit since this years.......had a good time as usual, but something has sort of changed for me.

I first went in 2004, aged 22, lots of music towards my tastes, young enough to get smashed 5 nights straight, hack it and be ok again two days later...... and as you noted as well, the festival has now changed in terms of its programming (2008 onwards for me) and the people that attend.  My musical tastes however are still broadly the same, and I'm now 42, the festival has changed around me and I've perhaps not. 

I think, whilst I may still go, that I need to accept that mainstream pop headliners are here to stay (and those further down the bill) and if I really start to not enjoy it, call it a day and go to something else instead.

Sometimes we are guilty of chasing something from yesteryear without realising that just attending the same event doesn't mean the same fun as you as a person are older/like different music/don't do drugs anymore etc.

as a side point, my own opinion is that I think the site is now too big, its a complete chore from start to finish getting in unless you're prepared to pay your way out of it and just going from one stage to another or another part of the site takes an eternity.I think that more than anything may see me retire!

 

(That all said its the best live event offering I've ever been to so don't want this to come across as negative!)

If you find it a chore and you don't like the programming, it's time to move on.

 

[gooner1990]

4 minutes ago, stuie said:

If you find it a chore and you don't like the programming, it's time to move on.

 

I think you misread, its the getting in I struggle with......all my other friends do pre-erected now....I may join them!

[stuie]

6 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I think you misread, its the getting in I struggle with......all my other friends do pre-erected now....I may join them!

I might have misread that part slightly, but the overall tone of your post says the glory days are over for you - I reckon there's a festival that suits you better now... , maybe something like Beaded or Beautiful Days.

[Crazyfool01]

19 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I think you misread, its the getting in I struggle with......all my other friends do pre-erected now....I may join them!

Try that and see how you go … my workaround definately helps me . Oh and congratulations you should now be married .. hope it went well 

[The Nal]

You "trips to the car" people really make it difficult on yourselves!

Turn up on Wednesday afternoon/Thursday morning (with less stuff) and you'll stroll in. 

[Avalon_Fields]

49 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

I've thought about the festival a bit since this years.......had a good time as usual, but something has sort of changed for me.

I first went in 2004, aged 22, lots of music towards my tastes, young enough to get smashed 5 nights straight, hack it and be ok again two days later...... and as you noted as well, the festival has now changed in terms of its programming (2008 onwards for me) and the people that attend.  My musical tastes however are still broadly the same, and I'm now 42, the festival has changed around me and I've perhaps not. 

I think, whilst I may still go, that I need to accept that mainstream pop headliners are here to stay (and those further down the bill) and if I really start to not enjoy it, call it a day and go to something else instead.

Sometimes we are guilty of chasing something from yesteryear without realising that just attending the same event doesn't mean the same fun as you as a person are older/like different music/don't do drugs anymore etc.

as a side point, my own opinion is that I think the site is now too big, its a complete chore from start to finish getting in unless you're prepared to pay your way out of it and just going from one stage to another or another part of the site takes an eternity.I think that more than anything may see me retire!

 

(That all said its the best live event offering I've ever been to so don't want this to come across as negative!)

I'd expect quite a few have the same thoughts as you. My advice for what it is worth - don't chase yesteryear, it's not going to happen, but you can still have an incredible time. I've actively adapted and I enjoy the festival as much as ever, but only because I've made a conscious effort for it all to still work for me. It's quite a lengthy list what I do different but I love it.

[Crazyfool01]

16 minutes ago, The Nal said:

You "trips to the car" people really make it difficult on yourselves!

Turn up on Wednesday afternoon/Thursday morning (with less stuff) and you'll stroll in. 

its really easy .... good luck strolling in wed or thurs pm if you want to camp with a reasonably sized group , our round trip was an hour extra on Thursday and meant I could have some added comfort and save 100 or so on the bar bills , everything went out that came in so no harm done 

[Neil]

On 8/20/2023 at 7:50 PM, plaskins said:

I'm gutted I missed the orbital set on the pier this year..

On topic itself. I'm definitely not hanging up my glasto boots yet. Want to do another 15 at least I reckon hah. But I'm (only) 38 🤷‍♂️

ow many do you reckon you can do, i've managed 30, having properly lost my mobility i'm properly out.

[gooner1990]

1 hour ago, stuie said:

I might have misread that part slightly, but the overall tone of your post says the glory days are over for you - I reckon there's a festival that suits you better now... , maybe something like Beaded or Beautiful Days.

I think I need to adapt, which in some of my previous posts I've mentioned, either per-erected camping or being a bit more sensible whilst there - if that doesn't work then I'd be happy to call it a day.

(I've been to Beautiful Days before btw)

[gooner1990]

58 minutes ago, Avalon_Fields said:

I'd expect quite a few have the same thoughts as you. My advice for what it is worth - don't chase yesteryear, it's not going to happen, but you can still have an incredible time. I've actively adapted and I enjoy the festival as much as ever, but only because I've made a conscious effort for it all to still work for me. It's quite a lengthy list what I do different but I love it.

I think I will give this a go before retirement. 🙂