What if you never come down. Glastonbury 2024

[Skip997]

 

“What if you never come down?”

 

If I’d have got to the “nice one geezer” stage more than a couple of times I’d have taken it, but more of that later.

 

It’s probably lack of memory and all is as usual, but at the moment it feels like a much worse recovery than normal. The dust surely didn’t help and maybe that’s what gave me cold like symptoms in the days after. Lack of sleep, excess drug use and countless hours on my feet, whether walking or dancing surely contribute to a cloudy mind and a broken body.

 

So here I sit reflecting on Glastonbury 2024, number 26 for me, if I can trust my addled brain.

 

If you can wear trainers and sit down anywhere at any time all is good, anything else is a bonus.

 

I arrived really early this year, earlier than I should have been required, however, as it turned out I was needed (if only briefly). Forecasts of heavy rain produced a site-wide “panic”, vehicles were moved to their final positions early, tons of wood chip was deployed in some arenas and walkways, security guards were allocated to ensure no vehicles disobeyed Michael’s instructions not to drive on the grass. Thankfully, aside from a brief, but heavy downpour in the build up, the weather held in our favour.

 

Some say it’s the best bit, the gradual build up to the show, watching the site develop, hanging out with old friends, able to quickly move anywhere, all is clean and fresh and easy going. I even managed a sneaky few minutes on the Pyramid one evening. But of course the whole point is the five days of music and mayhem.

 

Wednesday has always been a bit of problem re “crowd management” with nothing really going on beyond the opening ceremony in the Stone Circle field. With 10’s of thousands of excited arrivals ready to party it’s lucky we’ve managed to avoid a serious crush in recent years. This years solution was to schedule a “drone show” in the Pyramid arena to split the crowd. It worked, but may not do so next year, the totally average and uninspiring 10 minute, noiseless show (apparently it could be listened to on your phone) is unlikely to attract many repeat viewers. At least the fireworks from the hill were still visible after a short walk.

 

Guerrilla Bar, the no longer very secret, but still relatively hard to access backstage bar opens. It’s probably my favourite day in guerrilla, not too crowded and easy to catch up with old mates.

 

Thursday

 

Thankfully it’s a civilised start time, 2 o’clock, Nextmen followed by The Orb at the lovely little Glade Dome. Where my “I took the red pill” T-shirt caused some amusement. There was another act in between, but I guess I must have nipped off for some refreshments. The weather remains pleasant, not too hot and you can still sit down.

 

It’s a real shame that the so called “naughty corner” has become a victim of it’s own success, while at the same time becoming somewhat stale. Apparently “Shangri-La” is being revamped next year, well overdue in my opinion. However, I can still occasionally be tempted into the bottle neck, slightly improved this year by swapping stages around, and with not much to tempt me elsewhere I enjoy or possibly endure 90 minutes of Ewan McVicar on Nowhere. The vibe just ain’t quite there, not even a “nice one geezer”.

 

Somehow I end up back at The Glade Stage and stumble across Desiree the South African “House” DJ. Now this is proper fun, the start of the four day “danceathon”, but still no significant interaction with anyone, in very marked contrast to last year.

 

Time to check out the Levels, a truly spectacular venue in Silver Hayes, for Shygirl presents Club Shy. Not really sure what to expect, but after seeing her fantastic performance on The Park last year, I think this could be fun.

 

Too many on site, always too many on site. It’s Thursday and with no big stages operating the queue stretches half way to the Other Stage, she’ll have finished before I’m anywhere near. So back over to the SE corner.

 

If there was ever a venue made to dance in…

Now then! Then queue for The Temple is small and moving, this is more like it. It’s hard to emphasise just how close to perfect a dance venue this is. Built like an amphitheatre, with stepped tiers on three sides, the forth side contains the DJ booth and the strange 3d god like head from which lights and lasers shoot forth. The beauty here is that if you stand on one of the tiers you can see nearly every face in the place. They also have a great door policy, it’s never filled to capacity, there’s always room to move about and dance.

 

Things are looking up, 10 years of Jungle Cakes, various DJ’s and my favourite music to dance to - proper “old school” D&B and Jungle. Sadly I only make the last half an hour. But it’s not all over and I find myself enjoying a bit more curtesy of Uncommon Records Takeover.

 

Suddenly it’s 3am and it’s all over for now.

 

Friday

 

Fantastic scheduling or fantastic personal taste means nothing on till 15.30, and I love it. This allows for the gentle morning routine; coffee, breakfast slowly, slowly, but what’s this? An enthusiastic invite from fellow crew members encourages me to amble along to Strummerville for some Reggae. And why not! It’s many years since I’ve visited that venue, back in the days when it was sited in what is now the Unfairground crew bar, where the Strummer stone still sits.

 

Back in the day Joe Strummer used to host an open campfire and a stone was placed there after his death.

 

The “new” Strummervilleis a lovely little venue set in the middle of small copse on the southern edge of the site. It’s a good distance from any other venue and benefits from this; no sound bleed and lovely tranquil atmosphere, at least at this time of the day. There’s only a handful of people there, chilling on the fire side sofas and occasionally dancing to sweet  sounds. A lone litter picker dances through the grass, occasionally deploying her picker, but mostly dancing and chatting.

 

Ain’t nobody, loves me better, makes me happy, makes me feel this way, ain’t nobody, loves me better than you

 

And so I suddenly have my “festival tune”, Ain’t Nobody, Chaka Khan, and what a banger.

 

My buddies drift off, I drift off, bouncy and happy.

 

Noname, which I think is a great name, on West Holts. One of my Glastonbury “fliers” and as I’m feeling like some nostalgic nonsense, Sugababes to follow, then why not? I enjoyed Noname, it was a good performance, but honestly I can’t remember too much.

 

The Sugababes! I’m sure you’re all familiar, it’s silly it’s fun, they’re always tricky to get near at Glastonbury and I’m already in position right near the front, let’s go! I’m told I saw them on The Pyramid in the early 2000’s, I have no memory of this. They put on a show.

 

At some point during the day a meal ticket has found it’s way into my hand (thanks Tony) and with not much to do for a couple of hours I head towards The Park backstage area where our crew meals are served. Unfortunately I have to endure the eternally annoying sounds of Dexy’s as I negotiate the Park Stage arena. Although it is somewhat satisfying to discover that they’re just as dreadful live as they are recorded, a “fact” that I inflict on several unfortunate passers by.

 

I’ve kind of hatched a plan for the next few hours; first up the wonderful LCD sound system on the Pyramid and maybe I’ll hang around for Dua Lipa. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a Pyramid headliner and I’d be in a great position inside the inner barrier AKA “the pit”. I find a comfortable spot against the barrier and enjoy a great “does what it says on the tin” show from a very experienced band. However, I really can’t be bothered to wait an hour between acts, and TBH I’ve not got my “night time drugs” with me, so off I go.

 

I’ve little memory of what I did for the next hour or so, except for hearing “Insomnia” in the background and instantly regretting not going to see Faithless at The Glade.

 

Next up, Jungle on West Holts, while part of me wonders should I have stayed at the Pyramid. I’d no idea they were so popular. I eventually get a reasonable spot, well position wise anyway, but I’m next to a gobby twat, think’s he’s funny, but he’s just annoying. Not even a “nice one geezer”. I’m not getting this, maybe it’s the crowd, then seem more Pyramid than West Holts, maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s me.

 

Ain’t no body….

 

It took a few years to figure out that north of the old railway line is where to be when in the “naughty corner”, Block 9 and The Common as opposed to Shangri-La and Unfairground. Genosys is back in it’s full glory, the wonderful 3d brilliantly lite structure replacing the bus, and the vibes as good as ever. I love the backdrop of NYC Downlow and the lights from IIcon if you find you’ve danced through half a circle and are “facing the wrong way”.

 

Loves me better, makes me happy, makes me feel this way…

 

At this moment in time, that person is Honey Dijon, and for a couple of hours all is wonderful, there may even have been a couple of “nice one geezer” moments and even one that went beyond. I had a moment of frustration as a what I thought was half a pill carelessly kept from my hand and hid itself in the grass. Out comes the phone torch and as is traditional those around me join in the search and then produce a replacement when we’re unsuccessful. Happy days and thanks to whoever you were.

 

Maybe I passed by Bicep on IIcon, maybe I had a look at The Mez Yard, maybe the queue for The Temple was too big, maybe I stayed a bit longer at Genosys, but I definitely ended up back in The Guerrilla bar for a few hours of wonderful disco.

 

Saturday

 

Another late start, fortunately as it’s an early afternoon crawl out of bed day. Coffee, food, cannabis, off to check out Nitin Sawhney on West Holts, a pleasant late afternoon experience, more food and a relatively quick turn around, back to the Glade for Jamz Supernova B2B Yung Singh. This is great dance along fun, but I’m feeling a strange pull to The Other Stage and The Streets, committing to missing Orbital in doing so.

 

Predictably it’s busy, but easy enough to get a decent spot within the “pit”. Mike Skinner somehow manages to not be a twat, while engaging in some potentially twat like behaviour and fair play, it’s high energy, it’s entertaining and it’s fun. After all he is in some ways a “punter” who fully “gets it”. I wonder if he’ll make to The Temple at 5am?

 

I find my self back at camp and allow myself to be persuaded to check out Jessie Ware on West Holts, fun high energy disco on Spotify, West Holts party time? Not too busy, easy to get near the front and a nicer bunch than The Jungle lot. However shortly after I get the text “ we can see you on the screen” I give in. I tried, but it’s boring pop and I can really do without slow sad stuff at the moment.

 

Glade to the rescue, it’s Goldie, it’s Drum and Bass, it’s live, with actual drummers and it’s fun. Although I’ve no idea how those boys kept up the tempo.

 

IICON

 

In my opinion the best looking stage on site, with a good sound system,little sound bleed from other stages, a large arena, great lasers, and a penchant for booking top DJ’s, but I’ve always struggled at this venue. There’s something about the vibe, it can suffer badly from overcrowding and often seems to attract the more aggressive among the post midnight crew. However, I’ll give it another go for Afrodeutsche. Sadly yet again it’s all too dark.

 

After another maybe half hour of confusion and indecision, never quite finding the right sound or vibe, I’d welcome a simple “nice one geezer” at this point, with some trepidation I approach The Temple. No way, not at this time on a Saturday, not a chance. The queue is unsurprisingly big, but it’s just about within the long snaking rails and occasionally moving. I’m gonna go for it! I reckon it probably took about 30 minutes, but felt like 5, until I was in.

 

Maybe it’s about 3am, maybe it’s Simula on decks, but it’s danceable and it’s The Temple and I’m happy and I continue to worship at the alter of fun, admiring the strange and sometimes disturbing giant head above the DJ. It’s 5am, time for the 4am Kru, something not quite right there.

Wow these guys have some energy and thankfully so have the crowd, although still barely more than a “nice one geezer”. Where is the love? And no sign of Mike Skinner.

 

 

Sunday

 

Sometimes it feels like The Daytime line up is made for me, rarely anything of real interest before mid afternoon, although the reality is that I’m willing to miss acts or have become blind to anything that interferes with a good 6 hours sleep. It also feels like mid Sunday afternoon on West Holts is always “heritage Reggae”. As so we have Steel Pulse, hardly a finer roots Reggae act exists, the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

 

A few years back I took a “flier” on a interesting act headlining West Holts, Janelle Monáe was superb that night, so let’s see how she gets on late afternoon on the Pyramid. As I make my way through the main markets I’m increasingly confused as the bulk of the traffic is heading away, maybe towards the Other Stage. For who?

 

A perfect performance from an extremely talented, confident and comfortable artist delivered with supreme confidence. The music, choreography, costumes, presentation and message we’re all spot on, yet the crowd barely reached the mixing desk, why? Who else was on?

 

You’re not going to believe this, well maybe you are, but I ain’t. Avril Lavigne FFS! Alcohol or irony or both, but wow, just wow!

 

Right here we go, the finale, the big one, well kind of two, we got a starter and a main course. It’s West Holts Sunday night party time and no stage does the last night better.

 

“The warm up”, apologies to Nia Archives for using this term, she was great, and I had no idea she sang. What a wonderful set.

 

In some ways I’d been waiting for Justice right from the moment I arrived on site, or even from the moment the line up was released. I was at the 2017 Justice set, same stage, same slot, one of my all time favourites and knew this was worth the wait. I even did something I’ve only done once before, for Beyoncé in 2011(?, feel free to correct me), wait a whole hour between sets. You see I knew the legend of 2017 would fill the field and more and I needed to secure a good spot. Nia finished and I headed straight for the barrier, time passed quickly as I conversed with my neighbours.

 

Was it as good, or was it better than 2017, as I can’t now repeat either and my memory ain’t the best I’ll never know. What I do know is that it was epic, what I learned is that being right at the front isn’t necessarily the best spot, especially for a dance act, you somehow miss a bit of the vibe.

 

Time for another go at IIcon, DnB legend Roni Size. He’s good, the vibe is okay and I can handle at least for an hour or two, until Goldie comes on and suddenly I’m “drum and bassed out”. Never had that before. What now?

 

Yet again rescued by Genosys, a reoccurring theme of the last two years in Bloc 9. This time it’s the wonderful DIY and some proper old school house, a lovely change and straight into Felix Dickinson as the dawn breaks over NYC Downlow, enhanced by the lasers from here and IIcon.

 

 

So why the occasional “nice one geezer”? What’s that all about? Well something was different this year, at least in my little Glastonbury world. Last year one thing was constant, one thing could, at least for myself, but relied on. Everyone I meet was friendly, happy, smiley, fun and many good conversations were had, lovely moments shared on the dance floor and mostly with “strangers”. This year nothing more than the occasional “nice one geezer”, without rhyme or reason it just wasn’t happening. Was I different, were they different, too much coke, too much alcohol, was I “unlucky”?

[Db79]

Absolutely loved reading this. It's so interesting how all our festivals are completely different. 

 

On the "nice one geezer" front, I met a couple at genosys around 2am in 2015, and they are some of my closest friends now. I went to their wedding overseas in 2019. 

 

I had less random chats with strangers this year but put that down to me getting older, being better behaved, and going to bed earlier! 

[fred quimby]

Great read as always Skip, we will bump into one another one year.

[kalifire]

Brilliant round up. Always enjoy reading your reviews 🙂

[Skip997]

1 minute ago, kalifire said:

Brilliant round up. Always enjoy reading your reviews 🙂

Cheers 

[acidstorm523]

58 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

 

“What if you never come down?”

 

If I’d have got to the “nice one geezer” stage more than a couple of times I’d have taken it, but more of that later.

 

It’s probably lack of memory and all is as usual, but at the moment it feels like a much worse recovery than normal. The dust surely didn’t help and maybe that’s what gave me cold like symptoms in the days after. Lack of sleep, excess drug use and countless hours on my feet, whether walking or dancing surely contribute to a cloudy mind and a broken body.

 

So here I sit reflecting on Glastonbury 2024, number 26 for me, if I can trust my addled brain.

 

If you can wear trainers and sit down anywhere at any time all is good, anything else is a bonus.

 

I arrived really early this year, earlier than I should have been required, however, as it turned out I was needed (if only briefly). Forecasts of heavy rain produced a site-wide “panic”, vehicles were moved to their final positions early, tons of wood chip was deployed in some arenas and walkways, security guards were allocated to ensure no vehicles disobeyed Michael’s instructions not to drive on the grass. Thankfully, aside from a brief, but heavy downpour in the build up, the weather held in our favour.

 

Some say it’s the best bit, the gradual build up to the show, watching the site develop, hanging out with old friends, able to quickly move anywhere, all is clean and fresh and easy going. I even managed a sneaky few minutes on the Pyramid one evening. But of course the whole point is the five days of music and mayhem.

 

Wednesday has always been a bit of problem re “crowd management” with nothing really going on beyond the opening ceremony in the Stone Circle field. With 10’s of thousands of excited arrivals ready to party it’s lucky we’ve managed to avoid a serious crush in recent years. This years solution was to schedule a “drone show” in the Pyramid arena to split the crowd. It worked, but may not do so next year, the totally average and uninspiring 10 minute, noiseless show (apparently it could be listened to on your phone) is unlikely to attract many repeat viewers. At least the fireworks from the hill were still visible after a short walk.

 

Guerrilla Bar, the no longer very secret, but still relatively hard to access backstage bar opens. It’s probably my favourite day in guerrilla, not too crowded and easy to catch up with old mates.

 

Thursday

 

Thankfully it’s a civilised start time, 2 o’clock, Nextmen followed by The Orb at the lovely little Glade Dome. Where my “I took the red pill” T-shirt caused some amusement. There was another act in between, but I guess I must have nipped off for some refreshments. The weather remains pleasant, not too hot and you can still sit down.

 

It’s a real shame that the so called “naughty corner” has become a victim of it’s own success, while at the same time becoming somewhat stale. Apparently “Shangri-La” is being revamped next year, well overdue in my opinion. However, I can still occasionally be tempted into the bottle neck, slightly improved this year by swapping stages around, and with not much to tempt me elsewhere I enjoy or possibly endure 90 minutes of Ewan McVicar on Nowhere. The vibe just ain’t quite there, not even a “nice one geezer”.

 

Somehow I end up back at The Glade Stage and stumble across Desiree the South African “House” DJ. Now this is proper fun, the start of the four day “danceathon”, but still no significant interaction with anyone, in very marked contrast to last year.

 

Time to check out the Levels, a truly spectacular venue in Silver Hayes, for Shygirl presents Club Shy. Not really sure what to expect, but after seeing her fantastic performance on The Park last year, I think this could be fun.

 

Too many on site, always too many on site. It’s Thursday and with no big stages operating the queue stretches half way to the Other Stage, she’ll have finished before I’m anywhere near. So back over to the SE corner.

 

If there was ever a venue made to dance in…

Now then! Then queue for The Temple is small and moving, this is more like it. It’s hard to emphasise just how close to perfect a dance venue this is. Built like an amphitheatre, with stepped tiers on three sides, the forth side contains the DJ booth and the strange 3d god like head from which lights and lasers shoot forth. The beauty here is that if you stand on one of the tiers you can see nearly every face in the place. They also have a great door policy, it’s never filled to capacity, there’s always room to move about and dance.

 

Things are looking up, 10 years of Jungle Cakes, various DJ’s and my favourite music to dance to - proper “old school” D&B and Jungle. Sadly I only make the last half an hour. But it’s not all over and I find myself enjoying a bit more curtesy of Uncommon Records Takeover.

 

Suddenly it’s 3am and it’s all over for now.

 

Friday

 

Fantastic scheduling or fantastic personal taste means nothing on till 15.30, and I love it. This allows for the gentle morning routine; coffee, breakfast slowly, slowly, but what’s this? An enthusiastic invite from fellow crew members encourages me to amble along to Strummerville for some Reggae. And why not! It’s many years since I’ve visited that venue, back in the days when it was sited in what is now the Unfairground crew bar, where the Strummer stone still sits.

 

Back in the day Joe Strummer used to host an open campfire and a stone was placed there after his death.

 

The “new” Strummervilleis a lovely little venue set in the middle of small copse on the southern edge of the site. It’s a good distance from any other venue and benefits from this; no sound bleed and lovely tranquil atmosphere, at least at this time of the day. There’s only a handful of people there, chilling on the fire side sofas and occasionally dancing to sweet  sounds. A lone litter picker dances through the grass, occasionally deploying her picker, but mostly dancing and chatting.

 

Ain’t nobody, loves me better, makes me happy, makes me feel this way, ain’t nobody, loves me better than you

 

And so I suddenly have my “festival tune”, Ain’t Nobody, Chaka Khan, and what a banger.

 

My buddies drift off, I drift off, bouncy and happy.

 

Noname, which I think is a great name, on West Holts. One of my Glastonbury “fliers” and as I’m feeling like some nostalgic nonsense, Sugababes to follow, then why not? I enjoyed Noname, it was a good performance, but honestly I can’t remember too much.

 

The Sugababes! I’m sure you’re all familiar, it’s silly it’s fun, they’re always tricky to get near at Glastonbury and I’m already in position right near the front, let’s go! I’m told I saw them on The Pyramid in the early 2000’s, I have no memory of this. They put on a show.

 

At some point during the day a meal ticket has found it’s way into my hand (thanks Tony) and with not much to do for a couple of hours I head towards The Park backstage area where our crew meals are served. Unfortunately I have to endure the eternally annoying sounds of Dexy’s as I negotiate the Park Stage arena. Although it is somewhat satisfying to discover that they’re just as dreadful live as they are recorded, a “fact” that I inflict on several unfortunate passers by.

 

I’ve kind of hatched a plan for the next few hours; first up the wonderful LCD sound system on the Pyramid and maybe I’ll hang around for Dua Lipa. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a Pyramid headliner and I’d be in a great position inside the inner barrier AKA “the pit”. I find a comfortable spot against the barrier and enjoy a great “does what it says on the tin” show from a very experienced band. However, I really can’t be bothered to wait an hour between acts, and TBH I’ve not got my “night time drugs” with me, so off I go.

 

I’ve little memory of what I did for the next hour or so, except for hearing “Insomnia” in the background and instantly regretting not going to see Faithless at The Glade.

 

Next up, Jungle on West Holts, while part of me wonders should I have stayed at the Pyramid. I’d no idea they were so popular. I eventually get a reasonable spot, well position wise anyway, but I’m next to a gobby twat, think’s he’s funny, but he’s just annoying. Not even a “nice one geezer”. I’m not getting this, maybe it’s the crowd, then seem more Pyramid than West Holts, maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s me.

 

Ain’t no body….

 

It took a few years to figure out that north of the old railway line is where to be when in the “naughty corner”, Block 9 and The Common as opposed to Shangri-La and Unfairground. Genosys is back in it’s full glory, the wonderful 3d brilliantly lite structure replacing the bus, and the vibes as good as ever. I love the backdrop of NYC Downlow and the lights from IIcon if you find you’ve danced through half a circle and are “facing the wrong way”.

 

Loves me better, makes me happy, makes me feel this way…

 

At this moment in time, that person is Honey Dijon, and for a couple of hours all is wonderful, there may even have been a couple of “nice one geezer” moments and even one that went beyond. I had a moment of frustration as a what I thought was half a pill carelessly kept from my hand and hid itself in the grass. Out comes the phone torch and as is traditional those around me join in the search and then produce a replacement when we’re unsuccessful. Happy days and thanks to whoever you were.

 

Maybe I passed by Bicep on IIcon, maybe I had a look at The Mez Yard, maybe the queue for The Temple was too big, maybe I stayed a bit longer at Genosys, but I definitely ended up back in The Guerrilla bar for a few hours of wonderful disco.

 

Saturday

 

Another late start, fortunately as it’s an early afternoon crawl out of bed day. Coffee, food, cannabis, off to check out Nitin Sawhney on West Holts, a pleasant late afternoon experience, more food and a relatively quick turn around, back to the Glade for Jamz Supernova B2B Yung Singh. This is great dance along fun, but I’m feeling a strange pull to The Other Stage and The Streets, committing to missing Orbital in doing so.

 

Predictably it’s busy, but easy enough to get a decent spot within the “pit”. Mike Skinner somehow manages to not be a twat, while engaging in some potentially twat like behaviour and fair play, it’s high energy, it’s entertaining and it’s fun. After all he is in some ways a “punter” who fully “gets it”. I wonder if he’ll make to The Temple at 5am?

 

I find my self back at camp and allow myself to be persuaded to check out Jessie Ware on West Holts, fun high energy disco on Spotify, West Holts party time? Not too busy, easy to get near the front and a nicer bunch than The Jungle lot. However shortly after I get the text “ we can see you on the screen” I give in. I tried, but it’s boring pop and I can really do without slow sad stuff at the moment.

 

Glade to the rescue, it’s Goldie, it’s Drum and Bass, it’s live, with actual drummers and it’s fun. Although I’ve no idea how those boys kept up the tempo.

 

IICON

 

In my opinion the best looking stage on site, with a good sound system,little sound bleed from other stages, a large arena, great lasers, and a penchant for booking top DJ’s, but I’ve always struggled at this venue. There’s something about the vibe, it can suffer badly from overcrowding and often seems to attract the more aggressive among the post midnight crew. However, I’ll give it another go for Afrodeutsche. Sadly yet again it’s all too dark.

 

After another maybe half hour of confusion and indecision, never quite finding the right sound or vibe, I’d welcome a simple “nice one geezer” at this point, with some trepidation I approach The Temple. No way, not at this time on a Saturday, not a chance. The queue is unsurprisingly big, but it’s just about within the long snaking rails and occasionally moving. I’m gonna go for it! I reckon it probably took about 30 minutes, but felt like 5, until I was in.

 

Maybe it’s about 3am, maybe it’s Simula on decks, but it’s danceable and it’s The Temple and I’m happy and I continue to worship at the alter of fun, admiring the strange and sometimes disturbing giant head above the DJ. It’s 5am, time for the 4am Kru, something not quite right there.

Wow these guys have some energy and thankfully so have the crowd, although still barely more than a “nice one geezer”. Where is the love? And no sign of Mike Skinner.

 

 

Sunday

 

Sometimes it feels like The Daytime line up is made for me, rarely anything of real interest before mid afternoon, although the reality is that I’m willing to miss acts or have become blind to anything that interferes with a good 6 hours sleep. It also feels like mid Sunday afternoon on West Holts is always “heritage Reggae”. As so we have Steel Pulse, hardly a finer roots Reggae act exists, the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

 

A few years back I took a “flier” on a interesting act headlining West Holts, Janelle Monáe was superb that night, so let’s see how she gets on late afternoon on the Pyramid. As I make my way through the main markets I’m increasingly confused as the bulk of the traffic is heading away, maybe towards the Other Stage. For who?

 

A perfect performance from an extremely talented, confident and comfortable artist delivered with supreme confidence. The music, choreography, costumes, presentation and message we’re all spot on, yet the crowd barely reached the mixing desk, why? Who else was on?

 

You’re not going to believe this, well maybe you are, but I ain’t. Avril Lavigne FFS! Alcohol or irony or both, but wow, just wow!

 

Right here we go, the finale, the big one, well kind of two, we got a starter and a main course. It’s West Holts Sunday night party time and no stage does the last night better.

 

“The warm up”, apologies to Nia Archives for using this term, she was great, and I had no idea she sang. What a wonderful set.

 

In some ways I’d been waiting for Justice right from the moment I arrived on site, or even from the moment the line up was released. I was at the 2017 Justice set, same stage, same slot, one of my all time favourites and knew this was worth the wait. I even did something I’ve only done once before, for Beyoncé in 2011(?, feel free to correct me), wait a whole hour between sets. You see I knew the legend of 2017 would fill the field and more and I needed to secure a good spot. Nia finished and I headed straight for the barrier, time passed quickly as I conversed with my neighbours.

 

Was it as good, or was it better than 2017, as I can’t now repeat either and my memory ain’t the best I’ll never know. What I do know is that it was epic, what I learned is that being right at the front isn’t necessarily the best spot, especially for a dance act, you somehow miss a bit of the vibe.

 

Time for another go at IIcon, DnB legend Roni Size. He’s good, the vibe is okay and I can handle at least for an hour or two, until Goldie comes on and suddenly I’m “drum and bassed out”. Never had that before. What now?

 

Yet again rescued by Genosys, a reoccurring theme of the last two years in Bloc 9. This time it’s the wonderful DIY and some proper old school house, a lovely change and straight into Felix Dickinson as the dawn breaks over NYC Downlow, enhanced by the lasers from here and IIcon.

 

 

So why the occasional “nice one geezer”? What’s that all about? Well something was different this year, at least in my little Glastonbury world. Last year one thing was constant, one thing could, at least for myself, but relied on. Everyone I meet was friendly, happy, smiley, fun and many good conversations were had, lovely moments shared on the dance floor and mostly with “strangers”. This year nothing more than the occasional “nice one geezer”, without rhyme or reason it just wasn’t happening. Was I different, were they different, too much coke, too much alcohol, was I “unlucky”?

Something felt different this year. I couldn’t work out if it’s just me… I felt less connected to everything, and never quite had a peak moment with anything! I wandered a lot…. 

[plaskins]

I didn't cry this year. Usually do at some point during the festival. Still rate it in my top 5 festivals though. If I'd cried it might have been number 1 🥴

[plaskins]

I found I was chatting happily to strangers, but only when I started the conversation. I always find people are happy to engage if you're in the mood to talk.

 

Great review though 👍🏻

[MilkyJoe]

An excellent read ser and thoroughly enjoyed although it brought back my nostalgia once again as I missed this year. 

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

A lovely and well-written summary, Skip! Love the interspersed lyrics and the self-reflection.

[Pipine]

I loved DIY on Genosys.. I should’ve got myself more down the front instead of mooching around at the back.  
Found plenty of smiles and interaction in the Downlow for Francois K and at the front of Dua 😊.  I found the crowd generally more smiley and up for it than other years.. very lovely atmosphere at Romy .. the kids are alright 😋

[gooner1990]

8 hours ago, Db79 said:

Absolutely loved reading this. It's so interesting how all our festivals are completely different. 

 

On the "nice one geezer" front, I met a couple at genosys around 2am in 2015, and they are some of my closest friends now. I went to their wedding overseas in 2019. 

 

I had less random chats with strangers this year but put that down to me getting older, being better behaved, and going to bed earlier! 

 

For me, phones have ruined this aspect of festivals.

[Avalon_Fields]

Love the review, even though it makes me sad I never got to Strummerville this year.

 

Also makes me realise virtually everyone has a different experience and it’s highly unlikely any two unconnected people do all the same things, same bands etc, because of the sheer variety of choice on offer. 
 

I did find it a whole new, fascinating experience before the gates opened. 

[Skip997]

8 hours ago, acidstorm523 said:

Something felt different this year. I couldn’t work out if it’s just me… I felt less connected to everything, and never quite had a peak moment with anything! I wandered a lot…. 

Yea same here 

[Monty Pythagoras]

Nice one Skip - I didn't think Dexy's were that bad 😉

Edited July 10 by Monty Pythagoras

[Fishinginthelongdrops]

59 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

 

For me, phones have ruined this aspect of festivals.

Also not helped by the fact that social interactions were restricted during Covid. A lot of people have missed out on opportunities to experience and learn  about how positive atmosphere’s are created.

 

Glastonbury was one of the best places on earth to discover what life can be like when people make the effort to get along and help each other out. It’s still great but could probably do with a shot in the arm and a couple more years to fully recover.

 

Please, seasoned Glastonbury goers, now is not the time to stop. The festival needs you to keep coming and to pass on everything it’s taught you about how to make it such a special place.

[acidstorm523]

26 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Yea same here 

One of my best moments was running into this guy Ant (?) at the Fontaines Him and his friends fill me with Glastonbury joy when ever I see them each year.. like walking art installations. Perhaps I’m finding the faces in the crowd that I connect to fewer and further between as the demographic inevitably changes. 

[gigpusher]

It was right up there with 2017 for me. Funnily enough it was one of the friendliest festivals for me. Lots of random conversations. Admittedly I probably started a lot of them but I think once you start with a positive most people respond with one.

[Alvoram]

Wow Skip, once again probably my favourite review of the year so far!!!

We were at so many of the same sets, including a few hours in the Temple together... Did you get in in time for Dillinja on Saturday, or just Simula and 4am Kru? Dillinja was great, played a lot of older stuff. (Sadly I was still in the queue for Twist 'em out, love it or hate it, it's an absolute classic as far as early noughties D&B goes.)  

I don't care what you say, we're meeting up next year, have to meet somebody who has so many similar tastes and opinions to my own. (Except Avril, Avril is a legend Skip, loved her since I was maybe a 16 year old grubby little sh*t myself.) 
 

[balti-pie]

😄 finally someone as confused as me by the weird Avril Lavigne love-in - she was absolutely bloody dreadful twenty years ago, how can people be nostalgic for crap! Packaged rebellion in a cellophane wrapper innit, twas always thus 

[Meerkat]

Always enjoy reading these reviews @Skip997. Will give this a read this afternoon 

[MilkyJoe]

6 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

😄 finally someone as confused as me by the weird Avril Lavigne love-in - she was absolutely bloody dreadful twenty years ago, how can people be nostalgic for crap! Packaged rebellion in a cellophane wrapper innit, twas always thus 

It's a weird one. Just as baffling is the hoards of young people chasing these 'nostalgia' acts around the stages that weren't alive when they were first doing the rounds. How did they get so popular?😄

[I am Jon]

@Skip997Nice write up, I've got at least 6 sets in common. Missed Goldie with actual drummers but sounds amazing, hopefully will get another chance to see at Boomtown.

[balti-pie]

2 minutes ago, MilkyJoe said:

It's a weird one. Just as baffling is the hoards of young people chasing these 'nostalgia' acts around the stages that weren't alive when they were first doing the rounds. How did they get so popular?😄

I'm always up for people enjoying whatever they want at glastonbury, and everyone flocking to one stage or another for the big nostalgic thing frees up the rest of the site to be quieter, which is a great thing. I had a stupendous nap in the astrolabe when Shania Twain was on, waking up in time for a little stroll up to Woodsies for Kim Gordon that didnt involve wending my way past fifty thousand cowboy hats.

I guess the same people would be asking me why i wanted to see Kim Gordon when she's not with Sonic Youth any more, why bother with stuff thats past its best 😆 

[Skip997]

1 hour ago, Alvoram said:Did you get in in time for Dillinja on Saturday, or just Simula and 4am Kru? Dillinja was great, played a lot of older stuff. (Sadly I was still in the queue for Twist 'em out, love it or hate it, it's an absolute classic as far as early noughties D&B goes.)  

I don't care what you say, we're meeting up next year, have to meet somebody who has so many similar tastes and opinions to my own. (Except Avril, Avril is a legend Skip, loved her since I was maybe a 16 year old grubby little sh*t myself.) 
 

Don’t think I made it for Dillinja