Glastonbury 2009

It’s all over. Home again and the come down begins. Lots of great things running in my head which need to be written down so I don’t forget them. There’s more to add and probably load’s I’ve forgotten (especially on the thanks front) and I’ll update this as time progresses, so you might want to check back soon but I needed to make a start!

So, with no further ado and in no particular order (because they’re just going to fall out of my head and I can’t be arsed to sort it all out right now):

UPDATE: FIRST PHOTOS

My first photos are now posted on Twitpic : http://twitpic.com/photos/steamrunner

FRIENDS

The very first thing has to be a huuuuge thanks and “good times” to the mad fools who we hung around with at assorted times over the festival (Twitter names in brackets) : Viv (@vivyouell), Mark (@GarveyBen), Jai (update: now @_ToffeeApple_), Ash (@ashcoates), Gav, Tony (@cockbongo), Venk (@sv1uk),  Elly (@ellyoracle) and Dave (@zombidave).

Of course, extra special thanks go to the other half of the “we” noted in the previous sentence; my Glastonbury 2009 wing man, Darron (@sascotty). Thanks for plucking up the courage to prat about in muddy Somerset fields with me for five days. Even though we spent loads of it apart. Friday night was particularly good wandering!!

Bonus thanks to Mark and Jai for getting the Kopparberg on-site for me. Very, very much appreciated! And to Ash for the space blankets although um, not that I actually used them, er… And to Viv for the blister plasters!

The award for Best Method For Finding People In A Huge Crowd Without A Flag goes to Venk for the amazing fluorescent Orange hat. Utter genius. And orange too! So gotta get one of those. This goes right to the top of my Glasto tips list.

The award for Drinking Kinship goes to Tony for also having the need to break for a cup of tea in the middle of a booze up. I thought I was the only person who did that. I don’t feel quite so strange any more.

The award for Best Camping Accessory goes jointly to Mark and Jai for having a dedicated “sick bowl”.

The award for Making Someone Run Down The Pyramid Field Like A Madman goes to Viv. Damn fine result too!

The Scumbag Award goes to the complete w*&kers who burgled Tony and Venk. [UPDATE: and apparently those that tried the same with Ash and Gav. Tip for next year: stay away from Dairy Ground!]

#TWISTO

It was also huge fun meeting all the Twitter #twisto group people who turned up on Thursday afternoon next to Brothers Bar in the Jazz World field. We all had a good laugh, chit chat and played a great game “who looks like their picture”. Top marks to @Glastowatch for organising it. Brilliant meeting everyone! There’s too many of you to remember and list as I type this nonsense, but you all know who are!!  So, so good meeting you all. Pity we missed a few (@I_Am_Heather and @Brandyandice (Update: now @cocof0xy)- where were you?!).

Big thanks to @Jane_Platt and @rachelplatt for coming up with the flag, and luckily both flag and pole managed to find each other in the crowd. Pole now has a new (and hopefully better!) home.

The award for Best Custom T-shirt goes, of course, to Mick (@mickyates). Very cool design.

The award for Best Accessories goes to Annemarie (@aelsom) for arriving with DIY cocktails (wonderful!) and a megaphone. Top marks.

The Glittery Gold Clothing award goes to Julia (@ASOS_Julia, aka @Pixie_Jules ; Update – now @julia_hearts_u).

The It’s The Size That Matters award goes to Mark (@GarveyBen) for making me look and feel distinctly inadequate in the pole department. Enough said.

MUSIC

Oh yes, the music. Must not forget that.  Of course, it was Glasto so you have zero chance of seeing everything you want and you need to be in the frame of mind to just go with the flow and discover new things.

Not that anyone else but me cares, but just for the record I saw:

Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs – actually, twice! Once at the eFestivals/Wateraid “world cup” football game on the Pyramid field on Wednesday afternoon and then again at the Avalon Cafe. Superb stuff.

Bjorn Again – Brilliant way to get the crowd singing and open the (main part of the) festival. Abba but with more humour. Performing Status Quo’s Rocking all over the world was inspired (a nod to the upcoming Glasto Extravagana gig?). Pity everyone likes Dancing Queen more than Waterloo (fools).

Red Snapper – Top marks to Tony for dragging us to see them, damn fine call that man!

Noah and the Whale - Have to say I didn’t settle in to this. Maybe it’s because I’d hiked all the way up to the Park to at least see something up there and I’d picked Noah out of curiosity as their name has been lurking in my head but I was feeling restless and hungry. I didn’t get into it and left early. Sorry guys, will try again one day…

Lady Gaga – I caught the second half, because I was there to see the Ting Tings and was early after bailing from Noah. Not really a fan, but a good show despite all the random chit-chat. The piano start to Poker Face was… interesting…

The Ting Tings – What can I say, I just love them. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. So there!  Fabulous. And made up for missing them last year.

Doves – Got there late, crowd was big, and I was tired from fighting to get there after the Tings, so it didn’t work for me and I gave up, which is a shame as they’re great. Walked and caught the end of Neil Young from the top of the Pyramid field instead.

Rolf Harris – Just how many people were in the Jazz World field for Rolf? The back was busier than the front! Legend.

Spinal Tap – Like, you need me to say anything here?! Spinal Tap! Pyramid Stage! History! Dwarfs! Inflatable Stonehenge! Also top marks to the guys in the crowd who were waving a big model Stonehenge.

Lisa Hannigan – beautiful, beautiful songs, simply delightful and wonderful. So glad I opted for this. [UPDATE: top marks to the BBC for putting on Lisa doing a song live right after the end of the Springsteen coverage].

Newton Faulkner – the only person at Glasto still with a cassette tape? A lesson on how to do a one-man acousic guitar show.

Bruuuuuuce Springsteen - what do I say? That’s how you put on a big headline show and play a crowd. Every. Single. Time. With. No. Stopping. The Boss delivered and it was brilliant. Again. Wish I’d had precognition and also gone to see The Gaslight Anthem though too for his “friend from home” guest appearance there.

Status Quo – finally (finally!) see them live. And close up too. Do they disappoint? No bloody way!! Air guitars and bouncing to maximum!  An hour was far, far too short though. And to think I was going to stand at the back (thanks for changing my mind, Viv!)

(Spinal Tap, Bruce Springsteen, and Status Quo all within a couple of days at the same place, who’d have thought?!)

I have no idea of their name [UPDATE: it's the Inishowen Gospel Choir - cheers Elly!] but I got to the Tadpole stage in the Green Fields to find a choir group singing Queen’s Somebody To Love in harmony and I had to crash and listen. Then they hit Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal, the performance of which was just inspired. A lovely find on one of the nicest tiny stages at Glasto.

The Mummers – Missed the beginning. Wishing I hadn’t. Check them out.

Madness – still are. And not often you get to see aerial high-jinks involving saxophones on the pyramid stage. The solution to the “not-enough-time-to-go-off-and-come-back-on-again-before-encore” problem raised a chuckle too. Another set to lose your voice to as you know all the words..

Sharon Coor – Wonderful music and extreme droolability in one package. Heaven. Especially as there was a little bonus as from where I was standing at the front (stage right) I could also see through to the side area where she was waiting to go on for about ten minutes before hand. A tiny glimpse of off-stage loveliness. All I could do was just stare. Who needs the rest of the Coors when Sharon is this good on her own?

Seth Lakeman – More fiddling!  And now I’ve seen a whole Seth set. Well, I have if you combine the first half of his 2008 set with the last half of this year because I got there late. Another master class in getting the crowd jumping and cheering.

Peatbog Faeries – This came as a total surprise, and a damn fine one too, and a brilliant end. What you get when you mix an instrumental Scottish folk group with extra brass, more fiddling, keyboards and heavy beat… and then you go and drop the Dance Village on top. Totally mad, and completely brilliant. The Avalon was jumping like crazy and come the end you would have thought you were in one of the Dance Village tents (only with better music and space to actually jump around and dance). Am sooooo happy I skipped Blur and Prodigy. Who needs to be at a main stage for the best stuff?

OTHER MOMENTS

Pitching in Big Ground and then remembering that that’s where the flushing loos are. Nice call, DM!

Food. So much lovely food. Although I reckon I actually ate less this year than last year. Which is good. I think.

Crashing in the Stone Circle field with the posse. Actually, doing that on several nights. And actually catching a dawn up there despite getting seriously cold that night.

Running down the Pyramid field, at full tilt through the crowd, to see Status Quo much closer at the very last moment.

Catching random acts in small spaces whilst sitting or chilling out.

Falafels in the Green Fields.

Waving my flag whilst watching Bruuuuuce. At least until some pillock broke it.

Friday night (well, Saturday morning) out with @sascotty and getting stuck in. Good Times!

Realising that my Twitter name works well when shouted across a field to get your attention. Thanks, Viv!

Glasto “world cup” football match on Wednesday. Mad.

Hobo Jones – How many times can I see or walk past this guy in a crowd of 180,000?!?

Where I was when I heard Micheal Jackson had died.  The candle-powered steamboat stall near the stone circle entrance, if you must know.

More to come as brain remembers them…

#FAILS

A big #fail to 02 for having absolutely shockingly bad phone coverage at the festival. It definitely wasn’t me having the issues. Hope it’s fixed next year. Switching to Vodafone was miles better, although even they had a bit of wobbly on Sunday  as I was only receiving texts in batches when ever I sent one first. Weird. Text messages are a great way to keep in touch with friends at the festival, not only because you can’t hear a thing on a normal voice call most of the time but also because you can sent a “what’s happening” update to all your friends in one go.  So, if you’ll excuse the crap pun, a message to the mobile phone companies – the coverage still needs to be better (or, for 02, just coverage overall).

Whilst I hate to mention them in the #fail section because they’re very very very lovely people for sending me a festie pack and also a case of cider, I just want to whisper vewwwy qwwwwietly to Brothers Cider (@brothercider) that they really do need to get a bigger bar… 

To the guy that caused my flag to get trashed during Springsteen: Admittedly, it was good craic, and I played the game for a laugh despite knowing how it was going to end, but it has to be said that a better person would have at least offered (if just something) towards replacing it, even if I refused…

Bit of a small whinge and a #fail to Glastonbury Festivals themselves: the routes between the Pyramid and Other Stage (and from Other through the Dance Village to John Peel) are notorious for bottlenecking badly on the bridges. Chilling and waiting is usually fine but, hey, surely they can be made just a wee bit bigger? It would help moving the cows easier too I’m sure…

Did I take the only winding route through Shangri-La which avoids all alcohol, or is there none there until the exit!?

There were a couple of other people I know at the festival who I’d not seen for ages and I failed completely to organise meeting them. I apologise profusely for cocking it up and not finding time to say hello. So #fail for me.

Not getting to spend enough time with people I should be spending time with. But then, there’s just not enough time at times I guess…

More updates to come when remembered!