Who would you recommend I see at Glastonbury? (other than the Wombles, obv)

sorry Nick, just trying to improve my own buzz as regards not going. god knows it's hard to keep our own personal buzzes unharshened in the current climate.

Oh God, now I'm firmly on the treadmill of checking metcheck and accuweather's forecasts every few hours.

Should I visit <a href="http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/areas/the-unfairground/bezs-acid-house-tent";>Bez's Acid House</a>, is the question.

Should the Submit Post and Convert to BBcode buttons be further apart, is also the question.

think there was an episode of scooby doo in bez's acid house.

old mr ryder covered himself in powder to scare away potential ravers.

Awesome times:

http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Glastonbury-UKXX1641

I've realised that this is to be my 10th Glastonbury (that I've camped at, at any rate) and, in spite of this, I still have no idea what I need to take. Sleeping bag, wellies, waterproof trousers, wet wipes and a box of wine should cover me for the weekend, no?

A tent should cover you...

Here's the canonical Glasto packing list with some lady-centric things removed:

festival ticket
train tickets (+railcard if you have one)
tent
sleeping bag
sleeping mat
pillow if you can be arsed to carry it
blanket if you're a big wuss
big chunky (waterproof?) shoes/boots/wellies
summer shoes/trainers (flip flops/sandals are nice but not when yr in
the middle of a heaving crowd)
anything waterproof you have - jacket/trousers/binbags
t-shirts/tops (as many as you plan to wear plus one spare)
socks (ditto)
pants (ditto)
jeans/some kind of trousers, x2 if you can carry them in case of rain
shorts/skirt
jumper (with hood if you have one)
something else warm (if it's cold you want lots of layers rather than
one big thing)
woolly hat
sun hat
shades
water bottles
as many bin bags as you can find in your house - these are for wearing
as well as putting stuff in
umbrella
toilet roll
mobile phone
cash & cards
alarm clock?
deodorant
wet wipes
soap
toothpaste
toothbrush
towel
sun cream
earplugs?
aspirin/paracetamol
something to read
pens & paper
immodium if you really can't face the loos
hairbrush if you need one
torch + spare batteries (batteries are a total rip-off on site)
plasters
swiss army knife
fruit/nuts/crisps etc
alcomahol - you're allowed to bring your own booze to glastonbury,
glass isn't allowed but if you're bringing anything in bottles shove
them down inside your wellies in your bag and pack around them with
clothes/plastic bags
stove? if yes then gas, tea, coffee, filk, cupasoup, a cup,
lighter/matches, pan/s
if you smoke, cigarettes/tobacco/papers and a million lighters

Gets less essential the further down. Would add spare mobile phone batteries to that list, or something you can charge yr phone with.

I think tampons are fairly lady-centric. unless you're doing that "light the end and throw" thing beloved of student parties...

I am in awe.

An alarm clock seems pretty unnecessary.

Of that list. Massive help, thanks Matt.

Yeah no one needs an alarm clock at Glastonbury unless you're getting up super-early to go home on Monday and will have no phone battery by then. Otherwise, you're lucky if you get any sleep.

Apparently it absolutely shat it down on site yesterday. There was a hoax picture doing the rounds on Twitter (from 2007, purporting to be the Other Stage yesterday) but the Park field and the Shangri-La area were reportedly waterlogged. If they have decent weather today and the drainage has improved then we should be alright come tomorrow.

Metcheck is looking pretty positive now. Won't be a scorcher but it's looking like being a bit like 2002 and 2003 - mix of rain and sun but neither too extreme. I can work with that.

Biggest worry at the moment is the worst rain coming at exactly the point tomorrow that I need to put my tent up.

Glastonbury Twitter is saying it's pretty wet underfoot at the moment onsite.

Also lol poshos.

Wombles should do Screamadelica

― blueski, Thursday, 16 June 2011 14:13 (5 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

http://thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01329/SNF17BIZWW-682_1329197a.jpg

Backstage at Glastonbury, sounds of struggling and mild imprecations fill the air...

BOB: Oof... get tae... Jesus fuck man, ah cannae get this fuckin' 'hing oan! Holl', Orinoco! Or whatever yer fuckin' name is, gie's a haun here.
MIKE BATT: Having trouble with your costume, Mr. Gillespie?
BOB: Too fuckin' right ah um! How the fuck did you manage to get through the 70s inside wan o' these fuckers?
BATT Well, I didn't actually wear one all the time.
BOB: Here, don't be shatterin' ma illusions, man! Next, ye'll be tellin' me Bernard Cribbins never wore wan.

fumbling

BOB: Come oan, ya bastard... fuck sake, ah'm sweatin' like a fuckin' rapist here, so ah um...

more fumbling

BOB: ... at last... noo, gie's ma heid ower, wull ye?.

even more fumbling

BOB (muffled): Here, ah've jist thoat o' sumthin'... how the fuck am ah supposed to shake ma tambourine wi' this 'hing oan? Ah cannae even fucking haud it wi' these... fuckin'... paws! And ma tambourine playin's fuckin' central to 'Screamadelica', it's fuckin' key, man, ah'm tellin' ye.
BATT: Uh, 'Screamadelica'? I think there's been some misunderstanding, the classic album we're playing in its entirety tonight is "Keep On Wombling"...

Bob rapidly removes head

BOB: Keep oan WHIT??!?!??!
BATT: ... Wombling... Mr McGee said...
BOB: McGee! Ah might ah known that wee rrrrrrrat wid be involved in this... baldy Orange bastard... here, ah'm fuckin' phonin' the cunt up...

Ringtone plays 'The Sash'

BOB: McGee, it's Boab, you fuckin' takin' the pish or whit?
muffled voice
BOB: ...aye...
muffled voice
BOB: ...aye, but...
muffled voice
BOB: ...hey, haud oan a minute therr...
muffled voice
BOB: ...ah'm no fuckin' daein' it!
muffled voice (expositional dialogue follows)
BOB: ... listen ah didnae leave a cushy number as drummer in the Mary Chain in October 1985 and form Primal Scream wi' fuckin' Big Jim Navajo tae get up oan a stage and fuckin' make a tit o' mahsel'...
muffled voice
BOB: ... ya cheeky cunt, ah kept you in charlie fer years and don't you forget it!
muffled voice
BOB: ... awright, fer weeks then! Jesus Christ, can you no' open yer mooth wi'oot mentionin' Oasis, man. Gie it a rest, Al, naeb'dy's impressed!
muffled voice
BOB: ... naw, you ur...
muffled voice
BOB: ... ah've tellt ye, ah'm no daein' it!
muffled voice
BOB: ... aye, well you jist dae that then... ya fuckin'... balloon!
muffled voice
BOB: ... listen, fer the last time, can you no' understaun plain English or sumthin'? AH'M UR NAE DAEIN' IT!

pause

BOB: ... and Fuck the Queen!

slams phone down

MADAME CHOLET: Two minutes, Mr. Gillespie.

Metcheck is looking pretty positive now.

I'm not sure how well my tent will stand up to those 266 mph winds.

http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/7days.asp?zipcode=shepton%20mallet

a bit like 2002 and 2003 - mix of rain and sun

both these years were pretty much wall to wall sun as far as i recall. 2002 had a bit of rain on friday morning and sunday night. 2003 was roasting for most of it AFAIR

2002 was the year of Saharan Gusts

Alba, stop checking the weather forecast. :-P

I remember 2002 being pretty rainy, although not a washout.

Quite sad really, that's the last time I went! And there isn't one next year so that means at least 10 years until I next go to one. If I ever do because most of my friends aren't up for it any more.

My prediction for this year's Babylon/You Got The Love Fuck Me Not This One AGAIN Televisual Ubiquity Award: Ed Sheeran - "The A Team".

Sad I'm not going to this. Vicky is. Mind you, I am such a moaner when it starts raining I'm not sure I'd be any fun.

I have seen a few snaps of muddy wellies and I can't wait. Feel simultaneously well prepared and massively disorganised, after drunkenly dancing around in the loft late last night looking for my waterproofs. Which were, in fact, somewhere more convenient.

Similarly I'm annoyed that after the first time I've ever bought a train ticket in advance I get a ring from a mate offering me a lift. Not sure whether I'll go in this evening or have a night at home (just outside Shepton) and go into the site tomorrow.

Unneccessary detail there.

Do not understand all these smug fucks making their public proclamations about how glad they are that it's raining and aren't they clever not to be going.

SHUT THE FUCK UP. NO ONE CARES.

If I can be forgiven a plug, because this may never happen again, I'm appearing at the Free University of Glastonbury near the Park Stage at 11.30am on Saturday. Say hello if you're awake/around/can be bothered. Every year I read the Glastonbury thread but I've never actually met any ILXors there.

Very forgivable plug. Hadn't heard about the talks or the Free University at all so I'm glad you've mentioned it - will definitely stop by.

fwiw beyonce is great live. stanton warriors supposedly do a pretty full on dj set with 3dj's mixing up drum machines, live mashups etc i've never seen them playing out but their essential mix was pretty entertaining.

that said that lineup had me scratching my head, not much looked unmissable. unlike say cochella which made me want to move back to california

Based on last night's terrific Nottingham warm-up show, Paul Simon on Sunday afternoon should be a treat.

Radiohead have announced they're playing at 8pm... FUCK FUCK WHY DIDN'T I GO?! :-(

Happy for those who are seeing this though.

I will still be working in the glade at 8, if it's any consolation.

Could really do without this rain but grateful for the opportunity to have a shower and sit on my friend's sofa this morning.

Spotted Matt DC in the stonebridge bar dancing off his tits* to Optimo in the company of a very pretty lady** yesterday afternoon.

* partly true
** true

rather good screen grab

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/festivals/glastonbury/2011/artists/primalscream/img/primalscream1.jpg

Watching U2 on t' telly last night, they don't seem to have written a memorable song in 20 years or more. The Edge is a good guitarist though.

So, Alba, Matt, DL et all did you all have a good Glastonbury?

Do not understand all these smug fucks making their public proclamations about how glad they are that it's raining and aren't they clever not to be going.

i'd have been a smug fuck saying how glad i was not to be there even if it hadn't rained, to be fair. tents *shudder*

i refuse to even look at a tent

xp I did thanks. Friday was hard work - both literally (because I had to file reviews) and weather-wise - and I had to leave on Sunday but Saturday was brilliant. Considering I've got a two-week-old daughter I was extremely grateful to be there at all.

the missus said this year was more crowded than ever before. my aversion to rain is stronger than most, i don't mind camping too much but prefer to have a shower in the morning etc. all this i can handle however, but i think the thing that puts me off glasto the most are the crowds - the bottlenecks, the crushes, the craning. This was what stuck in my mind from last time I went in 2008 and what made me think twice before putting money down this year.

Lex you at least have the virtue of consistency in that regard.

I had a great time, feel absolutely destroyed now. Best bits:

- Beyonce, obv. Kind of amazed how she managed to frontload her set with Crazy In Love, Single Ladies and Naughty Girl and manage not to sag after that. Also the enormous fireworks going off during every fanfare in Crazy In Love had the crowd 100% onside immediately - crowd reception was absolutely rapturous.

- Optimo on Thursday and the 2hrs or so after that in the Stonebridge Bar were brilliant fun. After Optimo it went all Chicago house, then Scandinavian Balearic, then Yacht Rock, 200 odd people all going mental to Fleetwood Mac. Nick you should have come over and said hello.

- Orbital at 2am on Saturday, supposedly DJing but doing what turned out to be a live set of (mostly) new material (all really good, classic Orbital sound) and then Chime, Halcyon and Dr Who. On a stage built like a giant spider shooting lasers and 10ft flames up into the air.

- Laura Marling really stunningly good on Sunday, just totally in control of her voice and the music.

- Katy B, in the dance tent, with a full live band, doing pretty much the whole album + Louder. Perfect Stranger and Katy On A Mission pretty much took the roof off.

- Wu-Tang were great, especially the crowd reaction + Method Man crowdsurfing. And the toddler next to me on his dad's shoulders putting his hands in the air on cue.

- Chemical Brothers were great in a sort of predictable way, but very spectacular with all the anthems in place.

- Azari & III in the dance tent, totally relentless, they encored with one song that's just a ridiculous banger, even better than Reckless With Your Love.

- John Cooper Clarke just rambling and reciting in the Acoustic Tent

- Quite enjoyed Paul Simon despite myself.

- A load of people shouting "bollocks" at Mumford & Sons

- Loads of great late-night stuff, right across the site. Didn't go to bed before 6 any time during the festival proper. Danced a lot in a lot of very strange environments (including with mermaids and drag queens on one night), although slightly annoyed that I couldn't find Wolf + Lamb and Soul Clap on Sunday night.

- Mostly avoiding the rain. It must have shat it down before the festival because it was really muddy when we arrived but otherwise we only got lightly rained-on on Friday. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday lovely.

- Meatwagon burgers on site, with cocktails.

Less good bits:

- Pretty stodgy mud, although that was gone by Sunday. It's rain rather than mud that kills the vibe for me though.

- The queueing system from the Shangri-La area, which is a great area in it's own right but the queuing system created a surge of demand at once so everyone had to get in there early. Killed the 'bowl around looking for adventures' aspect of Glastonbury nights a bit, everything felt a lot more purposeful and direct.

- Radiohead "secret" gig, at which about 9million people turned up, totally packing the field out, and The Park stage is too quiet to be heard over that big a crowd. Couldn't see or hear anything and left after two songs. Didn't even bother with Pulp the next day, apparently they were great, but will see them this weekend anyway.

- Security seemingly a lot more visible and much cuntier than previous years.

It wasn't more crowded than usual but the very stodgy mud concentrated people onto the walkways in some areas, notably between the Dance Field and Other Stage on Thursday and Friday.

xpost to DL

Very glad to hear that (and also aww). I did come to your talk briefly and really enjoyed it (such that I've just bought the book) but, having overdone it somewhat on Friday, felt you were better off if I didn't introduce myself on this occasion. I was not either of the weird guys who approached you mid-way through and whom, I thought, you handled very well.

Lex, there's nothing wrong with having no interest in going to Glastonbury, it's the wanting those that do to have a shit time that grates somewhat.

Also I actually watched the sun rise in the Stone Circle for the first time every, it's great.

:-) Glad you all had a good time. There's no denying, despite any misgivings, that I'd have loved to have been there all the same.

watching the sun rise in the stone circle is one of the best parts imo. you often meet people around there and have a chat for a bit...occasionally they are fools but not always!

Ah cheers Upt0eleven - much appreciated.

Matt DC's Glastonbury sounds great. Had no idea Orbital were playing - gutted to miss that.

They were listed in the programme as a DJ set - but everything they played for the first 3/4s of the set was unfamiliar and sounded very like Orbital. It was only when they did Chime and Halcyon (the latter with the usual bells and whistles) that it became obvious they were playing live. Also, one hell of a spectacular stage.

Haha, that's what Radiohead should've said they were doing.