Glastonbury 2008

[Beagle 2]

The fucking Hold Steady on the fucking pyramid? They were my absolute lowlight last year, what a load of shitty whiny college rock pap.

Yeah it's all pretty naff isn't it, but more of a reason to go and do more cool stuff away from the main stages. Looking forward to the futureheads and Vampire Weekend lots anyway.

[Don_Preston]

Yep, a few turns from Alabama 3, Seasick Steve and Steve Hillage (among many others) is enough to outweigh the usual pap.

[explodingvinyl]

The fucking Hold Steady on the fucking pyramid? They were my absolute lowlight last year, what a load of shitty whiny college rock pap.

This is wrong. You are wrong. Wrong.*

_{* Blah blah blah, everyone has a right to their own opinions, yesyesyes, I know that. I just think this opinion is wrong.}

[Marvin]

Full music line up here: http://music.guardian.co.uk/festivals/glastonbury2008/story/0,,2276781,00.html
Takes some of the bad look off things, lots of interesting and good stuff, as ever. But the Pyramid/Other line up must be the worst in recent memory. Dreadful. A cursory look at efestivals and it appears the place has been in meltdown since the original incomplete leak. A very strange build-up this year. Very strange.

Pyramid/Other is pretty poor agreed - but the full line-up is pretty good now, Park particularly has got some great stuff on it.

[Beagle 2]

Is there any point trying to organise a CaB meet for this at all considering I found it hard enough to meet up with my own neighbour back at the campsite last year? If there is, I 've just noticed with a little whelp of joy that Cassetteboy are playing Glade on the Saturday, which would seem an ideal juncture, seeing nobody else I'm going with will be arsed (sorry Robot!). I'm very arsed though.

_{Also, what's Glade. I don't remember seeing no Glade...}

[vrailaine]

most festivals are below par this year in my opinion.

asides from coachella, which looked crap and had me put off... then they added prince at the last minute, transforming it from crap to outstanding.

roskilde: great headliners... not much else.

werchter: almost as good of headliners, nothing else... literally.

[Canted_Angle]

I can count the number of bands i'd want to see at glasto on one hand...

Elbow, Hot Chip, Seasick Steve and Battles

Festival line ups this year are pretty poor, I'm going to Reading and it only takes two hands to count the number of bands i want to see there.

[Beagle 2]

Anyone see Jimmy Cliff on Jools last night? Fucking amazing, think I'm going to have to fuck off Kings of Leon for that, it'll be such a good atmosphere.

[Robot DeNiro]

Also, what's Glade. I don't remember seeing no Glade...

(belated response)  The Glade is one of the stages in the dance arena thing.  I think.  I would be in favour of some attempt at a meet (although I agree it's likely to just involve standing around on your own for a bit before giving up on anyone else arriving).  So if anyone does try to organise a get together, can I request that it doesn't take place while I'm prancing about on a stage?

[Beagle 2]

Ah, good point! Well, I suppose people still need to suss out their itinerarys and stuff, but I'd definitely be up for it, we'll have to try and organise something nearer the time. I'm going for the whole thing, so maybe even one of the days when there's no bands on? 

[Robot DeNiro]

Ah yes, I have no idea how / when I'm getting there yet, so I guess it is too early to organise anything.  I've always found that I get the best results if I leave everything to the last minute and then cobble together something hasty and ill thought out, so maybe we could adopt that model for this unlikely-to-succeed meet.

[Marvin]

The Glade is not in the dance area (this might be helpful for when you peform!) its in a small natural glade between the Other Stage and the Market area.

[Beagle 2]

The "Very Special Guest" before Jay Z has now been confirmed as Winehouse by the way. If she's still alive by then.

[ThickAndCreamy]

Can someone advise me here, I'm going a bit fucking mental to be perfectly honest.

This morning I just realised this summer I am going to no festivals or gigs whatsoever. It literally has been going through my mind over and over again and made me think it's going to be a massive waste of time and I need to go to one considering this is my first year not having a holiday since I have been 1.

So I looked at every festival and Glastonbury was by far the most attractive prospect as Latitude has sold out. Tickets are still on sale in HMV stores and I may pick one up today for £160 or so (Very cheap for 4 days, Thurday included, in my opinion).

The problem is, will it be worth it as these are the only bands I have liked and actually want to see on the whole bill;

The Mystery Jets
Battles
The Futureheads
Vampire weekend
The Cribs
Black Kids
We are Scientists
Foals
Kings of Leon
Los Campesinos!

And some of them, like Black Kids, I know very little about. Would it be worth going to glastonbur just to see such a small number of bands, of which only 4 I really want to see desperately. Or are there more great bands I have not heard of on the bill I just missed out on. Please some advice people as I want to go but I'm entirely unsure.

Edit: Also I have never actually been to a camping festival and I plan on getting basically no sleep all weekend. The only festivals I have ever been to have been day festivals which have all been amazing.

[Marvin]

If you enjoy any of the other aspects of festivals then I'd say yes, it's definitely worth it.

It's the oldest cliché in the world but there is so much more at Glastonbury than at other festivals, if there's an afternoon with no bands you want to see, explore the site, away from the Pyramid, and you can't possibly be bored - it's a great place to be regardless of the bands.

You can go down on Wednesday too if you want to.

EDIT just noticed you've never been to a camping festival before... then for god's sake go, and get as much out of it as you can, in terms of things to do it puts all other festivals to shame!

[ThickAndCreamy]

Thanks, I really am inclined to go now.. just have no idea what to take and I still need to convince one of my friends to go.

Also I have no tent, and have only been camping once in my life but it makes it all the more fun having to buy this stuff tomorrow or today.

Also are there any official forums for glastonbury anywhere as I can't even find one on the main site and I want to know all about the festival etc. and get advice on what to take.

[Marvin]

There's no official forums anymore, but these are the boards that used to be the official ones: http://www.virtualfestivals.com/myfests/index.php?s=18233c297f6a615d9dffabf554664bdd&showforum=15

This is also well worth a read for a first time visitor: http://www.gorge.org/glastonbury/tort-faq.shtml

[ThickAndCreamy]

Thanks for the help, will spend most of the day looking through them most likely. The whole hugeness of the festival is intimidating for me at the moment, like I have no idea where to camp etc. I'm sure I will feel better after looking through lot's of stuff online though.

[Marvin]

Just noticed those FAQs still talk about Lost Vagueness, so just to keep you informed, LV was an area of the festival that is no longer there but has been replaced by 'Shangri-La', details of it here: http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/performance.aspx?id=2149 where's theres about 14 different small venues this year.

Along with Trash City: http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/performance.aspx?id=2071 where last year there were lots of animatronic animals made out of scrap metal as well as some great night venues.

[Marvin]

With camping, just don't camp round the Pyramid stage area, anywhere else on site is better really, as more of the festival is the other side of the Pyramid - where it's always very crowded and slow to get past.

I always camp on Pennard's Hill thesedays, up near where the Park is, but honestly it doesn't matter too much at all, it is intimidatingly big at times, but it's vastness is one of the great things about it, I've gone loads before but still found places I never knew existed last year.

[Robot DeNiro]

Take a tent, a sleeping bag, warm clothes for at night, cool clothes for the daytime (hopefully) waterproofs and wellies (more likely) and some vodka decanted into a plastic bottle (no glass allowed on the site).  Don't bother to bring food if you can afford to eat at the hundreds of interesting food stalls at the festival.  Don't take anything that you don't want to lose / get covered in mud. 

Also, it might be worth bearing in mind that last time I drove to the festival, the police were pulling over any cars that looked like they were heading to Glastonbury and searching for drugs.  If you voluntarily handed over your stash, the police would let you go, but if you said you didn't have anything, the police would bring round sniffer dogs.

Don't camp at the bottom of a hill.

[Marvin]

Yes, all good advice, although I'd argue in the eternal debate and say decent walking boots are a million times better than wellies, some waterpoof stuff for feet and in jacket/poncho form is essential though.

Take a roll of bin bags, they are incredibly useful, instant waterproofing, instant seat to sit down if it's muddy, and they double up as bags for rubbish. Take alcohol hand gel for washing your hands.

In regards the police checks thing, I've never had them myself, we always leave putting our car parking ticket on until we're close by, and cover our bags and tents with a blanket.

[ThickAndCreamy]

Well I just want to find a place to camp where it is loud at night as I will probably want to dance and party basically until around 5am, then sleep for about 4 hours and do the same for 4 days.

As for food I will be pretty much skint and only take around £50 so I will bring a lot of my own food or just starve.

I still have to find the best possible option of getting there as a car is out of the question as I do not drive neither does my friend and there are no other possible lift options. I want to get there by about 10am as well on the Wednesday so I have no basic idea what to do as most likely the trains will all be packed and sold out by now and I have no idea about the coach system to be perfectly honest.

[Marvin]

Camp round Pennards or Dragon, they tend to be noisy, and it's a short walk to lots of the late night areas.

If you can get a really early train on Wednesday to Castle Cary that's your best bet, otherwise National Express coach, avoid the official coach tickets.

[ThickAndCreamy]

Just checked both coaches and trains. Coaches are about £82 for 2 return and Trains about £100 for 2 single, ouch.

I will have to get a coach and arrive at about 12pm then, later than I wanted but sod it.

[Marvin]

http://www.glastoearth.com/

Get google earth if you don't have it, and then use that, it shows where pretty much everything is.

[ThickAndCreamy]

Thanks for that, makes the place seem even more huge and daunting now. I really need to work out where I should go and see before I go, otherwise I'll probably just lay by the other stage or somewhere I like and drink, good fun but a waste with all the amazing things I could do there.

[TheWizard]

This isn't definitive but if you want to get some colouring pens out and kill some time then do so.

http://www.halvin.co.uk/pages/clashfinder08/clash08_full.pdf

People / bands I've seen live this past 18 months I'd see again there.

We Are Scientists (a bit shitty but quite a tight three piece band when live)
Foals
Ida Maria
Hot Chip
Elbow
Los Campesinos!
CSS (new material is a bit ropey, some band members have left.)
Battles
Eugene McGuinness
Mystery Jets
Laura Marling (love)
Mumford & Sons
Glasvegas
Royworld (much better than you'd think)
British Sea Power
Spiritualized
Make Model

Would like to see for the first time
Neon Neon
Dizzee Rascal
Edwyn Collins
The Duke Spirit
Sons and Daughters
MGMT (although heard they can be a mixed bag live)
My Morning Jacket
Vetiver
Yeasayer
Jimmy Cliff

Don't bother with

Vampire Weekend: Seen them twice and they looked bored both times.
Alphabeat: Funny on Brighton Pier, probably less so outside
The Ting Tings: Just awful live

So that should keep me busy.

[AlfRamsey]

That GlastoEarth thing is ace, though intimidating. My how it's grown in the years since I've been there.
<insert remember when it used to be all fields gag>

www.glastonav.co.uk is another cool thing to have. Free, as well.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Brian Jonestown Massacre will be worth seeing, 50/50 that it will end mid-set with a punch-up though