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Glastonbury festival

angelic upstart

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I've been watching Glastonbury festival and I've been thinking its a really weak line up this year (which I think every year and still harbour a desire to go) and it seems that the main stage is almost a parody of a festival line up aimed solely at people that don't understand the original festival ethos whilst the rest of it seems to have some alright stuff.

But it's got me thinking about the growth of festivals and how they're seen as a decent way to cheat a bands greatest hits without bothering to go to a gig and how they're a social norm, these days. What do the good burghers of Exeter have to think about my semi literate musings?
 

Swanaldo

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I concur (broadly) with the upstart.

It's always 'crap' when you're not there.

Agree with the 'not as good as real gigs' thing, too. As with most experiences these days, it's a box-ticking exercise.
 

Antony Moxey

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I think you're being generous describing your musings as 'semi-literate..

As for Swanny's observation that it's crap when you're not there, had I been there I suspect I would still have found Pharrell Williams and Kanye West as utterly crap as they appeared on the telly
 

Hants_red

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With over 100 stages, who headlines the Pyramid id almost irrelevant. We enjoyed the Moody Blues in the Acoustic tent last night, having seen some really good stuff across the festival yesterday.
 

elginCity

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Isn't a festival ethos very similar to a gig ethos for the 2 hours or so your band is on stage, done unnerstand ? Here to be educated.

Thinking about it, is it like comparing watching City at Wembley, to the e.g Kassam ?
 
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angelic upstart

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Isn't a festival ethos very similar to a gig ethos for the 2 hours or so your band is on stage, done unnerstand ? Here to be educated.

Thinking about it, is it like comparing watching City at Wembley, to the e.g Kassam ?
Nah, festivals started out as far more than just music. Glastonbury started out as a counterculture, free festival hippy style thing. They frequently gave any profits to the CND which was why until a couple years into this century festivals were seen as the domain of hippies and students.

Seemingly, that's all changed and whilst Glastonbury hasn't sold out in terms of sponsorship opening it's doors to 200,000 people to watch the likes of Kanye West certainly doesn't exactly fit the ethos of being alternative.

That's the crux of it really, festivals are for everyone now. So you get townies and the usual ******* knocking about. Back in the day you'd have a ropey naked forty something and a load of like minded people enjoying themselves not taking photos and saying how they're buzzing to watch a band they've never heard of before.
 

angelic upstart

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With over 100 stages, who headlines the Pyramid id almost irrelevant. We enjoyed the Moody Blues in the Acoustic tent last night, having seen some really good stuff across the festival yesterday.
I don't doubt it's class, but doesn't it annoy you that there's swathes of nob jockeys in hunter Wellys trying to turn it into a night out at tiger tiger?
 

grecIAN Harris

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I dunno AU. It's still attracts th student masses and hippys. It just strikes like it's sold out because the original students have grown up to be successful and well to do people but still just students and hippys at heart.
 

Swanaldo

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That's the crux of it really, festivals are for everyone now. So you get townies and the usual ******* knocking about.
The townies wouldn't bother me, it's the Jemimas and Gap Year twonks that get up my nose. And all those effing flags - "ooh lets see if we can get on BBC2 with our hilarious banner"
 

Avening Posse

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Tricky for me this one, as the first of many trips to Glastonbury was in 1990 and it was already pretty commercial and miles away from that "original festival ethos" by then. That said, it was brilliant, and had some heavyweight bands headlining. But it also had unexpected bands like De La Soul on the main stage that year, who were not a traditional festival band.
I expect it's as good an experience as its always been, and maybe we are all getting old and falling into that "in my day" trap. The music business has changed, the Internet has changed everything, much harder to break through and be massive now as well, nowhere near the sheer volume of quality bands out there anymore. I actually like the fact that it attracts people from all backgrounds / lifestyles as well
 
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