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Glastonbury

28th June 2007 – See the Photos by Elfy.

First of all, sorry to have not filled you in with the second bit of America – it was simply too massive and quite frankly I got too far behind to carry on with it, and anyway, I could see Marc tap-tapping most days, and anything I would have said is probably in there anyway, so check his/our comprehensive look at America through the side of an RV here: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3

So, we fall off the plane from NY at Heathrow feeling, well actually not half as bad as when we got to LA – only a six hour flight home, which really is a blessing after all the 12-13-14-15-16-hour drives we’d been doing. America kicked our collective ass, though I’d like to think we gave it a little boot ourselves. After hooking up with Matt Eaton – proud bearer of an impressive ‘wave-on’ this time (that’s nothing rude – a wave-off is simply to drive someone TO an airport, and a wave-on is…) ...in the form of our beloved Sprinter van, we make the trek to Brighton, which actually feels like about ten minutes compared to the real trek behind us. Anyway, back in Brighton, me and Twaites hook up with Ben Elliott, who is oh-so-chuffed to see us, and we all head out for breakfast at the Kemptown Deli. Lush. Soon enough though, the lag starts to kick in, and I’m afraid the next day or two are a mash of sleeping and waking at ever more bizarre times, until something resembling a routine is achieved.

Of course, the night before Glastonb. we have a show to do – and fucking good it was too. A Unison Charity show at The Concorde 2, Brighton, if I remember rightly. Restlesslist kick it off, with our usual set gaining previously unheard fat-ness, thanks mainly to the fact that we’re leaning right into it – we haven’t done this for a month – and unlike most bands, we actually sound pretty good in the Concorde. The Hat are up next – I didn’t actually see them, but they sounded sweet, people said they went down good, and they had a fucking double bass. And they’re called ‘The Hat’. What’s not to like. Brakes finish the night up. At this point it feels less like a gig and more like some kind of bizarre army drill, soundtracked by Violent Femmes. All good though, and we end up sweatier than ever.

Straight after the gig we jump in the bus and hit the motorway. Arriving at 6 in the morning is apparently the only way we’re going to bypass the famously horrendous Glastonbury traffic. Except when we get there, they won’t let us onsite ‘til 8!! So, we play frisbee and smoke weed and drink cider until the gates open. Woo-eeee!! Glassssstonnnburyryry!!! Feels amazing to have actually made it, considering the insane year we’ve had so far. Even more amazing is that we find a sweet spot to pitch our tents – right by the backstage bar, and as far away from any considerable gatherings of mud as possible.

Highlights of Friday would be: Super Furry Animals. And that’s it. Despite my inital excitement, a quick glance across the bill reveals something else. Now, don’t get me wrong, Gruff Rhys in the Park was an absolute highlight, a great show, and a beautiful end to the weekend… I dug The Stooges (if only for getting to watch Mike Watt kill it on the thud-staff and see Iggy try and control a stage-invasion of muddy Brits – hilarious) ...It was sweet seeing Simon from Biffy very briefly – though ESP clashed with them, and so I missed one of the only bands I wanted to see… The Go Team were OK (despite ALL their ‘songs’ doing exactly the same two-note ‘Three Is The Magic Number’ thing) ...but the sheer amount of corporate indie bands crowding the main stages – I’m not going to name names, and I’m also not going to give them column inches on our site. Fuck ‘em all.

In amongst the mess and the mud and the noise, ESP managed to rock the Guardian Guide Tent to a packed crowd, and Brakes managed a sweet 12.40 on the Other Stage, then 2.30 the next morning in the Leftfield infront of about 1500 people – my personal favourite of the weekend. It was also nice to know Brakes woke Gruff up on Saturday morning!! That’s OK, though… cos in his own words, we play ‘two of his favourite types of music – country AND rock!!’ Nice. We do this Kent Music Festival tomorrow. I’ll let you know how The Feeling get on, and of course I’ll send my best to Chantel and Theo R. Dinaryboys.

And I’m Out.

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