Glastonbury 2014: (27/06/14)
It's that time of year when the music circus moves to Worthy Farm in the Somerset Levels and with it comes what is essentially the biggest music festival on the planet. The opening day of this years event was plagued by violent thunderstorms that did affect some groups performances, but in spite of that here is my opinion on Friday's major performers.
The War on Drugs (Pyramid Stage)
'The War on Drugs' are a relatively unknown indie rock band that are originally from Philadelphia where they formed in 2005. They've never really had any mainstream success, but they decided to hop across the pond and managed to get a date at the pyramid stage. On the face of things it isn't difficult to see why they've never taken off, they don't really have a lot of charisma, they look like something that's managed to escape from Jeremy Clarkson's basement, it's a hideous array of double denim and prog rock that really belongs in 1987.
There performance really wasn't bad, it was a nice change of pace from what we usually see from other bands and their slow, almost psychedelic pace felt right at home in the heart of Somerset. I was pleasantly surprised by a number of their songs, namely 'Red Eyes' which is a really well put together song and is a good example of how pacing can really lift an otherwise average piece. Their set did get quite stale at times but when it got around to the big songs they didn't fail to deliver, a good start to Glastonbury from an unexpected source.
I would also like to personally recommend this groups latest album 'Lost in the Dream' which really is a terrific album considering the state of indie rock in recent years, and these guys definitely deserve a lot more credit than they get, if you don't get what I mean then just listen to 'Under the Pressure', it's just eight minutes of musical excellence.
Final Rating: 7/10 ***1/2
Blondie (Other Stage)
It's not been a secret that I really do quite like Blondie, her fusion of new wave and punk sounded extremely good back in the day and her discography is littered with excellent songs, some of which I'm hoping to here in her set. I should also mention that as a group Blondie have been around since the early 70's and Debbie Harry is 68, this of course is something you're instantly reminded of during her performance, she just can't hit those notes like she used to, which is a real shame as it did affect the majority of the songs she performed on the playlist.
If I am completely honest I did feel a little bit let down by this performance, I knew she was getting on a bit, but I just expected more, her vocals didn't really affect classics such as 'Heart of Glass' or 'One Way or Another' which was nice to see, but others such as Atomic were really put down by her. She still performed with the same vibrant energy she's always had, but something just felt missing, it really wasn't the same. It's a shame, but I suppose it was a predictable shame.
Final Rating: 4/10 **
Jungle (John Peel Stage)
Jungle are an up and coming soul band from West London, they definitely have a lot of hype surrounding them and it's easy to see why, as they do produce a very unique sound that certainly separates them from the rest of the market. To be honest their set probably looked nicer than it sounded, it wasn't by any means a bad set but once you got past the first few songs it quickly became quite repetitive. I feel a variety of different songs are needed for a good overall performance and I just didn't get that from 'Jungle'. It was good but it failed to leave any sort of mark that maybe it should have.
Final Rating: 6/10 ***
De La Soul (Pyramid Stage)
'De La Soul' are a rap group that first debuted about 25 years ago, to be honest I'm surprised most of the crowd even remembered them let alone sing along to their rather limited work. But a lot of fans did turn up, and boy did they play on that, on every single number it was just endless crowd participation, they even got the security guards involved. I feel this may have actually hurt the performance in the end, there was a lack of real music and it just felt like they were doing this on their day off. It wasn't a great performance, but then this really isn't my cup of tea.
Final Rating: 4/10 **
Rudimental (Pyramid Stage)
Why do 'Rudimental' get so much hype, it's always seemed to me that it was just a few overly excited yobs prancing around the stage for no reason, and that was exactly what I got from their performance. To be fair though they did pull out their joker for this one, that is special guest Ed Sheeran, which I'm sure is exciting if you're 13, to put it lightly I wasn't exactly hyped. When you get past all this facade all you're left with is basic and dry rubbish that really doesn't vary like it should no matter how many instruments they try and include, try is the key word there, it still sounds rubbish.
Thankfully their set was cut short by the lightning, which actually became more exciting than them, which says a lot for their performance. It seems no matter how many songs you try and ruin with pointless drum and bass it will never be as cool or entertaining as thunder and lightning. From 'Rudimental' we learn one of the many lessons of music, having more people on the stage won't make it sound any better, and this sounded like an overcrowded mess.
Final Rating: 2/10 *
Lily Allen (Pyramid Stage)
Christ if it wasn't for stupid Christmas adverts nobody would know who she was, but she somehow got herself a date on the pyramid stage, and I still can't think of a reason to give a single shit. I will say that I very much like her personality, she's not afraid to speak her mind, and I respect her for that. That's really the only positive thing I have to say for her, the performance was very standard, no real new material and it was just a bit of the same old Lily we've been getting for a while now, and for me it's becoming a bit stale.
That's not to say there wasn't some high points, one notable moment was when she asked the audience if you could see her cameltoe, which you could at some stages due to her rather revealing dress, not that she really does anything for me as I personally don't find her that attractive. 'Fuck You' was another interesting moment, giving the two finger salute to Sepp Blatter of all people was definitely an interesting choice, I've no idea what Sepp Blatter actually has to do with the song, but to me it just seemed a bit unnecessary. I know that was supposed to have shocked me but it really didn't, to me it was just a bog standard set.
Final Rating: 4/10 **
Elbow (Pyramid Stage)
'Elbow' is another band I have never understood the love for, they just don't excite me in any way, my first thoughts when they where announced for Glastonbury was initial despair, and I'm pretty sure that's because the only reason they're popular is because of one song, and now everyone seems to love them. But to my surprise I actually found myself quite enjoying their performance at some stages, it certainly helped that they walked on with a pint, now there's a person I can look up to, he didn't want to waste a perfectly good point, points deducted if it's lager though. The whole set just felt generally good, it really was a feel good moment, everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves and I couldn't help but feel happy as well watching at home on my pathetic computer screen, you know I wouldn't have actually minded being there and then admitting that I went to an 'Elbow' concert.
Another surprise was that their signature song 'One Day Like This' was actually executed very well, it was a fitting finale from what had been a very good set from the men who look like they're the sort of people you would borrow a lawnmower from. It was a nice change from Lily Allen, who was exactly the opposite of this.
Final Score: 6/10 ***
Paolo Nutini (Other Stage)
Oh blimey, here's a name from the musical morgue, and it's easy to see why, the less said about his performance the better. His signature voice was predictably annoying and it seemed to just meander through what was a terrible playlist of songs, not a single one was memorable in any way. I mean just look at him, he's like a charisma vacuum, just sucking it all out of the room, and as a result his set was incredibly dull. I don't think there is any reviving this mans career, and I don't think that's such a bad thing.
Final Rating: 1/10 1/2*
Skrillex (Other Stage)
Hooray, it's just got a hell of a lot worse, they've finally reached the lowest of the low. The biggest twat in the history of the world has just arrived, fantastic, he may even bring all his moronic fans with him. We will now get to see a masterclass in pressing the play button, no artist is as musically gifted as this moron. Mmm, and he lays down some sick beats, which mesmerizes all the cocks in the crowd, although that's probably an easy thing to accomplish, just holding a mirror would have pleased those intolerable assholes.
There is one thing I won't criticize, and that's the staging, the spaceship really did look quite awesome and I can't think of a better place to plug in your laptop. That's it though, playing the same annoying shit over and over again for no reason doesn't deserve any credit, neither does anyone who attended who should be ashamed of themselves. Suddenly genocide just doesn't seem like a bad option.
Final Rating: 1/10 1/2*
Arcade Fire (Pyramid Stage)
So here it is, the main event of the evening, and it's good news, a ridiculously overrated crappy Canadian export is exactly what I wanted to close out the evening. Oh and just look at him, it's like watching a budget performance of 'Adam & The Ants', not taking away anything from them who I would much rather see than this. I just really don't get the hype over this band, their set just proved to me that there really isn't much talent on display here, the annoying vocals and underwhelming songs just confuse me even more as to their immense popularity.
Overall in my eyes it was nowhere near an epic finale that should cap off a major music festival. it just didn't feel epic at any stage and relied more on sleek visuals than actual technical quality. It was certainly not the worst performance I've ever seen, it was certainly paced well and the atmosphere was exceptional, but watching it just felt like a bit of a chore. no matter how many times I try and tell myself that they're talented I just can't help but hate theme even more.
Final Rating: 3/10 *1/2
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