Glastonbury 2014: Day 2 Review (Saturday)

Glastonbury (28/06/14)

Day two promises to be much better than the first, the lineup is absolutely stacked with some brilliant artists and so I shall now review the main acts featured throughout the days proceedings

Lana Del Rey (Pyramid Stage)

Lana Del Rey isn't usually the most colorful of characters, and so it was a nice surprise to see her actually coming out in a very bright tie-die dress, which actually looked very nice. In fact I would like to say that in my personal opinion she did look quite attractive. Unfortunately that dress may have been there to cover up the fact that her set was rather gloomy and depressing, there were no real gimmicks involved and it looked to me like she was improvising, or at least very little planning went into it. Lana again proving that she really does have very little charisma, or at least she doesn't show it.

The actual playlist was performed reasonably well, there wasn't really any standout moments, but I will say her new album 'Ultraviolence' sounds better live than in the studio, which is a quite a difficult trick to pull off, she must have been doing something right. I wouldn't say the overall experience was enjoyable, it just felt a bit gloomy, the crowd meanwhile were loving every minute of it and so maybe it's just me, although that blank stare in the picture makes me think otherwise. Not a bad set in any case, all the big numbers sounded good, just a bit more drama needed. 

Final Rating: 6/10   ***

Wolf Alice (John Peel Stage)

This is something a little bit different, an alternative rock band from London that is fronted by a female, a genre that doesn't have a particularly brilliant past. However this band are here to prove that they can move on to bigger and better things, and I hope so to as they really could be the future of rock. I would say they remind me a bit of 'Hole', just 5 million times better.

This was another depressing set, although this time they actually showed some emotion on the stage, and you can really see the difference it makes when you compare their performance with Lana's. Again there was nothing that made me feel particularly excited, I wasn't wowed by anything special, and the staging did look a little threadbare, but for an up and coming band they certainly have promise with their original and quality sound.

Final Rating: 5/10   **1/2

Jack White (Pyramid Stage)

This man has an exceptional pedigree. He once was of course a member of 'The White Stripes' and was most noted for his exceptional, if a little overrated, guitar playing ability. With timeless 'White Stripes' riffs ringing in my ear, I ask myself what the hell went so horribly wrong here? I don't know how he quite managed it, but what we got was an unorganized and terribly paced racket that was not only annoying but also utterly shite. Just about every riff lacked any purpose and even seemed to alienate the crowd on multiple occasions.

The chosen playlist was also another talking point, it really didn't flow and many songs felt like they went on for centuries longer than they should of, this of course killed off any momentum he had obtained, which wasn't much since there wasn't a whole lot the crowd could get stuck into. Even 'The White Stripes' historic work was visibly pulverized before my very eyes, timeless classics just seemed to disintegrate and we were left with a pile of crap. But what capped it all off for me, his dreadful cover of 'Enter Sandman', wow that was a special kind of shit, I don't think I've ever heard it played so badly, and really it just summed up his performance in a nutshell.

Final Rating: 2/10   *

Robert Plant ( Pyramid Stage)

Probably the name I was most looking forward to seeing at this years event, he is quite simply one of the biggest characters in the history of the industry and he's now trying his luck with his new band 'Sensational Shape Shifters' which isn't really a catchy name, and will almost certainly go down like a lead zeppelin (ha). You have to bear in mind that Robert Plant is 65, so it is nothing short of a miracle that he can still perform the way he does, when I'm 65 I hope I can still masturbate yet alone own the main stage of Glastonbury like he did back in 1969. It was also great to see the fans actually respect this absolute legend, he got a huge roar when he walked out like the boss he is, I had worried that he might be one of history's forgotten names, but he drew a huge crowd which is great to see .

His set was good, there was a nice mix of classic 'Led Zeppelin' numbers and some new songs he has recorded since. It was almost like seeing 'Led Zeppelin' back in 1969 as the genres of folk and blues were expertly intertwined to create what was a momentous and enjoyable performance. The standout moment of course was the fans chanting for one last song, and he delivered with a brilliant rendition of 'Rock & Roll', which is easily one of the top ten songs of all time. It still baffles me how a pensioner can have more stage presence than people half his age, nobody so far this year has even come close to owning that stage like Plant did, he really is a one of a kind.

I just love the fact that this set just felt chilled out, a relaxing affair from a man who had huge expectations coming into Glastonbury, especially from fans like myself. As expected the pace did drop at some stages, but the guy is 65 and not even the younger generation can go full out for the whole performance. Yes I can moan that there wasn't a 'Stairway to Heaven' in sight, but the classics where a once in a lifetime moment, you really did get the sense that you were watching one of the all time great performers, and who knows next year he might even bring back some old friends.

Final Rating: 8/10   ****

Manic Street Preachers (Other Stage)

The 'Manic Street Preachers' may just be the most pointless band in the world, they seem to only live for these live shows and as far as I'm concerned have never released anything of note, ever. I just don't understand the appeal of them, but then that's probably because I'm not a man having a mid life crisis, and so I don't find any of their so called 'classic' numbers anything special. They're also from Wales, if you guessed that by the ridiculous number of flags that adorn their stage. In the end it just looks quite tacky, and then there was their performance, which was really bog standard, literally nothing of any significance happened throughout, it was everything you would expect. Whilst it certainly wasn't a horrible set, it isn't exactly what you would pay good money to see.

Final Rating: 5/10   **1/2

Pixies (Other Stage)

It's been a long time since 'Pixies' headlined anything, they reformed in 2004 after a 11 year hiatus and are now back in the scene. I think this is a good thing for the music industry as they were always a band that never got the credit they fully deserve, at the time they were a very influential band who's unique style was inherited by legendary bands such as 'Nirvana'. The experience clearly shows as they know how to create an instantaneous dark atmosphere with their well paced and gloomy set. Everything that was done was accomplished with frightening efficiency and technical prowess, they certainly know how to own a set at the biggest stage. Thumbs up from me, and one that maybe I didn't expect, like everyone else I just instantly overlooked this well rounded band. 

Final Rating: 8/10   ****

Jake Bugg (Other Stage)

Apparently this person is meant to be very cool, I don't really follow popular culture and so to me he just looks like a bog standard teenager who's going to seduce us with his poncy guitar. Once you get past this hipster appearance you really don't get much talent, especially considering the buzz that surrounds this young man. He certainly provided a nice juxtaposition from other headliners 'Metallica' but I personally just don't get it.

He predictably managed to draw a huge crowd like he did last year, but I really must question the fans over what the draw is with this guy, maybe it is just his babyface looks. This year he tried to get us to take him seriously with his music encompassing more adult and meaningful themes. I definitely didn't get that from his performance, he still looks like just a typical young man to me, but there is some raw potential hidden in there somewhere, just not quite there yet. I'm still not sure why he got the main event though, there were some much better, and more wholesome performances on that stage throughout the day, for me this was just a bit tame.

Final Rating: 4/10   **

Metallica (Pyramid Stage)

Who says metal shouldn't headline Glastonbury, it's finally here and it sounded fucking awesome. metal fans and myself have been waiting for this moment for decades, I only wish I could of been there with the many thousands of fellow fans to share the experience. But when the torch was handed to 'Metallica' they didn't disappoint and delivered a fantastic performance. I guess you could say it was really quite a standard performance from the gods of thrash metal, I don't think you can really blame them since the majority of ticket holders at Glastonbury will be unfamiliar with their work, but I did expect a little more intensity.

Still, I'm not going to take anything away from them, they were fucking insane, they proved to me again that they are the best live band on the planet, no other band brings anywhere as near as much intensity and raw power to the stage as 'Metallica', they simply are in a class of one and every second of it feels epic. The set wasn't perfect, not by a long way, there was some questionable comments from lead man James Hetfield, who encouraged us to love one another, which is pretty rich coming from a man who hunts bears in his spare time.

But that is rather small in comparison to the perfection that was the final third of their set, it may have been one of the greatest moments in my life and the passion and energy that it was delivered is absolutely phenomenal, Hetfield may be 50 but he sure knows how to rock. It wasn't the best 'Metallica' concert I've ever seen but for a once in a lifetime spectacle it was absolutely mesmerizing, and whether it will pave the way for more metal headliners is another question, but this was certainly a huge moment in the history of rock music.

Final Rating: 9/10   ****1/2