Category / Glastonbury 2017

by hutchwp

Glastonbury Festival 2017 – Final thoughts

I am battered, exhausted, grotty, but yet still absolutely on top of the world that I was lucky enough to be at Glastonbury Festival 2017.

For anyone attending in their 30s, especially those in a stable relationship, there comes a time when going to these festivals with your friends becomes an increasingly reflective time. Specifically, there is an impending thought that this could well have been my last attendance for a while. The festival won’t be held next year, whilst there is a rumour circulating that the subsequent one will be held away from the site. That takes us to 2020 before the next one. Who knows where I will be by then, and who knows where my friends will be too.

As a result, I was determined to make the most out of it and pack as much in as possible whilst not destroying my body.

I wrote about each of the days in posts at the end of each day, which can be found below:

Day One – Arrival, Pitching, Fireworks Sleeping
Day Two – Prince Achmed, Quiz, Napalm Death, Everything Everything
Day Three – The Pretenders, Glass Animals, Elbow, Radiohead
Day Four – Thundercat, Jeremy Corbyn, Foo Fighters, The National
Day Five – Ed Sheeran, Goldfrapp, Barry Gibb, Chic

I also posted short reviews of three acts I enjoyed that coincided with a bit of time to make notes:

First Aid Kit
Radiohead
Laura Marling
Goldfrapp

Other highlights included a trip around the circus and theatre field (who knew man could juggle five ping pong balls without using hands or feet?), a Pilton Palais for some cinematic refuge, some fantastic food, the world’s smallest nightclub and endless other bizarre surprises I saw whilst walking around.

The most important thing is to make sure you spend it with close friend and family. I had a great bunch with me this year and managed to meet up with some friends I’d lost touch with over the years. The magic of Glastonbury never ceases to amaze me.

by hutchwp

Live music review – Laura Marling, Glastonbury Festival, 25th June 2017

Setlist:
Soothing
Wild Fire
The Valley
Nothing, Not Nearly
Don’t Pass Me By
Sophia
Once
Salinas
Daisy
How Can I
I Speak Because I Can
Rambling Man

On a hazy afternoon at the Pyramid Stage, just before Barry Gibb kickstarted a night of partying for a crowd ready to go out in a blaze of glory, Laura Marling was providing a set equivalent of the quiet before the storm. It was a beautiful and understated performance that showed her abilities both as a songwriter and as a performer, with a subtle backing band providing a platform to allow her songs to soar.

The first and only time I had seen her previously was at the Hop Farm Festival in Kent in July 2008. Back then she’d just released her debut album ‘I Speak Because I Can‘, which was making waves at the time, and she wowed an audience who were there primarily there to watch Neil Young, Supergrass and My Morning Jacket. Not bad for an 18 year old.

Fast forward to 2017 and you can see a massive development in her as an artist. Her latest album, ‘Semper Femina‘, is a collection of songs exploring what it is to be a female. For me, music has to come from a position of passion and commitment to what is being said. For that very reason, Laura Marling absolutely one of the most authentic artists out there and the album rates in the top releases so far this year.

The new songs featured heavily in the setlist, making up five of the twelve tracks, including ‘Nothing, Not Nearly’ and set opener ‘Soothing’. But it was ‘Rambling Man’ from her debut album that stuck with me the most, with most of the crowd joining in for the famous refrain.

To those unaware of her work, she could be mistaken for being overly indebted to Joni Mitchell. This is wholly untrue and inaccurate. Marling is an artist in her own right and has been prolific and consistently excellent for a decade now.

Long may it continue.

[Note] When Marling introduced Daisy, she mentioned a friend of hers called Daisy May-Hudson who last year directed a film called ‘Halfway’, a film about homeless housing struggles. I had never heard of it but I’ve located a trailer for it online here and if I can locate it online I’ll make sure I watch it

by hutchwp

Live music review – Goldfrapp, Glastonbury Festival, 25th June 2017

Setlist:
Anymore
Train
Slide In
Everything Is Never Enough
Become the One
Systemagic
Number 1
Ride a White Horse
Ooh La La
Strict Machine

They may have had some technical difficulties that delayed the start of their set, but once they finally arrived Goldfrapp absolutely blew away the John Peel Tent at Glastonbury Festival on Sunday afternoon.

Alison Goldfrapp may well be one of the most engrossing female performers in the industry. Her striking black costume, sumptuous vocals and commanding stage presence are a powerful concoction.

They led the set off with latest single ‘Anymore‘, taken from recent album ‘Silver Eye‘. It’s a dance floor filler and highly indicative of the first half of the album. As two dancers strutted across the stage, jolting sharply, it was clear this was going to be as much performance art as it was a live gig. [1]

Favourites ‘Train’ and ‘Slide In’ followed, continuing the dance vibe that the crowd were clearly enjoying.

A trio of songs from ‘Silver Eye’ followed, with the highlight being ‘Systemagic‘, which happens to be the next single taken from the album. It’s another powerful track with a mixture of heavy bass and industrial drums. Alison was in fine form, enjoying giving some new material a new audience.

As Alison said “You know this one I think…” before the electronic pounding of the intro to ‘Number 1’, she kicked off a familiar conclusion to the set. The final tracks rounded off the set nicely, with all four amongst the most popular (or perhaps most mainstream) of their material: ‘Number 1’, ‘Ride a White Horse’, ‘Ooh La La’ and ‘Strict Machine’. This is a sensible choice at a festival, even if the more dedicated fans would have loved to hear a song or two from ‘Seventh Tree‘ or ‘Felt Mountain‘.

I’ve seen Goldfrapp on many occasions and they seem to get better and better. Predictably, the crowd went wild for them, setting sail into the warm Glastonbury air for the final night of the festival having seen one the best sets of the weekend.

[1] Catch their latest music videos below. Systemagic gives a great idea of what their stage dancers look like.

by hutchwp

Glastonbury 2017 Day Five: Ed Sheeran, Goldfrapp, Barry Gibb, Chic

The fifth and final day at the festival had been and gone. I am a beaten man, but it was worth it.

My first port of call for music for the day was to catch Jamie Cullum on the Pyramid Stage as he did the lunchtime slot. Nobody can deny he gives all his energy into his performances, and he has plenty of it. He’s an extremely talented man, and performed a mixture of covers and originals with his tightly-rehearsed group. Amongst the covers was a jazzed-up Ed Sheeran number.

I moved in close to the front the see Laura Marling, who captivated the audience with her unique country-folk hybrid styles. It’s hard to deny being reminded of Joni Mitchell as she pairs a voice that borders on yodelling with the most intricate of guitar work. Her final song ‘Rambling Man’ was simply beautiful.

Barry Gibb was next on the main stage, with the traditional Sunday afternoon legends slot. I definitely “got into” the set, and there is plenty of evidence of me singing along on the live broadcast. Fair play to him for donning the golf jacket for the end of the set.

The disco bar was raised another level when Chic took to the stage. From a hit-packed set my absolute highlight was ‘Let’s Dance’, which blew my mind. Singing that at full volume with 100,000 other fans is a truly special moment.

I had to swim against the tide to get to Goldfrapp at the John Peel Stage. Clearly some bad planning going on as the Chic-then-Goldfrapp option was appealing to many and at the same time Killers-then-Biffy was equally appealing. Cue pandemonium on the walkway between the two. Goldfrapp’ set was slightly delayed but once they kicked off they were as glorious as I expected them to be. Singer Alison Goldfrapp commands the stage like no other and there wasn’t a still waist in the tent. Their new album ‘Silver Eye’ had a good run out, with ‘Systematic’ being my particular favourite.

I caught the end of the Biffy Clyro set, with Matt Carole cover ‘When We Collide’ going down a treat [1].

The main headliner, Ed Sheeran, was an act I wasn’t particularly fussed about seeing when the day started. In lieu of there being no other appealing headliners we stuck with him and I can heartily say it was the biggest positive surprise of the weekend. This is a 26-year-old man and he has gone out on the main stage and powered through a set full of hits to an eager crowd. ‘Castle on the Hill’, ‘A Team’, ‘Shape of You’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ are undoubtedly songs of the highest quality and nobody can deny he has an extremely powerful voice. A talented man, full of confidence and charisma. Absolute quality.

A quick look around Cineramageddon as the 1970 Mick Jagger film Performance began to play and we saw a close to our festival. I can safely say that nobody had the exact experience I had – everyone’s pathway through the biggest party in the world is completely unique and wonderful. It’s exhausting, it’s exhilarating and it’s something I never want to end.

Thank you Michael and Emily. Until next time.

[1] I’M TROLLING YOU DON’T WORRY!

by hutchwp

Glastonbury 2017 Day Four: Thundercat, Corbyn, Foo Fighters, The National

A cracking headline slot and a politically-empowering speech from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn defined Saturday at Glastonbury Festival 2017.

The order of the day was love, which is apparently all you really need. The Bootleg Beatles opened the Pyramid with a Sgt. Peppers-era set that featured a the likes of ‘A Little Help From My Friends’, ‘Penny Lane’, ‘I Am The Walrus’ and ‘A Day in the Life’, though I was personally disappointed they didn’t add the extra twenty verses recently written by Peter Serafinowicz.

I was able to dash across the site to catch the entire Whitney set, which was an uplifting surprise despite the weather. The fresh-faced American band, led by drummer/vocalist Julien Ehrlich, wooed the crowd with their hazy Americana tunes and sarcastic banter. It’s rare for me to get so entranced by a band after just 45 minutes of listening but I’m keen to hear more now.

The Thundercat set on the West Holts Stage was a showcase of musicianship masterclasses, though it was married with a penchant for memorable and soulful delivery by frontman Stephen Bruner.

One defining moment of the day came from an empowering speech from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He spoke for around ten minutes to a packed crowd in the Pyramid and it felt like everyone in attendance took a step to the left, no matter where they started from. Admittedly, he was inevitably going to be popular here, but he’s quickly becoming the voice of a generation that seemed for so long to have nobody fighting their corner. The next five years will be the most interesting politically Britain has seen for decades.

From the stirring to the boring, The Kaiser Chiefs blandly went through he motions of their set to an indifferent crowd clearly waiting for Liam Gallagher to appear. This kind of band brings out the worst in middle-aged people clearly harbouring dormant lad culture personas inside their older bodies. Out come the Kangol hats, Oasis t-shirts and angry alter-egos and, some eight pints later, everyone can have a fight. Wonderful. Liam put in a solid performance, mind you, with a mixture of tracks from his upcoming ‘As You Were’ album and Oasis hits (up to and including 1997 but no later).

The National underlined the 10+ recommendations I’ve had from friends who clearly have better music taste than me. They were brilliant and had the crowds singing along. I’ve no idea how they’ve slipped through the net thus far but they’ll be unslipping very shortly.

The absolute hands-down 100% best set of the day came from Foo Fighters. They performed for well over two hours, providing hit after hit from their eight studio albums and their upcoming ninth album Concrete and Gold, due for release later this year. Starting with ‘Times Like These’, which was sweetly dedicated to Florence Welch, they blasted through a set that included ‘This Is A Call’, ‘All My Life’, new single ‘Run’, ‘My Hero’ and ended on fan favourite ‘Everlong’. The crowd didn’t want them to stop, so just carried on the chanting from ‘Best of You’ as they dispersed. Special mention to Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl for duetting on ‘Under Pressure’, doing their best impressions of David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. A classic moment.

If only I could get those songs out of my head I’d be able to sleep better!

by hutchwp

Glastonbury 2017 Day Three: The Pretenders, Glass Animals, Surprise it’s Elbow, Radiohead

A day that had promised sunshine turned out to be disappointingly overcast, leaving the Hot to be created by the acts on stage. Wow, that was a corny start to a blog. Still, we proceed.

The Pretenders supplied a hit-filled set in the late morning opening slot on the Other Stage. A disappointing endeavour to buy breakfast at a stand with a good view from the queue led to a lorry blocking us off from the action for three songs, then the stall running out of eggs just before we ordered. Guys, this is relevant info!Catching almost none of Paul Carrack’s set followed by almost none of the Hot 8 Brass Band’s set reminded us that you can’t get between stages easily. I’m sure both sets were great but we saw neither.


A chance stumbling onto the A Little More Sensation stage in the Circus Field meant we were able to catch the absolutely brilliant Fraser Hooper. It was a silent comedy special with plenty of audience participation, featured a duck, a boxing match and some cracking sound effects. He transfixed a potentially transient audience and was a healthy reminder that there’s plenty going on around the site away from the listed main stages.

There was a genius moment we’re a band of performance artists dressed as seagulls ambushed a fish finger stand. Classic.

First Aid Kit lit up the main stage as a crowd full of people said “Oh I know this one!” ten seconds into each song. Clearly a band I need to check it more in the aftermath of the festival. 

We sadly gave up on Kris Kristofferson after about six songs. It was a real struggle to engage and there were clearly some sound issues that may well have been the performer rather than the sound engineer. Glass Animals were a far better choice!

Watching Mark Lanegan and Angel Olson from the hill on The Park was a great way to relax before the worst kept secret act of the day in the form of Elbow. A great set by a great band, my only reservation is that they seem to have forgotten everything they released prior to The Seldom Seen Kid. If they just did one song from the vastly superior Cast of Thousands I’d be so much happier.

And so it was time for the day’s big headliners, Radiohead. They pulled out a cracking set and I talk in much greater detail here, but in summary it was the standout set of the day for me and one I’ll remember for a long time.

The Trojans took on the Avalon Cafe at midnight and that saw out the night for me. Another big day of music is due tomorrow and I can hardly wait.

by hutchwp

Live Music Review – Radiohead, Glastonbury Festival, 23rd June 2017

Setlist:
Daydreaming
Lucky
Ful Stop
Airbag
15 Step
Myxomatosis
Exit Music (for a Film)
Pyramid Song
Everything in Its Right Place
Let Down
Bloom
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Idioteque
You and Whose Army?
There There
Bodysnatchers
Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Encore:1:
No Surprises
Nude
2 + 2 = 5
Paranoid Android
Fake Plastic Trees

Encore 2:
Lotus Flower
Creep
Karma Police

“Bring down the government, they don’t speak for us.” As the lyrics to one of Radiohead’s most commercially famous songs – ‘No Surprises’ – the crowd let out a ginormous cheer. Any doubt that one of Britain’s most critically-celebrated bands had failed to engage the audience were quashed at that moment. It seemed to inflate lead singer Thom Yorke’s confidence. At the end of the song he said, simply, “See you later, Theresa. Just shut the door on your way out.”

A huge laugh from the immeasurably-sized crowd was followed by a louder cheer. Yorke clearly knew his audience and knew a left-wing statement was a safe bet.

But the setlist was anything but a safe bet. 

Confidently appearing on stage to the piano theme from ‘Daydreaming’, they launched into a set made primarily of OK Computer album tracks and singles lifted from their more recent releases. 

It was reassuring to see how many people were able to sing along to the likes of ‘Bloom’, ‘Weird Fishes’ and ‘You and Whose Army?”. 
It was only when they launched into ‘Street Spirit (Fade Out)’ did they start to mine what would be considered their more mainstream songs, and the patient crowd were rewarded an eight-song, two-part encore that featured a handful of crowd-pleasers. Or, the most crowd-pleasing Radiohead have ever done. ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, a blasting ‘Paranoid Android’ and an extra crunchy ‘Creep’ ensured the set would live on in memory as one that walked the line between the awkwardly obscure and pleasingly familiar.

It was a great snapshot of one of the greatest bands to grace our planet, and the set is up there with the best, for this crowd member at least.

by hutchwp

Live music review – First Aid Kit, Glastonbury Festival, 23rd June 2017

Setlist:

Wolf
Master Pretender
Waitress Song
The Lion’s Roar
You Are the Problem Here
Ghost Town
King of the World
It’s a Shame
The Gambler
Stay Gold
Emmylou
My Silver Lining

Sandwiched between Northern indie rockers Blossoms and country legend Kris Kristofferson and with a rain cloud threatening above them, First Aid Kit managed to bridge the tonal gap whilst standing out as a powerful group well at home at a festival they were appearing at for the third time.

Kicking off with 2012 single ‘Wolf’, it was hard not to feel mesmerised by the band, fronted by sisters Klara Söderberg and Johanna Söderberg. These are not just great singers and musicians, but great performers too, exhibiting passion and anger at times to provide an edge to what many try to pigeonhole as either folk or country music. Or both.

Recent single ‘You Are The Problem Here‘ was a case in point, with Klara’s refrain “I hope you fucking suffer” causing plenty of mid-afternoon picnic blanket revellers to stand up and take up notice.

With songs like ‘Stay Gold’ and ‘My Silver Lining’, it’s truly difficult not to fall in love with them and their songs. They’re simply beautiful, heartfelt and honest pieces of music. It’s hard to think that anyone who was really paying attention wasn’t a fan by the end of their set.

A triumph.

by hutchwp

Glastonbury 2017 Day Two – Prince Achmed, Quiz, Napalm Death, Everything

My second day at Glastonbury this year found me out for the lightweight I really am. I’m sat in my tent at 23:20 now, having given up for the night. There are probably four hours of quality entertainment ahead of me but I simply can’t hack it.

My day started swimmingly with a trip to the Pilton Palais for a screening of The Adventures of Prince Achmed. The performance was accompanied by the Guildhall Electronic Music Studio. The film and accompaniment were top quality and it was a well-chosen start to the day.

After wandering with some friends for a while, I stumbled across a man playing a great selection of covers songs at the Open Arms Bar. We watched a handful of songs, sand heartily (if ironically) to “Take Me Home Country Road” and then set off towards the West Holts Bar. This is where I was “that guy” – the one that randomly helps out with a pub quiz without anyone asking him to. Everyone loves that guy. Right?

Our next step, bizarrely, was to visit Shangri-La and watch Napalm Death. I’m going to be honest – the songs merged into one another and I was hardly impressed by any of their music. Perhaps I was too far back but it didn’t feel like any of their songs were distinct enough or had enough dynamics to encapsulate a crowd who started the set with interest if not enthusiasm.

We tried then to see Everything Everything at the Williams Green stage. The crowds were busy for this set, which was possibly the worst-kept secret of the weekend. Alas, we gave up by the second song and moved on.

And that brings me to here. I was too tired to carry on and made my way back to my tent, even though I desperately wanted to see a friend performing with The Trojans. Exhausted and in need of some rest, I’m hoping I last longer tomorrow night for the huge headline set from Radiohead. I’m sure they’ll have an uplifting song or two to get me through the tiredness barrier.

by hutchwp

Film review – Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed / The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Lotte Reiniger, 1926)

The uniquely-animated ‘Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed’, Lotte Reiniger’s 1926 film, is a hugely important film. Work started on it in 1923, and it is the earliest-surviving animated feature film – it clocks in at 65 minutes.

The animation technique used involved cutting out cardboard silhouettes of the characters and manipulating them frame by frame. Some 93,000 frames were created for the film.

Reiniger’s attention to detail was matched by that of the restoration team at the Deutsches Filmmuseum, who in 1999 returned it to its former glory and allowed new generations to enjoy it.

Today’s screening, which was at the Tilda Swindon-curated Pilton Palais at Glastonbury Festival, was accompanied by a unique re-score by the Guildhall Electronic Music Studio.

It’s easy to create a modern score for a classic piece that simply doesn’t fit – Air’s ‘The Journey to the Moon’ is certainly guilty of that – but the mix of classical piano and basic sound effects works perfectly. Mike Oliver oversaw the project and acted as a mentor to those involved. The piano accompaniment from Barbara De Biasi is reminiscent of the Joe Hisaishi scores for Ghibli Studio. As a fan of Hisaishi’s work this was very much welcome. This was augmented by Eric Fabrizi with paper-based sound effects and live narration from Mike Oliver and his daughter Molly.

It all came together wonderfully and felt respectful of the original work whilst breathing a new life into it for a new, younger audience.

It was well attended by an early-afternoon festival crowd. Anyone appearing early for the Frozen sing-a-long would have been entirely confused. For everyone else, the film was a triumph. Congratulations to all involved.