Text Box: Text Box: Text Box: Saturday 28/6 It's strange how trouble at festivals doesn't get so widely reported. Maybe it’s the fact that the majority of the Press are living in their ring fenced dream world Press area and aren't actually experiencing the real world out there. Well this may be news to you but as is rather traditional for the Friday night of a festival, trouble brewed. One of my campsite pals was sadly unlucky enough to fall victim to a group of rogue Scousers in a bizarre new trend of going for essentials rather than valuables. There were also reports of tents being picked up and moved and the contents emptied and burnt. Security informed us that by daybreak there had been over 5000 people evicted for either not possessing a valid ticket/wristband combination or for disrespecting the staff (instant wristband removal and therefore ejection). Well that'll teach you for giving the tickets to HMV (or maybe it won't)... Other strange occurrences I witnessed included a man openly urinating in a crowd full of people and at the other end of the scale- inspired buskers just jamming around the site. It’s a contrasting world, this festival lark. Thankfully the troublesome mud had taken a backseat without any rainfall to fuel its fire. Crowded House *Pyramid Stage* 14:45- 16:00 approx. I have to say if you had said to me that one of the best performances I would see all weekend was from a random Aussie band from the 80s I would probably have wondered if it was time for your medication. The turnout (not forgetting this is the pivotal stage of Glastonbury which would later play host to the media circuses of Jigga and Winehouse) was astronomical. And what shocked me the most was the vast majority were all singing along! The warm reception was certainly not hindered by Kiwi frontman Neil Finn's fantastic rapport and creative, lively personality. This guy knows how to work a crowd, the larger the better. As well as going through their catalogue of hits- 'Don't Dream It's Over', 'Something So Strong' and 'Fall at Your Feet', Finn managed to incorporate the specialized security team into the act by daring them to turn around and watch the band. This was further immortalized in swansong 'Weather with You'. The band also managed to treat us to some new material and they just seemed so appreciative to be there. If I will throw one criticism their way it would be the fact that they did not end the show with the classic weather anthem which I believe may have been the original plan. Finn was having so much fun he pushed on to do one more tune (a new one), which is admirable if a little ill-advised. 'Weather With You', 'Don't Dream It's Over', 'Something So Strong', 'Fall at Your Feet' Crowd- 5 Performance- 5 Setlist- 4 James Blunt *Pyramid Stage* 16:40- 17:25 approx. Mr. Blunt doesn't have the greatest reputation in pop. What with an unfortunate rhyming name and an aversion for cheating on supermodels- his work I don't think has peaked since iconic 'Back to Bedlam'. Second album syndrome is a hell of a burden and this was apparent judging by his short set. The 'people are only here for Jay and Wino' theory was completely blown out of the water as at least a quarter of the crowd dispersed after the Crowded House set. Nevertheless I thought Blunt did fairly well, however there is just something about him that's very hard to warm to. Maybe it's the way he came charging onto the stage with a "suit" comprised of cheap trousers, jacket and an adidas top clutching his guitar and giving an unsettling grin to the audience. The crowd reaction was virtually non-existent to be brutally honest, but I was impressed by his set, although it wasn't particularly moving. Of course the majority of the 'Bedlam' hits were played as opposed to follow-up 'All the Lost Souls'. A rather amusing anecdote was eavesdropped during his performance of 'You're Beautiful', two 20-somethings exchanging: "He's hot." "Yeah, he is hot actually and awww... look at the emotion he puts in his songs, so emotional." Infact all that emotion was apparent as he seemed to be visibly moved (by his own song) during 'Goodbye My Lover'. Now how you could get emotional about a song playing in blistering heat in front of a packed Glasto crowd I'm not sure, but it was a good performance. What wasn't so wise was playing 'You're Beautiful' so early on which left a void for the ending song. Crowd interaction wasn't so hot either- a strange rambling about wanting to see everyone take their shirts off and complaining about the media's perception of the event. And too right... 'Goodbye Jimmy', 'You're Beautiful', 'High', 'Wisemen', 'Goodbye My Lover', '1973' Crowd- 1 Performance 4.5 Setlist- 3 Duffy *Other Stage* 18:20- 19:10 approx. It must be difficult performing at your first Glastonbury, both the Welsh songstress and Katie Melua (Sunday) were making their debuts. It must be even harder performing after really one album release and that certainly seemed so for young Duffy. Besieged with home support (of which there was a particularly strong show of support, not least due to the geographical advantage) and like Blunt and Estelle before her- sporting a wonderful backing band, Duffy certainly made a go of it and seemed generally likeable judging by her acute crowd interaction. It wasn't the greatest turnout for her, but unfortunately 'The Other Stage' (No really, that's what it’s called) acts as a gateway to everything else. Think of it like the M25 for its connectivity and the fact that you more often than not get nowhere fast, and that's about the most accurate simile I can give you. But the people that did stay will have witnessed a determined young lady who put on a decent show. 'Warwick Avenue', 'Mercy' Crowd- 2.5 Performance- 4 Setlist- 4 Evi Vine *The Rabbit Hole* 20:10- 20:35 approx. Unsigned melodic and melancholia Evi Vine finally appeared in the small Park subsidiary after much jostling. It’s fair to say that the band go for a rather despondent take on life- haunting and atmospheric lines (there's no drummer usually) mixed with Evi's strong and refined vocals. As seems to be the case with most bands and Worthy Farm- Evi described the performance being "as big as it gets" which is lovely to see, there being nothing worse watching artists at such events who clearly don't put the effort in- Evi Vine certainly can't be accused of that. Sadly the jostling was due to a "misplaced setlist" which did lead to problems, added with increased sound issues with the guitar and mic feedback, leading to a visually erratic performance that was well received by the underground crowd. 'Inside Her' Crowd- 3 Performance- 4 Setlist- 2 Amy Winehouse *Pyramid Stage* 21:15- 22:25 approx. So, the moment you've all been waiting for? I haven't seen a crowd rush this mad since V Festival booked Maroon 5 on the Main Stage ahead of Kaiser Chiefs on the Other Stage. Undoubtedly the biggest crowd witnessed at the festival all weekend, absolute madness. So the stage was indeed set for Winehouse who was shockingly on time. Now I had never seen Winehouse live before this- yes I'd heard all the shambolic stories of this supremely talented diva but I had certainly never had a bad word to write about her. However to call her performance eccentric would be kind; to call it appalling would be more accurate. The reason I give setlists ratings is for artists like her, it’s so important to get the right blend and stick to it. Maybe if things aren't going well you can stray and chop and change, but Winehouse seemed to be instructing her excellent backing band to rearrange after virtually every song. Now without doubt there were bear-baiters in the audience ready to pounce on her every wrong move but the girl really doesn't help herself with public displays. It started well enough- renditions of 'Back to Black', 'Tears Dry On Their Own', 'Love is a Losing Game'- excellent, but then she seemed to just ramble on in a strange interlude being played by the band- desperately trying to save the show. It was far too late for that. By the time she had got to 'Rehab', Winehouse ill-advisedly decided to go for a walk in the crowd as the minders tried anxiously to prevent the obvious. And so it was, an altercation with a fan, a front page splash on a Sunday paper that would have had to have stopped the Press for the privilege- she is a ticking time bomb and the media are just waiting for her to go off. It's sad to see but the constant ramblings about her "incarcerated" husband (just up the road from me in Pentonville, our Blakey) and the off-key performances are not helping her. She actually clearly wanted to do another after the incident, but Glastonbury had seen enough. 'Tears Dry on Their Own', Specials cover, 'Back to Black', 'Rehab', 'Love is a Losing Game' Crowd- 5 Performance- 3 Setlist- 1 Jay-Z *Pyramid Stage* 23:10- 00:50 approx. How do you deal with being blamed for an event's ticket sales? How do you deal with being cast aside by the UK's biggest rock icon? Jay-Z went for rigging it with explosives and watch it blow- a storming, fashionably-late entrance laden with a slightly over-hyped wrestling-style build-up video, before storming into the accusant's biggest hit. "I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now." I'm sure they don't! Jay sporting his best Oasis coat which actually seemed more of a dig at Liam ('Don't Look Back in Anger?' maybe?!), and also sadly without the Brit Pop guitar- nice idea though. It is a widely misconstrued media view that Jay is the first hip-hop star to headline a major festival. Perhaps these misconceptions come via a rather chequered past. Eminem and D12 successfully headlined Reading Festival in 2002 after having to pull out the year before as he was on trial for assault and unable to leave the US. Jay himself was meant to headline Reading a year later but pulled out (or bottled it if you prefer!). He is the only black rap artist to do it, this is true. 50 Cent's Reading attempt ended in shambles after he and his G-Unit band were bottled off after 3 songs. Back to the music though, Jay's most successful hit over here was launched into energetically after good audience interaction- "I've just got one thing to say... I've got 99 problems but a b*tch ain't one!” Generally Jay did interact really well with the crowd. He gave them parts of songs to sing that they perhaps wouldn't be so familiar with to keep the show flowing and that is why his shows are so good, the crowd are captivated as to what will come next- it’s the sign of any great showman. We were promised Michael Eavis, Amy Winehouse, Estelle and some were even saying Noel would make an appearance but he didn't really need them as he cycled through songs including 'Rehab', 'Umbrella', 'American Boy', 'Hard-Knock Life' and 'Nigga What, Nigga Who'. There were also fantastically improvised rhymes about George Bush and Hurricane Katrina. It was by and large a massive success for the Jigga Man; my only criticism would be that he does seem to rely on other people's songs and his minute appearances on them. Obviously I'm not expecting him to fly Rhianna and Linkin Park over but maybe if he had more of a back catalogue he wouldn't need to do that. By the time the encore was even nearing there was a 'Jay-Z' chant started in the audience which is not surprising as the show was undoubtedly mind-blowing. But if I didn't know better I'd say that Jay was just a little bit touched by the affection as I spotted signs of welling up. But we'll leave the rap superstar his dignity as we reflect on a fantastic set- that is how sets should be- completely thought through and organized- it shows... 'Nigga What, Nigga Who', 'Numb/Encore', 'Hard-Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem), 'Umbrella', 'American Boy' Crowd- 4.5 Performance- 5 Setlist- 5 Glasto Part 4 Text Box: Links and affiliates Contact Me Text Box: Media reaction to Saturday’s headliners Text Box: Crowded House– No they really were actually quite good! Text Box: Ratings Key- In italics are memorable songs played Acts are rated out of 5 for their: Crowd– general turnout and reaction Performace– How well the act performed Setlist– The choice of songs performed and the flow. Text Box: Evi Vine on stage, Rabbit Hole