Text Box: Text Box: Text Box: Sunday 29/6 Certainly none of Friday night's shenanigans were apparent and the festival had more of a tranquil feel to it as a result- and the weather had cleared up. Sadly as seems to be the case with the booking of Glastonbury- the festival is engineered towards Saturday night and so come Sunday morning (and Saturday night to some extent) a mass exodus began in the campsites as either people left for good or tried to move all their belongings to the car park. It's a shame because unlike Reading which falls on a Bank Holiday weekend, Glastonbury suffers from being right in the middle of people's lives and this is shown in the booking of the final day. Before I forget, I would just like to point out that bio-degradable tent pegs may be free, may be good for the environment and may live up to the Glasto '08 ethos of 'Love the Farm'- but unfortunately are as up there with the chocolate kettle in terms of effectiveness I'm afraid. Mark Ronson *The Other Stage* 18:00- 18:50 approx. Super-producer Ronson took to the 'Halfway Stage' just as the heat had really hit. Ronson must have felt right at home in the blistering sunshine and attracted a good crowd. I think by now you get the idea that most rumours at Glastonbury never really transpire and so we did not see the disgraced Winehouse return to help her 'Back to Black' producer out on 'Valerie'. Ronson's session band was on hand and did a good job. He did however bring Daniel Merriweather (well who else was he going to get to sing it?!) out who did a cracking job on The Smiths' cover. I wouldn't say it was Ronson's best stage performance that you will ever see but the crowd enjoyed it and that's really what matters at such events- good job. 'Stop Me', 'Valerie' Crowd- 4 Performance- 4 Setlist- 4 Goldfrapp *Pyramid Stage* 18:45- 19:40 approx. I'm sure we've all heard the stories, though should you not have- apparently Alison Goldfrapp is one of the most difficult people in the world to work with. What's that got to do with this review of her band's set? Well if you're familiar with the band's latest offering- 'Seventh Tree', you would be aware that by and large, it's awful. Now when you are sitting in a field experiencing those very songs pumped into the airwaves- it can be quite draining. There is nothing wrong with writing a new album and then playing it thoroughly at every show- the best bands should be well within their right not to have to resort to a 'Greatest Hits' set. But when your album's as dodgy as that, you should perhaps reconsider a track-by-track public performance. Personally I'm quite a Goldfrapp fan and I do think that they perform well live, but maybe sometimes you should just stick to what makes the band good- funky disco tunes. Unfortunately if you like Alison & co. for that reason, you will have been mightily disappointed by this showing. There were die-hard fans who continued to sing-along regardless, but I think you will find the majority of spectators were just hoping the end was in sight. 'Seventh Tree- full album', 'Ooh La La', 'Ride a White Horse' Crowd- 4 Performance- 4.5 Setlist- 1 Katie Melua *Avalon* 19:30- 20:45 I know what you're thinking; I've made a typo in the stage timings... I'm sad to say that no- Katie really did play that long. Gracing the stage that Pete Doherty referred to as having woken up in a field there once, the Avalon Stage is indeed one of the more iconic ones at Glasto, and what better setting than that for Ms Melua to make her debut. Crowd-wise it can only be described as a triumph. There isn't much room in the fields of Avalon, just a small area overlooking the iconic red and yellow tent (yes, that's what's in it!) and described in the guide as having "some of the gems of the festival". Now I wouldn't personally elevate this performance to 'gem' status but what I will say is that it was just a nice place to be. It's amazing how sidetracked you can get what with all the mayhem and madness going on passing the Other Stage junction and the Pyramid Stage, but Katie, her guitar, and that bloke in the green who was dancing somewhat over-enthusiastically made this all quite an experience. Crisp and chilled laid-back tunes from the Georgian-born songstress. A true underground and appreciative following had gathered to see her- quite astonishing the range of spectators: old, young, families, groups of 20-somethings, groups of 40-somethings. I do feel that the Wogan favourite did go on a little too long but the crowd didn't seem to mind and again she spoke of her extensive enthusiasm to be there- which is always a plus point. 'Closest Thing to Crazy' Crowd- 4 Performance- 4.5 Setlist- 4 The Verve *Pyramid Stage* 21:30- 22:50 I have to confess that this was one of the reasons I purchased my Glastonbury ticket this year- the group from Wigan who made it big and then, at the height of their powers, were forced to go their separate ways. The last time I saw The Verve was their homecoming gig in Wigan, which I was lucky enough to win tickets for from XFM. That was a stormer of a gig and I'm surprised I don't still have the bruises from the moshpit! This time around, nine years older and wiser, The Verve opened with the iconic 'This is Music' and it was like they had never been away. The sign of a great band tends to be when their live performances inspire new fans and still captivates old fans via anthemic renditions of their classics- I'm pleased to say that Richard Ashcroft's enigmatic group did that and more. Richard himself was in good spirits (he was moaning about Vauxhall Astras the last time I saw him, due to the legal battle over the rights to the strings section of 'Bittersweet Symphony') but did pay tribute to both Jay-Z (obviously) and Emily Eavis- who it seemed, was the reason we had the privilege of seeing this iconic group. Well If Michael saw that performance, he may well start to trust his daughter's judgment more often. An impressive catalogue of hits, so impressive they could afford to omit the likes of 'On Your Own', 'Blue' and recent relived classic 'This is My Moment'. We were still treated to the haunting 'History', ballads 'Space and Time' and 'Velvet Morning' and of course the songs that provoked mass sing longs- 'Bittersweet Symphony', 'The Drugs Don't Work' and 'Lucky Man'. All of which were performed so powerfully and masterfully with inspired improvisations- it was truly stunning to witness. Also featured were new songs from upcoming release 'Forth' (which I can only assume is a play on the fact that this is the elusive fourth album they never made), namely 'Love is Noise' and 'Sit and Wonder'. Goldfrapp, take note, the Verve managed to integrate this smoothly into their set (that and the fact their new music was just as good as the old). Now no performance is perfect (although this wasn't far off) and whilst I'm glad none of the solo Ashcroft tracks were implemented, I do feel that the band did not play long enough, although this may have been down to the organizers rather than them as everyone knows The Verve will play for hours if you let them (the Wigan gig was over 2 hours long), so we shall give this accomplished, reformed four piece the benefit of the doubt- sensational stuff. 'The Drugs Don't Work', 'History', 'Space and Time', 'Sonnet', 'Rolling People', 'Velvet Morning', 'This is Music', 'Bittersweet Symphony', 'Love is Noise', 'Sit and Wonder', 'Life's an Ocean', 'Lucky Man' Crowd- 4.5 Performance- 5 Setlist- 4.5 Text Box: Links and affiliates Contact Me

Please will someone take Alison’s copy of this album and never return it?
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: A triumphant Verve showing