Got back from Glastonbury a week ago and have just about recovered. What an amazing festival. Here are my top ten moments, with videos to show how good they were...
10. One of my visits to the John Peel Tent was to see Kele, the now-solo former Bloc Party frontman. His huge set was packed with new material which fitted the frenzied heatstroke atmosphere perfectly, though the biggest cheers came when he dropped in a medley of Bloc Party songs towards the end. Having said that, Tenderoni wasn’t half bad either.
9. For those wanting to cool down with a more laid-back sound, Beach House played a mesmeric set in the Park on Saturday afternoon. Zebra is one of my songs of the year.
8. I have just watched Damon Albarn’s Friday night Gorillaz headline set again on iPlayer, in an effort to work out why it provoked such a lukewarm reception from critics and crowd alike. It was indubitably an awesome artistic feat but ultimately failed, I think, due to the dearth of hits – the currency most valued by crowds at the Pyramid. Nonetheless, there were still some epic moments, not least when Snoop Dogg appeared onstage for the Clint Eastwood finale. From their newer stuff, On Melancholy Hill – with ever-weird accompanying video – was oddly powerful. Here is their performance on Jools from a couple of months earlier in the year.
7. No amount of TV highlights can reflect the sheer variety of music and performers on offer at Glastonbury. You wouldn’t find the Cornish sea shanties of the Fishermen’s Friends at most other festivals, but they raised everyone’s spirits to the roof of the Acoustic Tent with their bawdy west country humour at lunchtime on Sunday (before the football lowered them again). Here is a clip of them performing in their native Port Isaac.
6. Faithless and Glastonbury have a fairly long history, and Sunday night’s warm-up gig for Stevie reminds you why. Seeing them live also reminds you what a catalogue of hits they have produced over the years, while their front man Maxi Jazz is a consummate performer, as demonstrated by this performance of We Come 1.
5. I missed Shakira and her ‘two minute bum solos’ (as observed by Peter Paphides of The Times), but her set went down a treat with the Pyramid crowd. Bizarrely, it included the following cover of Islands by The XX. Even more bizarrely, it works.
4. Foals really divide opinion, but it cannot be disputed that they are a class live act, which they showed in the John Peel Tent on Saturday. Not only that, but they seem to be going from strength to strength with their new material – big fan of this tune, Miami, in particular.
3. I know everyone always bangs on about how good Muse are live, but it’s true. I have always been a fan of the band but Saturday night was the first time I have seen them in the flesh – and they are indeed amazing live. Their performance of Hysteria was particularly memorable, especially as someone was waving a flare right over my head for most of it.
2. I don’t know if I have ever seen a DJ as happy as Craig Charles. The wonderfully grinny 6Music presenter has trod a varied path (Red Dwarf, Robot Wars, Coronation Street) to his current status as one of the country’s leading supporters of the Funk n Soul scene. This Duffy remix by The Third Degree was one of the highlights of his bouncing DJ set in Cube Henge on Sunday.
1. Sunday night headliner Stevie Wonder is a genuine living legend, and his magical set was made all the more special by the fact that the vast majority of the crowd will never get the chance to see him again. The highlight came late on in the set when he launched into rollicking renditions of Superstition, Sir Duke, I Just Called to Say I Love You and Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – a truly amazing live experience.
Monday, 5 July 2010
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