Two weeks ago I was super lucky to be able to go to Glastonbury for the fourth time in a row, following on from 2015, 2016 and 2017 – it’s starting to become a bit of a tradition amongst my friend group from back home to all go together.
I think there’s something beautiful about this, because I haven’t seen them for the past few months since I’ve been working away from Northern England and we would not be able to go to the festival if it wasn’t for our good friendship network. The way the festival ticketing works is unique – you register months before and then comes two occasions to get Coach Packages then Regular Event tickets. The maximum number an individual can buy is 6, and if you couple this with the high web traffic in those 15 minutes or so (they really do sell out that quick) it makes ticket buying a rather intense affair.
This is when the squad come in – you assemble your party of six with friends or family and team up. Communication is key and a Google doc is created with each party and their registration details. Then it’s time for battle stations – get as many web browsing devices ready. The Seetickets Glastonbury link and an accurate clock website are opened. Once the hour starts, so does mashing the refresh button.
The relief when someone gets through is incredible but every moment before then is absolutely crushing. We normally have 5 or so different groups across friends of friends and this is the closest we can get to a squad assembling: a la the X-Wing attack on the Death Star from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It also reminds me a bit of Persona 5 and it’s whole ‘strength in bonds’ Confidant system. We all have each other’s backs too, because we know that each friend who gets a ticket will make the festival so much better.
When I arrived at Worthy Farm on Wednesday evening, unpacked and sat in a circle with my mates I felt blessed to be able to see them all, not care about work, get giddy and getting ready for an incredible experience.
There’s way too much to list and go into full detail on here, but for the benefit of time I’m going to list my Top 5 Glastonbury Moments from 2019. Glastonbury Moments have been mentioned every now and then in the press. To me they seem to be these special occurrences which can only happen at the special festival that Glastonbury is. There’s something about its energy – anyone of any age can enjoy it plus people seem to be a whole lot nicer and friendlier to each other (or at least I myself try to be).
2019 had a few special things happen, so here are my Top 5:
I’m officially a True Vampire Weekend Fan
First act on Saturday was a To Be Confirmed but it was heavily rumoured to be a Vampire Weekend secret set– lucky me! Out of all the acts on the line-up, Vampire Weekend were the act I was most familiar with, hadn’t seen yet and thus excited for. Their original slot was slated for the flagship Pyramid Stage on Sunday evening and thankfully I was able to see them twice. Getting up early on Saturday was paramount in order to get a good spot. I managed to get in the third row, centre of the stage. Three songs in, they establish that this is a special set where the audience can request songs! Imagine my reaction? My first instinct was to shout “Giant!” as loud as I could.
Giant was a bonus track from Contra, their second album and a wildly underrated song full of summer vibes. It was very rarely played live but I knew it was possible because I had seen the band playing it live online.
Frontman Ezra Koenig took the first request from a guy in a blue shirt from the band’s merch – Finger Back (not the greatest choice, but to each their own!), and then decided to go onto accept another. I took my chance again and screamed “Giant!”. I knew my chances were high since I had both the same blue band shirt and their cap! Then, mid scream my friend Tom lifted me up from behind to get his attention. I was waving and then…I managed to get their attention! I can’t exactly remember what he said, but Ezra noted how I had the shirt on too and heard me ask for Giant. He then commended me on knowing it as the bonus track and a deep cut from their discography – then called me a true fan! I loved it, both the commendation and seeing a song performed that I never thought I would see live, just for me!
Sabotage – Hot Chip (feat. Four Tet)
I dragged a long my friend Sam to Hot Chip on Saturday evening, again at The Park stage. The last time I saw them at Glastonbury was 2015 – my first headliner on a Friday night. That performance holds a significance to me as it was the first headliner slot I saw and fell in love with the Glastonbury experience. Caribou then into Hot Chip with the sun setting at West Holts, myself alone on the front row and dancing my heart out was unforgettable. Another significant part of that gig was their fantastic cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark at its climax, which eventually shifted into LCD Soundsystem’s All My Friends, hinting at their revival and absolutely beautiful headline slot at the Other Stage in 2016 – another impossibly beautiful Glastonbury moment.
You can see how it’s all interconnected can’t you? Anyways, I promised Sam, who had never listened to Hot Chip before to come along as they were a guaranteed ‘safe’ option for an evening of fun. I also promised him that their live arrangements were fantastic, and a cover was guaranteed from them. Another side note was that Sam had been joking about suddenly becoming a techno fan during the festival so far, and we had wanted to see Four Tet the evening before but couldn’t get in due to capacity.
Nearing the end of their set, Hot Chip bring out the one and only Kiran Hebden, which suddenly made me reveal to Sam: “That’s fucking Four Tet!”. After a quick introduction from band member Joe Goddard, he starts to put on a guitar and they launch us all into a cover of Sabotage by The Beastie Boys. That song is an absolute ride (and I already knew this from the Star Trek reboot series…)
There’s a video Sam took with the left channel full of me screaming “YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHH” over and over again to the music and the fact that these catchy electro-pop makers were blasting out this track. It was an absolute rollercoaster. So, in a hilariously ironic turn of events, Sam and I did end up seeing Four Tet live in the end…
Escape from New York with Dom
Every Friday and Sunday, the information desks at the festival supply copies of the Glastonbury Free Press – a newspaper with interviews, features, articles, puzzles and other information on festival events. On the Sunday edition I spotted that Cineramaggedon were showing Escape From New York at 2am in the morning. Cineramageddon is basically a drive-in cinema with a big projector screen – just like the ones you see in the movies. I didn’t plan on sleeping on the last night of the festival – I could do that on the coach!
So after seeing the incredible Janelle Monae on Sunday evening, I went back to chat to friends at camp and made my way to Cineramageddon for 2:20. However, I hit a slight snag – I had lost my wallet and thus all my cash the day before and didn’t realise that I needed to make a £20 deposit on the speaker – but I really wanted to see this film.
I was in the queue for the Box Office and assured myself that there had to be a way – I could barter my shoes or my phone, anything – just to see this movie here. “There had to be another way!” I thought to myself, I had pulled off crazier things than this before and if this sort of magic would happen anywhere, it had to be Glastonbury. So, I was in the queue and someone behind me asked what film it was. Someone else responded with “Escape From New York” and I decided to naturally interject with why I was seeing the film:
“I’m only watching it because the main character in Metal Gear Solid is named after the main character in this film”
Then the only specifics I really remember is that I started having a really good conversation with Dom, a fellow Metal Gear Solid fan, Death Stranding follower and most importantly: a Persona fan.
Not only did I manage to meet a solid guy who I could talk about stuff I like with, but he was happy to stake me for the Bluetooth speaker deposit to see the movie. We had a great chat during the movie, but I eventually fell asleep around 30 minutes in. I’m still chuffed though about how well things turned out and it’s a perfect case of that Glastonbury magic and friendliness in action.
Kate Tempest doing her new album in full
The last time I saw Kate Tempest was at Glastonbury 2017 on the West Holts stage and she absolutely blew me away. It’s fucking horrible to think this, but after her material following the 2017 General Election I was excited to see what she’s been working on since then, as the absolute chaos in the world has spun more and more out of control.
I was a bit tipsy, but I remember dancing to her instrumental arrangements at The Park before Hot Chip whilst being moved in another way by her spoken word, deep cutting poetry. She’s genuinely unbelievable and can be both eloquently brutal and beautiful at the same time.
Performing her latest work in full, The Book of Traps and Lessons is mushed together in my head but I’m absolutely buzzing to listen to it again and again. It’s final track nearly brought me to tears, a very rare occurrence at a live event.
Vampire Weekend 2 with Mum
On Sunday evening I was lucky enough to see Vampire Weekend again! Another special thing about this band was that they’re very pleasant – enough for me to play to my mum in the car and for her to enjoy it. I’ve been meaning to buy her their albums to play for a while now but regrettably never got around to it.
Also, did I happen to mention that my mum was with me at Glastonbury? She was a ticket holder in 2017 and decided to go again this year as a volunteer with the recycling team. Her application was successful, and she saw the value of an incredibly enriching experience (plus she kept bragging about all the benefits she got!). Now is also a good time to mention the incredible people who are behind the festival volunteering as stewards, litter pickers, water kiosk attendees and other staff – the festival would not be the incredible experience it is without the time and effort of these wonderful people.
I managed to bump into my mum a few times during the festival, mainly to exchange battery packs and to catch up with how she’s doing. We didn’t really bother coordinating for acts since we were both off doing our own thing. However, the magic struck again on Vampire Weekend’s second set on Sunday evening. I was planning on being there with my friends and found the effort to find my mum too much in the crowd of the biggest stage, so I decided to enjoy it with my friends Sam and Tom.
The act begins as I’m around 20 people away from the front of the stage in the left of centre. Ezra comes on stage with his orange jumpsuit and the rest of the band begin to play Sympathy off the new album.
Then halfway through the track I get a tap on the shoulder from Tom and Sam. I turn around and am told to “Look who it is!” and there I see a small lady who looks just like my mum…and is…actually my mum?!
I recall thinking: “What are the chances of this happening?!” especially with one of our shared favourite bands. I brought her forward to where I was standing whilst explaining to the other crowd members “This is my mum!” (Sam later told me that they were all cool with it and found it pretty awesome). We enjoyed the rest of the gig together – it was a truly special moment for me.
The set ended with a beautiful rendition of fourth album closer Jerusalem, New York, Berlin – which deals with some heavy themes. I’m not entirely sure how relevant they are to us, but I suddenly felt the urge to hold her close after hearing the introductory chords.
So that’s that! Glastonbury is an incredible experience and I kept repeating out loud how lucky and blessed we all are to have the opportunity to even go once, let alone four times in a row.
Its definitely something for your bucket list if you want to go. If you are unable to get tickets, working at one sounds like a unique and equally fulfilling experience.
minutiae+musings 