It was nice to see all the crowds starting to gather for the Glastonbury Festival today. The infrastructure for the event goes in place several months in advance of the event, with the perimeter fence having sprung up about two months ago. I have spoken to chippies and other workers who have been preparing the site for some time now. Its strange to see quiet Pilton become a city of thousands almost over night. Of course getting to work is a bit tougher because of all the crowds, but it is such a smooth operation the impact is pretty minimal. Whilst I’m not attending the full event, I will be going Sunday, so here’s hoping its not as ridiculously muddy as last year.
When I checked the line up I was a bit disappointed that two of my favourite groups, Massive Attack and Crowded House, were playing Saturday. So I checked Crowded House’s website when the program came out and was thrilled to see they were also playing in Westonbirt Arboretum (a fantastic location for a nice bourgeoisie night out). So I made the trip up there last Saturday and enjoyed a ripper performance. When they had their farewell concert in 96 I thought that was that and I would never see them play, especially with the untimely death of Hessie (who still makes me laugh when I see him on The Wiggles).
They played a good selection of favourites and new tracks. Neil’s banter is playful and confident and he works the crowd well. The reinterpretation of the songs and audience involvement makes the night more intimate and special for the audience. I can only imagine how many times they have had to play most of their songs, but you really felt that on the night this was the first time they had played it to anyone and they gave it their all. In the words of Moly Meldrum, do yourself a favour, see them before they really retire for good.
