New Music: A Belated Review of My Glastonbury Experience

Looking for some new music to listen to? In case anyone out there wondered which bands I actually managed to see at Glastonbury in amongst the hundreds of acts that performed that weekend… here is my minute by minute account.

I hope you find something new to listen to! or even just watch a video to see how enormous the crowds were. Enjoy!

Friday!

Detroit Social Club: Oasis meets the Verve… with more guitar.

De Staat: Netherlandish drum pounding and lotsa cowbell. and a lead singer often sounding like a barking dog.

Miike Snow: A Swedish tutorial in Awesome with synthesizers and Phantom of the Opera masks! Love love love them!

Tegan and Sara: my favourite Canadians enjoyed up close and personal under the shade of the John Peel tent.

Willie Nelson: 3pm at the Pyramid Stage. He played what seemed like a million songs while I stared into the blazing heat of the sun and thought I was going to die. Or at least melt away. Or become very badly burned.

Snoop Dogg: the heat immediately forgotten, from the first da da dada da of ‘the next episode’ to ‘what’s my name’ Snoop Dogg had many many thousand (mostly white) people shakin’ they booties, droppin’ it like its hot. including me. it was a surprise highlight of Glasto for me.

La Roux: Fought the crowds to get over to the Other Stage and caught the end of La Roux’s set. A bit anti-climactic after Snoop.

Florence + The Machine: Fantabulous, despite some sound troubles. I won’t try to describe it, just download Cosmic Love and listen to it so loud the drums pound in your chest. or watch the video.

Thom Yorke: Accidentally overheard his surprise set at the Park Stage while we were chilling at our tent. We couldn’t see him and the loudspeaker never actually announced him by name, but Karma Police pretty much gave it away.

Gorillaz: I just don’t get them. Luckily I suffered through enough of their set to see Lou Reed come out for one song. Wished he could have headlined instead.

Saturday!

Tinchy Stryder: he’s a very short person but fun music.

Sophie Hunger: jaw droppingly beautiful music from a relative unknown. Look her up.

Coheed and Cambria: one of the few metal bands, nice to hear some loud guitar solos. still hot hot hot today, but now I have a hat.

Imogen Heap: such a crazy talented creative lady. she played a keytar which sings her voice, beatboxed with Shlomo, and played a song on wineglasses and wears microphones on her wrists. and still sounds fantastic live.

Shakira: I passed on seeing my new fave Marina and the Diamonds for an old fave. Got to bust out some belly dance and afro dance moves.

Editors: dark creepy synth with pyro at the end. Highlight: Papillion.

Muse: note to Gorrilaz- this is what a headliner should be. over 100,000 people singing along to songs like ‘Uprising’, ‘Resistance’ and ‘Knights of Cydonia’ it felt like a revolutionary rally.

AND the Edge came out and played with them. I recognized him instantly, only from the silhouette of his handle bar mustache. The lacklustre of Gorillaz is now forgotten. I am a happy customer.

Sunday!

Dan Mangan: another Canadian. dressed up like a lumberjack, told horrible puns and wandered through the crowd leading a singalong to the refrain ‘Robots need love too’. a very magical glasto moment.

Norah Jones: a little boring. especially in the melting heat of the afternoon.

Slash: not at all boring. I felt like I was in 1988 in the video for ‘Paradise City’.

Ray Davies: not boring, but played FOR-EV-ER, I thought someone was going to have to use a cane to pull him off the stage. singing all kinds of songs that all the British knew all the words to. It was cool to hear ‘Lola’ and ‘All day and All of the night.’

Toots and the Maytals: In the interest of variety, we checked out these reggae legends at the West Holts Stage. ‘Pressure Drop’ is one of my favourite songs, but I have to say, after awhile, a lot of reggae songs start to sound the same.

Stevie Wonder: what a performer! his music is so uplifting, and the feeling in the crowd was one of such incredible pure joy and festivity, nothing like the anger and aggression of a rock concert. I’ll never forget the four dudes standing beside me, dancing their asses off, hands swaying in the air, and singing along to Stevie songs that I had never even heard before. An inspiring end to a magical weekend.