Glastonbury Festival 2008 - Line Up

Pyramid Stage

Friday
Kings Of Leon
The Fratellis
Editors
The Gossip
The Feeling
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
The Subways
Kate Nash

Saturday
Jay Z
Amy Winehouse
Manu Chao
The Raccounters
James Blunt
Crowded House
Seasick Steve
The Hold Steady
Shakin’ Stevens

Sunday
The Verve
Leonard Cohen
Neil Diamond
John Meyer
Gilbert O’Sullivan

The Other Stage

Friday
Panic At The Disco
The Enemy
We Are Scientists
Foals
Ben Folds
Vampire Weekend
Joe Lean & Jing Jang Jong
Hilltop Hoods

Saturday
Massive Attack
Hot Chip
Elbow
Duffy
The Wombats
Neon Neon
Black Kids
The Golden Silvers

Sunday
Groove Armada
The Zutons
The Pigeon Detectives
Mark Ronson
Scouting For Girls
Jack Penate
Newton Faulkner
Black Mountain

John Peel Tent

Friday
Jamie T
The Cribs
Reverend & The Makers
MGMT
The Ting Tings
The Young Knives
Lightspeed Champion
Glasvegas
Patrick Watson

Saturday
Biffly Clyro
The Futureheads
Band Of Horses
The Black Lips
Vampire Weekend
The Courteeners
British Sea Power
Holy F*ck (edited for pesky firewalls)
The Teenagers

Sunday
The National
Spiritualized
Crystal Castles
Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Stars
Rocket Summer
Friendly Fires
The Whip
Dogtanion

Dance East/West

Friday
Fatboy Slim
Roisin Murphy
X-Press 2
Hercules & Love Affair
Cicada
Way Out West
Cagedbaby
Stanton Warriors
Utah Saints

Saturday
UNKLE
Eddie Temple Morris
Roni Size
Simian Mobile Disco
Pendulum (DJ)
Kid Sister
A Trak
Metronomy
XX Teens

Sunday
Kosheen
Annie Mac
Sam Sparro
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Black Ghosts
South Central
Sonny J
Derek May
System 7

The Park

Friday
Pete Doherty
Dizzee Rascal
John Cale
Edwyn Collins
The Duke Spirit
Operator Please
Sons & Daughters
Santogold
Beggars

Saturday
CSS
Battles
MGMT
Kool Keith
Guilty Pleasures (DJ)
Alphabeat
St Vincent
Eugene MacGuniness

Sunday
My Morning Jacket
Tunng
Vetiver
Laura Marling
Mystery Jets
Kathryn Williams
Cave Singers
Alberta Cross

Glastonbury baby! Wed, Thurs & Fri

Well, having been away for 3 years I can't put into words how much I was looking forward to the Big G this time around. Was I dissapointed? In a word...not really very much.

Thanks to a spot of precision organisation from the undisputed heavyweight champion of getting things done (we'll call him Keef, for ease), I was able to arrive as late as midnight on Wednesday by train (which was an amazingly hassle free way to get there) and still enjoy a great spot within spitting distance of the other stage.

After meeting up with a few of the boys and Hannah, we took a jaunt around the site, ending up at the stone circle, which was rammed (and I mean RAMMED). The atmosphere was great and we loitered for a bit trying to find the pissed Jenny and watching a group launch papery firey things into the sky.

Being out of practice at festvials, we'd brought no booze or owt with us on our stroll so a quick dash back to the tent (NB: no such thing exists at Glasto) was called for. Of course, by the time we got back to the camp there were a few others there and a roaring fire. We all got comfy, but I decided to try and venture back to the circle with a bottle of rum. Naturally, halfway there the heavens opened and dreams of dry Glasto disintergrated there and then. I managed to find Jenny and a dodgy burger and somehow managed to get completely shit faced within half an hour - perhaps due to absent-mindedly sipping my rum like it was water and generally being a bit over-excited.

Thursday was relaxed and cool (albeit with a slight rum-over) - we mainly spent it sussing out the site, drinking cider from the brother bus and working out the best plan of action for the next few days. Showers ensued on and off (as they did for the entire weekend!) and thursday night was eased in with some tequilla shots & soon deteriorated into a drunken blur! I remember losing everyone except for Jen within minutes of wandering about & trotting round in elongated circles talking shit 'til the early hours.

I managed to lose my bag (fortunately with nothing much in) on thursday night, and so Friday morning was spent re-tracing a few of the last nights stopping off points - to no avail. We hooked up with a few of the others and started Glasto proper with a quick blast of Chas and Dave in the park (lovely stuff), followed by a classic set from the Super Furry's on the Other Stage. This was a perfect start, with the classics rolling out in true SFA crowd pleasing style (Juxtaposed with you / Northern Lights / Golden Retriever & The Man don't give a fuck to finish). The novelty outfit for Gruff Rhys being an motobike helmet with a hole around the temple which he seemed to be singing out of!

A quick trot over to the Pyramid stage next to arrive just as Kel from Bloc Party was starting Song for Clay, which sent shivers down my spine straight away & as the drums indicated 'that' riff was seconds away, it really sank in that this was Glastonbury baby! A great set from Bloc party with the sun shining, and their bassist had happy birthday sung to him by 20,000 people. Banquet and Helicopter got the whole field moving and I was really up for it by the end of their set.

We hooked up with a couple of mates in the dance field and I left Jen to go and have a dance while I strolled up to the stone circle and went to meet people for Arcade Fire at the Other Stage at 8. I met the bearded wonder (we're talking an 8 and a half on the beard scale here) that is Fogg at the tent and we went to try and get a good spot for the Arcade Fire. I was probably looking forward to this one more than anything else over the weekend & I was delighted to see a pipe organ on stage when we got there. It was rammed, as would be expected, but we found a decent spot to the left of the sound desk. Aside from the constant buffeting from people coming and going thoughout, i was just in awe all the way through this. The sound could have been louder (and I know a lot has been made of this since), but Win & co pulled out all the stops (literally on Intervention!) and didn't disappoint. The audience collective went crazy for Wake Up & I was really chuffed to hear Rebellion, Black Mirror (a great set starter) and the wonderfully chilling My Body is a Cage. I left this one happy, it was everything i was looking for. Even the woman next to me repeatedly shouting "You're a winner, Win" was absolutely fine!

Next I had a dilemma - I couldn't decide between Bjork or Arctic Monkeys...so I went to see Hot Chip. And boy, was I glad I did. They said the monkeys were amazing, and the last couple of Bjork tunes I caught on the way back through were as entrancing and dramatic as you'd hope. But, the Hot Chip gig was just superb. I wasn't 'enhanced' as I think most were in the John Peel tent that night, but the whole place was pumping, and boy these lads are good live. I liked the album a lot, but with several fairly downtempo tunes on there, I wasn't sure what they'd be like in the flesh. The answer...a million times better than on CD. As could be predicted, the roof nearly came off the tent as Over and Over started to work up. One of the best live bands out there right now I'd wager. Theres something truly infectious about the clinically of synthesized drums. I'm REALLY not much of a dancer, but just couldn't stay still! If they play near you, go see 'em!

We retired to the camp after that, not wishing to overdo things on the first night proper (having already had a go on thursday!) satisfied with the first days adventures.

I don't want to mention the mud too much, but it was was tiring and there throughout. It does make the whole experience more of a mission & take the edge off things a bit. Wall to wall sun would have been the icing on the cake, but you get on with it don't you & by Sunday night I was truely 'at one' with the mud! Jen certainly wouldn't have had the fine selection of facial hair styles throughout the weekend had it not been there (and wouldn't have made it into the NME's 'moustache feature' the week after!)

Anyway, more about all that later, 40 winks for me now.

Saturday and Sunday to follow soon.