Glastonbury - whose watching?

meanredspider

Rick Chasey wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

In fairness, Damien Rice makes Ed Sheeran look like a cynical bastard....*runs off to vomit*.

Have you heard Damien Rice (other than "Cannonball")?

Bits & bobs.

Figured as much. I think he's quite fvcked up as an individual and mentally.

mr_goo

meanredspider wrote:

Mr Goo wrote:

In my opinion a very poor choice to close the festival.

As he's probably the most popular artist in the country at the moment and also well-respected live, I guess there will be a lot of people there who would disagree with you.

Music is funny stuff, though.

Tis indeed. Saw a bit of the Killers earlier on. I can see why their stock has declined. The lead singer admitted to the audience they were in decline. A very wooden performance by numbers.

DeVlaeminck

meanredspider wrote:

Mr Goo wrote:

In my opinion a very poor choice to close the festival.

As he's probably the most popular artist in the country at the moment and also well-respected live, I guess there will be a lot of people there who would disagree with you.

Music is funny stuff, though.

He seems pretty limited as a live act on a festival stage. No doubting he's got a few good songs but his attempts at rap and folk are third rate filler.

FocusZing

To be fair he was better than Kayne West.

orraloon

The boy is v. talented but... Think he needs to bring in support band and add extra layers to the performance for this size of event. Disappointed the backing musicians did 1 number and left.

But fair dos to the Eavis', ring the changes on headliners, not have the same formula each time.

thegreatdivide

Lorde's 'Green Light' was just superb. On a par with her performance of the song on Jools Holland which was stunning. Your man Dave Grohl rates her massively.

orraloon

Caught up on Lorde's set earlier this evening. Agree. Excellent. Joked with missus that she is Kate Bush with attitude. On reflection, respect her in her own right.

thegreatdivide

orraloon wrote:

Caught up on Lorde's set earlier this evening. Agree. Excellent. Joked with missus that she is Kate Bush with attitude. On reflection, respect her in her own right.

To be fair, I reckon she'll end up producing works on a par with Kate Bush.

ayjaycee

A someone who doesn't listen to a lot of 'music radio', I wouldn't know an Ed Sheeran song if it jumped up and bit me and after seeing about 10 minutes of his Glastonbury effort, all I can say is thank (your) god for that and I am more than happy to stay ignorant. As somebody else (MRS, I think) said, 'music is funny stuff'. I agree but IMHO, Ed Sheeran was insipid sh1te. Saying that, he must be doing something right given the vast amounts of wonga that he is apparently trousering at the moment. Also, I agree with FocusZing who said that he was better that Kanye West BUT so was Fred West as well.

kingstongraham

Mr Goo wrote:

Tis indeed. Saw a bit of the Killers earlier on. I can see why their stock has declined. The lead singer admitted to the audience they were in decline. A very wooden performance by numbers.

It's still a good gag, that one.

mr_goo

My comments about Ed S are vindicated. At least by the Independent review. Who even stated that Chic should've closed proceedings, as I did.

He's too melancholy and down beat and awfully flat to finish a festival of music. It should always close with something happy and upbeat, so the audience go home skipping and whistling.

Anyhow nothing at Glastonbury until 2019 now.

bendertherobot

I tend to agree that a happy set would be a better closer. And I only like a smattering of what he does.

That said, one bloke, one guitar (well, he did send a few off for new strings), one effect pedal in front of that many people. That's craft.

meanredspider

Mr Goo wrote:

He's too melancholy and down beat and awfully flat to finish a festival of music. It should always close with something happy and upbeat, so the audience go home skipping and whistling.

Did you actually watch it? Miss MRS was watching and there were sections where the crowd alone were singing. And I certainly don't see Sheeran's songs as downbeat (Everlong, a song I adore BTW, by the Foos, is more melancholy than much of ES's stuff). I'm going to come across as a Sheeran fan, which I'm not, but he was clearly a big hit with the crowd.

kingstongraham

I think if you can sell out three nights at Wembley Stadium, you've probably got the chops to headline Glastonbury.

timothyw

I never get the chance to watch Glastonbury live, but usually get through pretty much all of it on in the background at work over the following fortnight.

Have started with The Pretenders, great stuff.

mrfpb

I thought the Killers were great, especially as an unannounced bonus. They managed to pack a full greatest hits set into 50 mins. Loved Elbow on Friday, a real mood setter for the weekend. Agree that Chic would have been a great finishing act - like Beyonce and Stevie Wonder in previous years.

mrfpb

bflk wrote:

I watched Radiohead until about 11.15 when general fatigue and the flickering lights had worn me out. Some of their stuff seems to work live better than others. Was quite surprised and pleased to catch 4 songs off OK Computer though. :-)

On the same day they re-issued OK Computer (OKNOTOK) for it's 20th anniversary. What a coincidence.

U2 did the same when they headlined - opened with 4 songs from Achtung Baby when they were re-issuing it. Welcome to the nostalgia circuit.

mrfpb

FocusZing wrote:

It must be an incredible feeling to write a song and perform it to thousands of people who want to listen and appreciate it.

Can anyone remember what they were doing at work 40 years ago?

Barry Gibb and Nile Rogers not only remember, but get to hear 100,000 people singing it back to them.

Gibb says he gets stage fright every time he has to go on stage without his brothers. I cold see him visibly relax and his smile turn from forced to genuine in the course of his first song. The performance wasn't the best for that slot, but he really used the energy of the crowd to lift himself.

rick_chasey

mrfpb wrote:

Gibb says he gets stage fright every time he has to go on stage without his brothers. I cold see him visibly relax and his smile turn from forced to genuine in the course of his first song. The performance wasn't the best for that slot, but he really used the energy of the crowd to lift himself.

That and places like glasto for decades would have been slating the Bee Gees.

They've always chafed against excessive criticism from the cool crowd, which they felt was (rightly) unfair.

mrfpb

And the Pyramid Stage has hosted performances of "Islands in the Stream" for 3 of the last four years (Kenny, Dolly, Barry). How (un)Cool is that?

bompington

mrfpb wrote:

And the Pyramid Stage has hosted performances of "Islands in the Stream" for 3 of the last four years (Kenny, Dolly, Barry). How (un)Cool is that?

I want to hear the Foo Fighters' version next year

dinyull

mrfpb wrote:

They managed to pack a full greatest hits set into 50 mins.

Would have been possible in 10 mins, no?

dinyull

I used to LOVE Radiohead and made myself watch them on Fri, but had to keep tapping out. As musicians they are outstanding, but I can't bear Thom bleating on...just brings me down. Not the best to cap the first night I thought.

The Foo's played the wrong night, should have been closed it on Sunday. Just forget how many good pop songs they have.

And although not a fan, Ed Sheeran impressed me with his performance. Always assumed he'd perform with a band. Having said that I don't think his sound is "big" enough or right for a headline set and felt a bit flat especially on Sunday night.

rick_chasey

Dave Grohl should stick to drumming....

But anyway.

fenix

Mr Goo wrote:

My comments about Ed S are vindicated. At least by the Independent review. Who even stated that Chic should've closed proceedings, as I did.

He's too melancholy and down beat and awfully flat to finish a festival of music. It should always close with something happy and upbeat, so the audience go home skipping and whistling.

Anyhow nothing at Glastonbury until 2019 now.

He's sold shedloads of records and tickets. I think you and the Independent just aren't his target market. And lets face it - you didn't go there. The punters certainly seemed to love it ?