Glastonbury Special! Part 1.

So Glastonbury 2009. There's so much that could be be said about the weekend but it can be summed up in a few words: Fucking awesome! I'll do this in two parts so it's slightly easier to digest.

Wednesday:
Bright and early at 7am I got up. At 9am I set off for Birmingham New Street. At 10.05 I met with friends Dan, Alex and Elliot and we got the 10.12 to Taunton in somerset. After excitement on the train we switch to a Castle Cary bound train and arrived there just after 1pm and got in the line to board a shuttle bus to the site.

4 hours later we actually boarded a bus to the site. Which then dropped us off 2 miles away instead of at the gate. We had to walk the last 2 miles. Finally arrived at the site by about 6-ish and had met up with friends Ian and Morena and pitched tents by 7.30. I wasn't very happy with the lack of organisation for the shuttle buses but in hindsight we were let off easily. Apparently there were accidents on both the M4 and M5 so any coaches or cars coming to the festival were fucked. I'm aware that the 7am coach from Manchester still hadn't arrived by 10.30pm. Bad times indeed.

So we got off lightly, but whe were pitched and saved a spot for other friend Ciaran, Chris and Mark who got there about 9-ish, followed by Dave and Abi after midnight. At some point we went for a wander to Flagtopia and the stone circle then some of us went to Williams Green to a bar playing reggae classics. It was all good.
Weather- mostly sunny and hot. Shame most people spent most the day on a coach, car or in a line.

Thursday:
The Festival kicked off properly here. A wander around the markets and greenfields was called for. It rained slightly but the sun was soon out again and the heat was blistering. Then about 3 me and some others headed to the Queens Head tent for-

Maximo Park (Queens Head, 4pm)
The williams green field was packed for this. You could get near the tent at all. So a lot of people settled for watching the gig on the village screen nearby. Unfortunately, when Maximo Park came on the screens sound wasn't working, so the first 3 songs seemed to pass by in silence. The sound gradually arrived though and got louder. From the looks of it, the band gave a blistering set including their classic singles and the rarely played (and personal favourite) Limassol. Paul Smith was at his hip swinging best and the band were all very energetic. Great way to start the festival.

After this, I went to meet Alex so he could put his tent up next to ours, then a group of us decided to see East 17 in the dance field. Unfortunately, they were moved to a later slot and we weren't bothered by returning later to see them. I met my mate louis for a drink and ended up sheltering in the John Peel Tent for about half an hour as a flash storm appeared.

Following on, I returned to the tent where there was merriment to be had. it was at this point we tried to think of rumours and decided to spread one Michael Jackson had died. This sort of backfired as the first group who passed our tents replied with 'yeah he'sin a coma now' not joking at all. Rapidly we got out phones out to get on the internet where we were greeted with the news that the King Of Pop was dead. We couldn't really comprehend such a legend being dead. We always assumed he'd find immortality somehow. Completely overwhelmed by this we did the only thing we could do in this situation...

We took the piss with no holding back. Yes the paedo jokes came out and we were mostly offensive and insultive but sometimes making fun of a bad situation is the only way to confront it. I can't remember them now (i was slightly drunk) but I do recall some corkers being there. We went for a wander to Arcadia and Shangri-la and ended up in the same reggae bar as the night before. We felt like we already had our moneys worth from glasto. Oh, if only we knew what the next few days would bring...

Friday:
First proper day of music. So what better ways to kick things off than to see an average rap, pop stuff from Mr Hudson (Other Stage, 10.50am)? Well, i can think of many better ways to start a music fest than Mr Hudson really. He wasn't bad but he wasn't good either. He was just, there.
A few of us went to check out Bishi (Park Stage, 12.00pm) who was quite entertaining with her electric sitar and dancers. Nice pop music. Kinda distracted by spotting a Q & A session with Michael Eavis though. We watched it and enjoyed some lovely facts about the festival and an amusing exchange:

Eavis: Bruce wanted 3 hours but we compromised on 2 and a half. If we can though we'll try and let him play the 3 hours.
Accountant: There's £300 a minute fine for every minute we go over curfew!
Eavis: Oh yes, how much is that for half and hour then?
Accountant: £9000.
Eavis: Ok, maybe we won't let him do that then!

After all of this went down I went to see a song of The Rakes (Other Stage, 1.15pm) which was quite entertaining as expected (Open Book by the way. Ace song). I then ran to see Regina Spektor do a wonderful performance at the Pyramid Stage though. (13.40pm). An hour of gorgeous piano ballads and whimsy, I'd forgotten how amazing that girl was. Just superb. Unlike N.E.R.D. afterwards (Pyramid Stage, 15.10pm). Energetic yes, but not really as entertaining as I'd hoped they'd be really. I got a bit bored I guess.

Now then, a big (non) suprise was the fact Jack Whites new band Dead Weather were the Special guests on the Park Stage at 6.45pm. All I can say is WOW! Heavy blues riffage from hell and Alison Mosshart slinking about the stage like a sexy minxread to fuck the stage it was a superb performance. Dean Fertita is a stunning guitarist, but when Jack White took over for their last song it was like heaven had opened. Jack played was of the best solo's I've ever heard and left the audience stunned. Brilliant through and through.

A suprise for me was The Specials not long after (Pyramid Stage, 8pm). I've never been a massive specials fan, but they were ace live. Two Tone goodness that kept the crowd entertained. And following this? Well the mighty Neil Young (Pyramid Stage, 10.00pm) rocking the living shit out of glastonbury. 2 hours and no let up at all, he played a load of classic's including Hey Hey My My, Cinnamon Girl, Heart Of Gold, Spirit Road, Needle And The Damage Done and an epic 15 minute version of Down By The River. He ended with a brilliant rendition of The Beatles' A Day In The Life. Highlight of friday easily. We returned to our tents intending to go to trash city but collapsed and fell asleep instead.

Part 2 to follow in the near future.