Post-Glastonbury

1:37PM 25/6/07 Starbucks (Chelsea) at Broomhouse Rd. ad New Kings Rd.

Well, Glastonbury is now behind me. The battery for my camera is dead and the adapter for the charger won't fit into the outlet here so I will have to wait until I am at Heathrow or in Oslo to upload all my content.

The drizzle has followed me. Hopefully, it won't continue to follow me into Oslo and beyond.

What a festival! Where to begin, dear, where to begin!?!

Massive. What a site. 177,000 people!

I'll delve into the music in due time as that was just one of the amazing aspects...

The people. I didn't see a single scuffle. Not a punch thrown. What nice people. Lots of sorry's and excuse's me and more than enough cheers mate's!

The mud. Sticky. Worse than quick sand along many pedestrian pathes. Crowded is an understantment. But, well maintained. And, as much as could have been done as far as crowd control was done.

A complaint would be that during certain performances (namely, Iggy and the Stooges on the Other Stage). The pit area was watched over with a cautious eye by those staffed there. They were more concerned with people coming over the gate and getting onto the stage (even though Iggy invited us up there) and it should be noted that his words were "don't allow them to let you up, just get the f*ck up here, it's the world famous Glastobury dancers." What a show, what a party. He is a creature! But, the staff were not looking over the people as muc as they, by my view, should have. Everyone in there was so courteous though in the way of helping people up and making sure smaller people and girls were out of harm's way.

The size. WOW! The "republic of Glastonbury" spanned for miles and miles in any directions.

My campsite...overloking the Pramid Stage. After having wandered about for nearly an hour in search of "the perfect spot," I settled back on where I was initially and where my ideal vision looked like before having left the States. Top of the hill. The pyramid Stage in glorious view from the front of my tent. And, right next to the Pyramid Property Lock-Up so I could drop off my camera charger off each day to refill with energy as I found out that the battery I have doesn't last very long (note to self: buy a new camera battery because: a. I think th one I have now which is the only one i have had for that nearly five-year-old camera has to be running low and b. so that I can just pop in a new, completely charged battery in the future and not have to fuss with charging one.

So....the music....for now, I will mention the names of the bands whose performances stand out in my head at the moment and then go into detail later when I have my program in front of me nd can really remember more of the details of my experience:
-on the Other Stage:
Babyshambles
Bjork
The View
The Long Blondes
Editors
Iggy and the Stooges
The Rakes
-on the John Peel Stage:
Patrick Wolf
The Gossip
Tokyo Police Club
Rumple Strips
-on the Pyramid Stage:
Arctic Monkeys
Dirty Pretty Things
Lily Allen
The View
Seasick Steve (lol)
Bloc Party
The Marley Brothers
Kasabian (in between naps)
Gogol Bordello (where I lost my grenade :( )

Because of the weather, it made it possible for so many performances to be elevated with sunshine and to make it seem as though the clouds indeed were opening up just for that performer (see: Lily Allen, Marly Brothers, etc.) And then there were those performances that elicited the performer to thank the crowd "for dancing around in the f*ckin mud and rain for us" (see: Gogol Bordello, Dirty Pretty Things, etc.)

All of my stress about not being able to get in were lessened initially by my brother and Janet (Primary) and Annaya(main production office) and once I got that ticket (WOW), cracked open that fucking bottle of Maker's Mark and meet some new folks: Louie, Lidia, and Patrick. They had a bottle of Jack and we exchanged gulps as a circle.

HIGHLIGHTS:
The chaos of the pit for Iggy. The saturday I got to spend with the aussie, Marius, after having courted him at The Long Blondes. The muddy debauchery of the final night's performance by the View with Ky and his forklift-driving mate (fair play, fair play). The raw, embraceful emotion and energy and power of the Editors' lead man. Patrick Wolf's set that was cut short but filled with so much dance dance dance energy energy energy. Bjork's DJ playing with some interesting technology that I am curious to see more up close and at Hove (or Roskilde?). Getting right up in front for the Gossip and experiencing her and that guitarist's power. Getting that rock of hash for 10 quid (which Marius paid for) during Lily Allen from that hip hop cat. Speaking with ? (Golden State Warriors' Chris Mullin jersey) about the state of hip hop and States/Euro cdifferences/similarities. Having successfully packed up my tent. Spliff after successful spliff rolled by yours truly. Not having taken out my Blackberry from the tent until the last night. Having realized that being an America is novel at Glastonbury and that I can draw people to me simply by opening up a line of communication, i.e. opening my mouth. The location of my tent and that it was what I envisioned and then some. Climbing on top of the Pyramid Property lock-up to watch Kaiser Chiefs. Finding that cooler on the gorund during the Babyshambles and stepping on top it for the majority of their performance, thus giving me the best view possible (!). Still having my Mac in working order after the festival (!).

LOWLIGHTS:
Packing up my tent at 5:30AM this morning in the rain. Getting stuck in the mud on multiple occassions. Having had many muddy wellie's (read: officially sanctioned Glastonbury rain boots) slide across my face as people crowd-surfed their way onto stage for Iggy and the Stooges. The fact that no one was ever satisfied at the end of a set (always screaming for more and never just accepting that what they just saw was a satiating set). Letting Marius leave without pursuing him more aggressively (read: being more of a leader and guide as he was clearly a "follower" type who was genuinely interested in "new" experiences). The pins and needles feeling throughout my whole body after having walked miles and miles with my pack on. Taking a cump (and there was only one that was taken) in a port-a-loo on Saturday morning. Having taken a "shower" by way of Dove face wipes on a towel like a baby in my tent. Realizing that what I thought was blow was kettamine (and then blowing it out of my nose best I could when he told me what it was, but it should be noted that I did enjoy the maybe 15-minute body high I got from the bit that I had injested). Not having put the rain cover on my tent the first night and waking up rather soaked. Almost having had my camera die and going thru all my mental anguish (highlight: it coming back to life after nearly drowning). Dropping my pillow and blanket in a big puddle just before I load my pack onto the coach. Not taking Maius' phone number when he offered it to me. Thinking that looking good would draw people to me (and thus losing my grenade (!) in the mud of Goggol Bordello's performance). Taking a nap while Arcade Fire was performing. Not making it up on to stage with others while Iggy and the Stooges performed. Realizing that there is no program on my MacBook that allows me to record video (i.e. Photobooth only captures still images)(there should be a program called Confessional Booth or something that allows you to record yourself with the built-in video recorder)(you can use YouTube to make your own videos of yourself and post them but if you don't have an internet connection as I didn't, that isn't possible.


Wow...I've got to stop here. 29 minutes of battery left and I need to book my hostel room for tonight in Oslo and maybe IM some friends on AIM...


...more to come later....

cheers,
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