Black Music @ Glastonbury 2008

[Guest woolie mark]

just got home from glastonbury.....and didn't we have a lovely time

got there wednesday and the place was rammed already, rained thursday and soon got cut up to a sea of mud, but it was drying out by friday night and the rest of the weekend was beautiful weather

Anyway, thought some folks might be interested in the black-music side of things

Candi Staton was amazing and one of the hits of the weekend for a lot of people - she finished with a medley of young hearts run free/you got the love and had a huge crowd singing along

Amy Winehouse was a right state, but when she got going it was amazing to hear her fantastic voice through the pyramid stage PA

Jimmy Cliff was very good - my mate is a fan and she said that it was her weekend highlight

Jay-Z? well i think his music is sh*te and he's so up himself, but what a fantastic show - his band were actually playing a lot of the samples which was impressive, and it was hilarious when he opened with a video which included noel gallagher c*nting him off and he then came on stage miming to wonderwall - and he also got the crowd doing a little 2 step dance to one of his tunes, which was a bit soulful

did anyone else on here go? if so, did you find my brain? i think it's still in a field somewhere

[Pete S]

They broadcast the whole of the Jimmy Cliff performance on BBC 3 and I have to say - as a long time fan - he was f*cking terrible, his voice has gone. I'd have asked for my money back. Maybe it sounded miles better live but the sound mixing for the tv did him no favours and I was actually embarassed for him at times. Got better towards the end.

[Guest in town Mikey]

The TV never does anyone any favours unless the mixing boys have had 3 weeks to work on it tho Pete.

I watched the Jimmy Cliff bit. I thought it was pretty OK.

[Epic]

My youngest son has just got back - he is a massive Jay Z fan & he really enjoyed it. He also thought Candi Staton was good value.

Think we should be thankful that a black American is headlining a gig like that (anything that upsets the Gallaghers makes it even sweeter) - of "our heroes" I think only somebody like Stevie Wonder could possibly be the main attraction at a venue like this.

[Guest nusha]

enjoyed seeing SOLOMAN BURKE on TV...Would love to have seen Candi...Didnt even know she was on.JAY Z is great and is another reason why i wish i had gone.Its a fear of all that mud that stops me...Yes Jimmy Cliff was a cringing embaressment.Eddy Grant....Far better.

[sister dawn]

Have to say watched loads of it on tv and via the net, can't stand Jay Z, head and arse springs to mind.

Amy tottering about on her heels ... it wasnt you she thumped was it Mark? Have to say though the bit where she introduced her band the smaller of the two backing singers voice was bloody amazing.

Neil Diamond was having a ball on stage. Best track of the weekend for me was the Enemy, they had the attitude of Oasis and a delivery like the Jam .. bloody awesome.

[Guest in town Mikey]

I saw Gil Scott Heron there years (decades?) ago. He was on at about 3pm on a scorchio day, but was sublime.

I'm an old stick in the mud, and agree with the gallagher fella. Glastonbury is no place for acts like Jay-Z, and it is no place for the whaords of weekend hippies and their kids, reading about house prices in the Torygraph while struggling to digest middle class inflation in the Mail.

but Glastonbury OMHO is no longer Glastonbury. Yes Michael Eavis might put on a good weekend, but Vince Power's influence is there for all to see. 175000 paying Benidorm prices, old bill on site, Markets closing to squeeze more tents in, and flipping cash points!!! I cringe in your general direction Mr Glasto goer.

[Guest nusha]

.You cant get much further up your own arse than NOEL GALLAGHER

[macca]

I attended Glastonbury in 1986, 1989 & 1990 and thoroughly enjoyed it. A week of total escapism. Don't think I could hack it now though. When I went in 1990 it was the first year the police had been allowed onto the site I think. It attracts a lot of 'rum' people these days though. seem to remember the mutoid waste company being in charge of refuse collection, 'usherettes' selling hash fudge on the paths that connected the stage areas & mushroom tea for breakfast. s'truth, the more I think about it...

I don't think it's a venue for hip-hop either. candi staton, betty lavette, mavis staples etc, are a different matter though.

gallagher is a prize prat, but I tend to agree with him on this occasion.

Edited June 30, 2008 by macca

[Guest]

I attended Glastonbury in 1986, 1989 & 1990 and thoroughly enjoyed it. A week of total escapism. Don't think I could hack it now though. When I went in 1990 it was the first year the police had been allowed onto the site I think. It attracts a lot of 'rum' people these days though. seem to remember the mutoid waste company being in charge of refuse collection, 'usherettes' selling hash fudge on the paths that connected the stage areas & mushroom tea for breakfast. s'truth, the more I think about it...

I don't think it's a venue for hip-hop either. candi staton, betty lavette, mavis staples etc, are a different matter though.

gallagher is a prize prat, but I tend to agree with him on this occasion.

I saw some of the highlights or whatever , yesterday afternoon , and I was quite impressed by that singist SAM SPARRO ........

The chap has quite a good voice .........

Malc Burton

Edited June 30, 2008 by Malc Burton

[arnie j]

didnt go meself but watched loads on tele, and of course the best act to see was kings of leon, saw them in brum last year and they blew everyone away, great band if u like that sort of thing

[Guest woolie mark]

I 'usherettes' selling hash fudge on the paths that connected the stage areas & mushroom tea for breakfast. s'truth, the more I think about it...

i was a bit worried there might be some drugs there

it's actually gone really middle class now, but it's a lot more comfortable - however, the site is so big now that you need to do about a quarter of it on separate days

the last time i went was about 15 years or more ago and i said i'd never go again after witnessing the travellers hospitalising the security and setting the main market on fire, and experiencing one of the biggest mud-baths ever when you couldn't get close enough to the stages to hear the PAs because there were just too many people there and not enough things going on

i'll definitely be going regularly again now

btw, also saw a brilliant standup-comedian called Brendon Burns - has anyone else seen him?

[Guest soul99 easylay]

It seems that everyone thinks Glastonbury has gone all middle class of late - I wonder if it's ever going to go all "lollapalooza" with private VIP cabanas at $1500 per person for a 20 person tent, with private viewing platform, bars, waiters etc? Kind of takes the whole fun / point out of slumming it for the weekend doesn't it?

https://www.lollapalooza.com/cabanas/08_Lol...a-One_Sheet.pdf

[Guest andrew bin]

It seems that everyone thinks Glastonbury has gone all middle class of late - I wonder if it's ever going to go all "lollapalooza" with private VIP cabanas at $1500 per person for a 20 person tent, with private viewing platform, bars, waiters etc? Kind of takes the whole fun / point out of slumming it for the weekend doesn't it?

https://www.lollapalooza.com/cabanas/08_Lol...a-One_Sheet.pdf

How cool are they if they had those at glastonbury i would definatley go i'm 38 and far to old to be slumming it

Edited June 30, 2008 by andrew bin

[Guest soul99 easylay]

How cool are they if thay had those at glastonbury i would definatley go i'm 38 and far to old to be slumming it

...actually, if I had the cash, I would too!............and I'd pay some poor student to piggyback me over the mud

[Guest andrew bin]

...actually, if I had the cash, I would too!............and I'd pay some poor student to piggyback me over the mud

seddan chair

[Guest]

just got home from glastonbury.....and didn't we have a lovely time

got there wednesday and the place was rammed already, rained thursday and soon got cut up to a sea of mud, but it was drying out by friday night and the rest of the weekend was beautiful weather

Anyway, thought some folks might be interested in the black-music side of things

Candi Staton was amazing and one of the hits of the weekend for a lot of people - she finished with a medley of young hearts run free/you got the love and had a huge crowd singing along

Amy Winehouse was a right state, but when she got going it was amazing to hear her fantastic voice through the pyramid stage PA

Jimmy Cliff was very good - my mate is a fan and she said that it was her weekend highlight

Jay-Z? well i think his music is sh*te and he's so up himself, but what a fantastic show - his band were actually playing a lot of the samples which was impressive, and it was hilarious when he opened with a video which included noel gallagher c*nting him off and he then came on stage miming to wonderwall - and he also got the crowd doing a little 2 step dance to one of his tunes, which was a bit soulful

did anyone else on here go? if so, did you find my brain? i think it's still in a field somewhere

Super furry Animals were not on this year ?

I saw them in Corwen youth club in North Wales a few days before there Glasto Headline!

They were just practicing ..........and the local bobby was pissed off ! (we were all hugging him and kissing him )

Oh happy daze !

"> Edited July 1, 2008 by mossy

[billb]

Surprised Buddy Guy's not been mentioned yet, how old? he was that good that I even put the telly remote down!

"I've come here to play the blues and if you don't like it you're at the wrong stage."

Buddy Guy, Glastonbury 2008

[Guest Ste Brazil]

.You cant get much further up your own arse than NOEL GALLAGHER

Totally disagree, he says exactly what he thinks and i like that, anybody that slags off idiot rappers is ok with me!

Ste.

[Guest Simon]

I saw some of the highlights or whatever , yesterday afternoon , and I was quite impressed by that singist SAM SPARRO ........

The chap has quite a good voice .........

Malc Burton

I saw that also, really really good, reminded me of a combination of The Style Council & Billy Mackenzie (Associates).

I watched about 5 hours of Glastonbury in total, the only other song i liked was 'Over & Over' by Hot Chip.

Simon

[Guest Bogue]

Surprised Buddy Guy's not been mentioned yet, how old? he was that good that I even put the telly remote down!

"I've come here to play the blues and if you don't like it you're at the wrong stage."

Buddy Guy, Glastonbury 2008

Was thinking the same as I was working down the thread Bill, absolutely sublime performance that even a broken string couldn't spoil

Loved the bit where he played those tunes in the style of how Clapton & Albert King would play them.

He was my favorite performance of the weekend ! Along side the Verve, as I thought that was just what a headline performance should look & sound like ! & Groove Armada, shouldn't like them really but there is just something about their stage shows.

Some great music of all styles over the weekend & watching it just made you wish you were there.

[Guest woolie mark]

They broadcast the whole of the Jimmy Cliff performance on BBC 3 and I have to say - as a long time fan - he was f*cking terrible, his voice has gone. I'd have asked for my money back. Maybe it sounded miles better live but the sound mixing for the tv did him no favours and I was actually embarassed for him at times. Got better towards the end.

yeah, but you have to remember that you don't get to do a proper sound check at festivals...so they just do their best

and the mixing on the TV broadcasts was different to what comes through the PA - i've watched some of the performances on bbc i-player and they've definitely been re-mixed

i was smoking pot with this nice irish couple i met in the bar next to the stage for most of his set (got talking to them when she was whingeing that she needed to pace herself more, and i said that she's got plenty of time to pace herself after she was dead) - but surfaced for the end of his set and it sounded really good

[Dave]

Totally disagree, he says exactly what he thinks and i like that, anybody that slags off idiot rappers is ok with me!

Ste.

[Guest andrew bin]

brilliant

[Guest woolie mark]

the funny thing is that cos it was my mate who wanted to see jay-z i spent a lot of time watching the audience (cos i don't really like his music, i was just enjoying the experience) and it was white middle class english kids with oxbridge accents who were chanting along to his lyrics, they knew it word for word - there weren't no black kids (or worthless white chav-scum) in the audience

sorry to be a party pooper, but i think that a lot of this hostility towards hip hop, which at the end of the day has common ancestors with the music we love from the 60s and 70s, is founded in sterotypical assumptions of who it's audience is........but i have to say that i still think that hip hop is mostly sh*te (except for john barnes.........cos i'm an engerland man)

we have to get together for a couple of sherberts soon dave mate

[Godzilla]

Mrs G and I got back from our annual Glasto jaunt on Monday night ( not missed since 1989!) but only just up to posting.

Agree with lots of Woolie Mark's comments. Candi Staton was up with the best live acts I've seen. Mick Talbot on keys too which was nice. Young Hearts and You got the Love weren't actually a medley, but I guess you're allowed a bit of time distortion with that Irish tackle

Wasn't expecting too much from Solomon Burke but he blew us away with his vioce and performance - despite doing his whole set in his giant throne as he apparently needs to loose about 100lbs if he's to walk again.

Lots other great stuff too including some ace afro-cuban Jazz from Billy Cobham, Manic punk/world/reggae from Manu Chao and we had a bop to Rosoin Murphy in the dance tent. We also saw loads of great pop stuff from the likes of Ausie 80s punks Hoodoo Gurus, left wing shouters King Blues, and contemporary bands like Hot Chip and Neon Neon who did some smart electronica - kinda like daft punk in that they play dancy stuff that appeals to the indie crowd.

Our sole excursion to the pyramid was for the beggining of Jay Z, and although we thought the piss-take video intro was a hoot we didn't stay for the whole set, plumping instead for the cabaret tent with a load of top acts culminating with the fantastically edgy Brendan Burns. We did manage to cop some of the sort of old school hip hop we prefer though, with Kool Keith (ex ultramagnetic MCs) in the Park.

Add to this a kazzoo orchestra doing Tainted Love and The Model, The Incredibly Strange Film Band doing top TV and film themes, Voodoo Trombone's 50s B Movie inspired ska and twistin' tittieshakers, Fun Lovin Criminals, Alabama 3 and so on, and so on, and you've got a pretty amazing few days. That's not to mention the non-music stuff like Trash City which is populated with giant metal robot beasties and buildings that shoot huge plumes of fire and makes 'Escape from New York' look like Bedknobs and Broomsticks, courtesy of the Mutoid Waste Company.

Possibly the best moment for me though, was seeing Edwin Collins, two years on from his near-death double brain haemorrhage, obviously a long way from full recovery, singing loads of his old Postcard Records era Orange Juice material like 'Poor Old Soul' and a belting Version of "A Girl Like You' with his mate, Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame on blistering guitar. A really special Glastonbury moment. Roll on Glasto 2009

Godz

Edited July 2, 2008 by Godzilla

[Guest WPaulVanDyk]

Well Candi Staton was great but did you notice the spot when she said i will sing my first record from 1969 correction it should have been 1968 - Now You Got The Upper Hand which i believe i am correct

Eddy Grant was great but what dissapointed me was not a full showing of Shakin Stevens who i had been waiting to see

[Guest Spinning Vinyl]

the last time i went was about 15 years or more ago and i said i'd never go again after witnessing the travellers hospitalising the security and setting the main market on fire, and experiencing one of the biggest mud-baths ever when you couldn't get close enough to the stages to hear the PAs because there were just too many people there and not enough things going on

I remember that well, but the truth about the security was they were ripping everyone off! When we came in they took our beer off us and many more, the few they caught coming over the wall got battered baddly and they was going around mob handed. The reason the hippies done what they did (not condoning their actions) was due to them ripping a traveller off and stamping on his head causing blindness!

I think the magic of Glastonbury has disappeared, bit too commercial for me, first time I went it was £8 to get in and no police on site but guess things do change and maybe one day will venture there again!

[billb]

Was thinking the same as I was working down the thread Bill, absolutely sublime performance that even a broken string couldn't spoil

Loved the bit where he played those tunes in the style of how Clapton & Albert King would play them.

He was my favorite performance of the weekend ! Along side the Verve, as I thought that was just what a headline performance should look & sound like ! & Groove Armada, shouldn't like them really but there is just something about their stage shows.

Some great music of all styles over the weekend & watching it just made you wish you were there.

In the style of John Lee Hooker & Eric Clapton kick in 6:07 & 8:10

[Guest woolie mark]

plumping instead for the cabaret tent with a load of top acts culminating with the fantastically edgy Brendan Burns

to death

to death sir

to death

[Guest nusha]

the funny thing is that cos it was my mate who wanted to see jay-z i spent a lot of time watching the audience (cos i don't really like his music, i was just enjoying the experience) and it was white middle class english kids with oxbridge accents who were chanting along to his lyrics, they knew it word for word - there weren't no black kids (or worthless white chav-scum) in the audience

sorry to be a party pooper, but i think that a lot of this hostility towards hip hop, which at the end of the day has common ancestors with the music we love from the 60s and 70s, is founded in sterotypical assumptions of who it's audience is........but i have to say that i still think that hip hop is mostly sh*te (except for john barnes.........cos i'm an engerland man)

we have to get together for a couple of sherberts soon dave mate

good shout.

The blues was just about drunks who didnt want to work for 30 years til it became cool.then it was art.Like wise the hip hop haters knock what they dont understand.