~*~ Glastonbury 2010 ~ Friday 25th June ~*~

I remember the first time I went to Glastonbury, and how Kara and I tried to make do without tea. I can't remember how or why this alien concept occurred to us, (and it was one that didn't last very long!) but that has long since ceased to be a reality. And the noisy neighbours talking for an entire night left us in dire need of a cuppa! Luckily the trailer down by the John Peel tent sold them at the Glastobargain price of £1.20. Glastobargain because festival prices don't relate to the real world. Sometimes a baked potato can cost £6.

So after quenching our thirst for hot water with leaves and milk, wet-wiped (this does make you feel surprisingly clean), braved the portaloos and admired each-others' hair - I become more like a 21st-century Medusa as the weekend progresses - we set off to see the LIVING LEGEND that is Mr Rolf Harris.

And what a performance it was. His show is exactly what you want it to be: interactive, lighthearted and purely for entertainment. He opened with Tie Me Kangaroo Down, directing the confused and divided audience to clap OFF the beat, and then reprimanding us for not showing adequate emotion over the man "lying, dying". His rendition of Waltzing Matilda was preceded by an enlightening explanation of the Australian terms including "jumbuck", and the audience participation was magnificent. Knowing all the words to Ladies of the Harem earned me a few weird looks, but hey, they were just jealous. The wobble board and didgeridoo both made very welcome appearances, and their use in Stairway To Heaven took the song to a new, if not necessarily higher, level.

Next on in the sunny Pyramid field was Femi Kuti, a Nigerian musician playing an African take on jazz. He took centre stage on saxophone and vocals, with a band in brown tunics and bright green trousers on brass instruments and bongos behind him. The dancing girls, clad in traditional costume with brightly painted faces put Beyonce to shame with their hip-shaking! They were all enjoying themselves in a very committed fashion. It was a really fantastic set, which completely won Kara over - "he's a cutie! I want to hug him". An insightful review. :P

Then for the smiliest and sweetest act of the weekend - Corinne Bailey Rae. Her music is very pretty and relaxing, with interesting lyrics that combine beautifully with her emotive voice. She seemed very involved with her music, which we put down to the tragic recent death of her husband. She began the set with lots of tracks from her new album, which all went down very well, but when Like A Star and Put Your Records On came up the crowd were completely up for dancing around to the summery tunes in the sunshine. Her magical rendition of Que Sera Sera was a magnificent closer.

Revelling in the shade of the shacks in The Park - this year even more inventive than before, with themes of China, Portugal, the night sky and many more, although we do miss the cushions of '08 - we vaguely listened to the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - minions of Damon Albarn that Pete seems to be into - and Steve Mason. Both of them formed agreeable background music, although I haven't been inspired to delve any further. I did note down a fun quote from Steve Mason: "This isn't a song about a march against parliament. It's more about marching to parliament, breaking in and garrotting the lot of them." Someone else not entirely satisfied with the coalition...

With a rather Pyramid-themed day, I headed over to enjoy a fantastic set by the surprisingly gorgeous Vampire Weekend. In Q interviews I'd always thought that the little beardy man was the frontman, so to be greeted by someone tall dark and handsome (however shallow it may seem) was nice! I hate beards. I read Roald Dahl's "The Twits" when I was a child. ANYway, his voice was beautifully clear and stirring, and the African musical influences made this an exotic and fun set. There was some impressively rapid guitar plucking involved, and, having failed so far to pick up their new album "Contra" I enjoyed the predominance of songs from their debut.

Rather than suffer through the Dizzee Rascal set between Vampire Weekend and Gorillaz, I whizzed off to Avalon to witness the dreadlocked genius that is Newton Faulkner. He's become a bit of a Glastonbury tradition for me, as he's played every year since '08. He has a devil of a sense of humour, and it's really infectious. So not only are you wowed by the expert guitar playing (seriously, his hands are EVERYWHERE! All the percussion is done on the guitar as well. It's impressive) but you have a good cheery laugh too. Notorious for his unusual covers, he put his plucking, strumming and sliding skills to good use on "No Diggity", and treated us to his version of Bohemian Rhapsody, always a favourite. A great new addition to the set was a large screen, which showed images of what was going on if an element of the song wasn't being played live. "If you hear something that isn't guitar, it's feet." So either we watched the pedals themselves, or video footage of him playing a piano harmonica or backing vocals pulling weird faces. He also added to the Pirates vs. Barbarians piece that I mentioned in my first ever blog post here. Apparently barbarian hordes are scared of jumping (obviously). So, somehow, this ginger legend got an entire tent jumping to accoustic guitar. An achievement. The explanation that If This Is It is about his first year at Glastonbury (2008) on the Other Stage created a pretty special moment for all those in the crowd.

Now, the feedback about the Gorillaz set has been very mixed. Obviously, what with them being replacements for U2, Damon Albarn being the first person ever to headline 2 years in a row, and to do so with 2 different bands, meant that the expectations themselves were mixed. Would he blow us away like he did with Blur? Well, no. He didn't. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a great set. As is always the case, the songs I knew stood out - Kids With Guns, Stylo, Dare... (by the way, if anyone knows who the female vocalist who performed with Shaun Ryder is I'd love to know), the unusual but welcome choice of Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head, and the placing of Feel Good Inc. and Clint Eastwood at the end meant they went out with a BANG! But the Syrian orchestra showcase in the middle of the performance was a major set-killer. Pretty, but oh-so-NOT what we wanted to hear! Nevertheless, we all had a good dance, I met various nice new people whose names I will never know and I had a great time. Oh, and people complaining that Albarn should've stayed behind the veil need to get real. That man's ego cannot be imprisoned behind a curtain for long.

However gruesome or 'out-there' the video footage on the Gorillaz stage was, the most disturbing thing I encountered that night was Belinda Carlisle, at the Cocktails & Dreams bar. She came on twice, sang Heaven Is A Place On Earth both times, in a karaoke format, in front of a video screen. She was introduced by the most foul and lecherous man i've encountered as a DJ, sang to a hideously drunk audience, and simply could not have sunk any lower.