Glastonbury Festival - The Greatest

Well it's over for another year but the memories will last a long time. Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts 2008, the world's greatest festival, was a triumph, after the nay-sayers predicted doom. After a few years mud baths (especially 2005 mega-downpour and 2007 quagmire) and the controversial top billing of a rap artist for the first time (Jay-Z) the media were predicting that after the boom years of the 00's, Glastonbury was starting to show it's age, it's popularity waning (tickets didn't completely sell out until the Friday of the festival, when they usually sell in hours). Luckily, they pulled it out of the bag, the weather (more or less) smiled on Worthy farm and the atmosphere, bands and general all round organisation proved why it's the grandaddy.

After the last two washouts it was Sally's last chance and she said she wouldn't go again if it was wet. Apart from a bit of rain Thursday night/Friday morning the weather was glorious and she now knows what all the fuss is about. Any sludge soon dried up and it was easier to get round that before. I've been going since 1993 and she never believed what it was like dry but we managed to see more bands at more stages than ever: List number one, I saw bands on the Pyramind, Other, Jazz World, John Peel, Park, Avalon, Leftfield, Fire and Dance and Acoustic Stages).

Meeting up with loads of mates from our internet forum at the Cider Bus on Wednesday night and outside the Leftfield tent (fancy dress! photos here LINK) on Thursday prolongs the festival which the media would have you think starts with the main stages on Friday.

Ok, this is the Blog of Lists so on with the business at hand. Although Glastonbury is so much more than the music (it has comedy, cabaret, theatre etc) the music is the main draw for me. Nothing better than lying in a field in the sun, beer in hand listening to a wide variety of brilliant music. So, deep breath here's a list of bands that I saw/heard the whole or majority of their sets in order:

(from outside the Leftfield tent whilst having our fancy dress party! Married to the Sea, The Daisy Riots, he Seal Cub Clubbing Club, Elle S'Appelle, The Rascals, The Pie Tasters, The King Blues, The Slackers)
Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs
Vampire Weekend
Alabama 3
The Ting Tings
Fun Lovin' Criminals
Franz Ferdinand (unbilled set)
Seasick Steve
Crowded House
The Wombats
The Raconteurs
The Swell Season
Jay-Z
Carnival Collective
Dan Donnelly and Friends
Newton Faulkner
Jack Penate
Scouting for Girls
Goldfrapp
Leonard Cohen
The Verve

Also part sets of the following acts (either beginning after another act, the end, waiting for the next act or just wondering past on a journey elsewhere):

The Feeling. Jimmy Cliff, The Gossip, Martha Wainwright, Joan Armatrading, James Blunt, Will Young, Glenn Tilbrook and the Fluffers, Neil Diamond,plus random unknown acts on smaller stages like the bandstand, the fire show and a great Australian reggae duo in the Tiny Tea Tent!

See the next post for my "best of"s of the festival.
View my photo's here LINK