| 2004
- Friday
– We awoke to a dry and bright Friday morning, as everyone
tried to shake off their football-related hangovers. The best
way to do this was by heading down to the Pyramid stage, to watch
Ralph Myers kick-off the weekend’s music. Much was made
of the fact they were playing in the slot which was occupied by
The Darkness in 2003, who of course enjoyed a meteoric rise to
fame soon afterwards. Musically the two bands could not be much
further apart, although the refreshing electronic grooves were
better suited to the time of day and state of the crowd’s
heads than screeching glam-rock. Ralph Myers is unlikely to achieve
similar levels of chart success, but should follow in the footsteps
of Royksopp and Goldfrapp and go on to better things. With little
on the bill to capture the imagination we then decided to wander
around the site in search of alternative entertainment. First
up we visited the Leftfield tent, gorged ourselves on fair-trade
chocolate, and used the webcam emails to taunt those unable to
make it this year. The Leftfield tent had changed locations from
last year, and also seemed to have shed the various stalls promoting
awareness of causes from Palestine to workers’ rights, leaving
the venue as more of a stage and viewing area. It would therefore
have been better to visit this tent when there was a speaker,
debate or band playing, but as ever at Glastonbury the best laid
plans… Our meander then took us to the Dance and Fire stage,
where we were disappointed to find none of the latter. We did
witness a full samba band, and various oddities including men
dressed as horses in dinner suits, giant footballers, an impromptu
string quartet, and some joker who thought he could charge £2.50
for an ice cream. |
| The
Block look-a-like competition has some strong candidates
this year |
|
| Hannah
More Zider makes it's Glastonbury debut as we drinks a
few pints just a mile or so from our apples' birthplace |
|
With
this madness causing too much confusion to brains already struggling
under the effects of two days of the Cider Bus we sought some
light relief in the Circus field. Sadly we don’t know the
name of the performer on stage whilst we were there, but his definition
of “Circus” was pretty loose, as his act largely comprised
just walking around the stage and abusing anyone that walked by.
It did at least provide the opportunity for some much needed sleep
and sunbathing. Despite having moaned about the inclement weather
of the previous couple of days, some of the HMZ team soon found
that they also couldn’t cope with much sunshine and the
hottest part of the whole festival, and needed to find shelter.
Others HMZers just needed a bit of appley refreshment, so a compromise
was reached and we went to sit under the big oak tree at the back
of the pyramid field, via the Cider Bus. This was a good plan
for a while, but was spoiled by the appearance of Nelly Furtado
on the stage, who produced some of the most awful wailing and
shrieking ever witnessed at Glastonbury, and to cap it all she
wasn’t even as attractive as we’d hoped, so we were
forced to retreat out of earshot. After a quick bite to eat and
preparation for the evening session it was time for the eagerly
awaited Groove Armada, again on the Pyramid Stage. With the festival
still bathed in glorious sunshine they played a set which included
all the hits, but perhaps they could have included a bit more
from their best album, Vertigo. None the less “At the River”
went down a storm, and “I see you baby” provoked some
interesting ass-shaking dance moves. |
| Local
Somerset girl PJ Harvey appeared on the Pyramid Stage in a ripped
Spice Girls t-shirt and skirt, and fittingly provided some “Girl
Power” chords on her guitar. |
|
An appreciative crowd were treated to most her singles, including
the quality one about the fishes, but sadly PJ was not joined
by Geri Halliwel for a cover version of “Spice Up Your Life”
as rumoured. Nor were Kings of Leon who were up next, but they
did sport some Geri-esque mullets as they banged out most of their
debut album, as well as some new tracks. There was an air of detachment
between the band and crowd for the Kings’ set, and that
of headliners Oasis, who strutted around the stage barely talking
to each other let alone the gathered lager-swiggers watching them.
We woke up to find Oasis criticised heavily for this lack of interaction
by both the press and Michael Eavis alike, but at the time it’s
fair to say we didn’t really notice. |
Above:
Everyone wants to get in this picture, including a King
of Leon.
Left:
Liam (from efestivals)
|
|
| Now in a
state of half-conscious cider haze, we made our own entertainment
between songs, and were more enthusiastic to speak to the Cider
Bus barman than hear anything the Gallaghers might want to say
to us. Their set comprised almost entirely of classics from their
first two albums, which still sound great, but the fact that most
songs played are older than seven years now makes you realise
how alarmingly crap they have become since. |
|
|
Buy CD's of artists who played on Friday of Glastonbury 2004:
|
.
|
Chemical Brothers - The Singles 1993 - 2003 (limited edition)
Goldfrapp - Black Cherry
Groove Armada - The Best Of
Kings of Leon - Youth & Young Manhood
Oasis - Definitely Maybe (10 year anniversary DVD)
Oasis - (Whats The Story) Morning Glory
PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her
Snow Patrol - The Final Straw
