Phlegmatic - Glastonburgh

Anyone else been watching Glastonbury? I've watched a fair bit of it so far since the number of bands that I at least quite like was rather higher than average.



Bruce Springsteen was the headline act last night. The BBC has been hyping this for days, so it was more than a bit strange that they didn't show his performance live, choosing instead live coverage of Franz Ferdinand, who were live at the same time on one of the other stages and a Michael Jackson tribute. Really odd programming decision.

On the other hand, maybe they knew something in advance. You see, I thought Springsteen was actually pretty mediocre. It felt like he was going through the motions. Every 'spontaneous' moment looked anything but. He's actually in the middle of a big world tour, and is doing this every night in front of his own fans, so maybe that's the reason. Oh yeah, and he mispronounced 'Glastonbury' all the way through - either as 'Glastonburg' or as 'Glastonborough'.

Franz Ferdinand were much better. I like Franz Ferdinand, and unlike Bruce, they looked like they really wanted to be there.

Other bright spots:

A band I hadn't heard of called Pendulum. Sort of hardcore techno/trance/metal. Ish. Difficult to describe. Australian. Quite nerdy looking for the most part. Two lead singers, one of whom also played keyboards and something that looked like a Guitar Hero controller and was apparently called a 'Zeetar'. Anyway, they did a very good set.

Spinal Tap, obviously. http://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/2009/artists/spinaltap/ Particularly Jarvis Cocker joining them on 'Big Bottom'. ("The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin', that's what I said...") I like Jarvis Cocker. He probably didn't feature in any of the glowing Michael Jackson tributes though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upbbz_Eyq4Q

Springsteen didn't compare well to Friday's headliner, Neil Young, who was really good, even if 'Rockin' in the Free World' went on for ages. http://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/2009/artists/neilyoung/index.shtml#emp

Young's former collaborators Crosby, Stills & Nash were rather mellower but melodic and generally wonderful.

I don't know much about Bloc Party, but they seemed good. The biggest surprise for me though was Pete Doherty. Previously to me he's just been a name in celebrity gossip, famous for being Kate Moss's boyfriend and for his brushes with the law. I confess I had never really paid much attention to his music, but on the basis of this (largely sober) performance, he's actually pretty good.

Not so good:

The Specials looked old and to be honest not angry enough. Maybe they're happy with the current political situation or maybe it's just that 'Ghost Town' now sounds more like an attack on out-of-town shopping centres and their effects on the traditional high street than a searing indictment of Thatcher's Britain...

I just don't get hip-hop and that kind of thing so Dizzee Rascal (or 'Dizzee Rarscal' as it is apparently pronounced - I'm assuming he's from the sarf-east) is completely lost on me.

Lily Allen writes clever songs, but is uninspiring as a live act.

I completely missed Gabriela Cilmi, who I do like, not to mention Rolf Harris (on one of the minor stages) and Noah and the Whale (liked by bunn).