Glastonbury 2005 - June 23rd - 27th

Thursday - 23rd
8:30 - all in one car - good run down - ring road bristol - sainsburys for the usual truck stop
when we arrive the site is already packed and are directed move up the hill towards the cinema field - we attempt to go to our usual spot at the back of the other stage instead - half way there we give up given the magnitude of the crowd and opt to put our tent up in a decent space right outside the newly named john peel stage
once camped we go for a wander to check out the configuration and a have a beer - the main reason for the shortage of space round that end is this year the dance tent has mutated in a giant dance village with several new dance tents - new art works include a giant frog, black and white cows allegedly made of bronze - this years scorpion is a griffin
during the night we have the mother stage of all thunder and lightning storms with heavy rain ...

Friday - 24th
glancing out of the tent in morning and remarking we may need our wellies having spotted a few puddles around the tent was to prove a bit of an understatement, once leaving the tent and bro pointing out the base of the slope was now a lake - our tent however was above the tide level - several of the tents below us were completely flooded - tents were being dragged up the hill or just abandoned

the really big floods happened over the other side of the site next to the old railway line - it is a real disaster zone - some tents are completely submerged - i bet you no one camps there next year!
the dance area was completely closed off as some of the dance tents had collapsed under the weight of the rain (the dance lounge tent had actually ripped in two!) - several of the other stage stages had actually been hit by lightning strikes - the site had been more or less been left without power
later some bands would find it hard to even make it onto the site

however the john peel stage remained the only stage with power and started up once the tent was cleared out - the pa blasting out 'riders on the storm'
10:30+ - john peel stage - boyfriends - first of the tall bald blokes playing today - speak less and listen / fearless heart / once upon a time / they don't know about us!
no power on the other stage stage - so no dead 60s
the pyramid stage stage was also without power - so no subways - apparently they offered to do an acoustic set
11:30 - john peel stage - countermine - new single - letters
12:00 - pyramid stage (power restored) - undertones - that's not sheargal farkey - jimmy jimmy / my perfect cousin / here comes the summer (you are havin' a larf) / teenage kicks (dedicated to 'someone who is not here this year')
12:30 - john peel stage - infadels - electro acid house rock - can't get enough / love like semtex / topboy / give yourself to me / murder that sound / jagger 67 / brandon vegas
13:30 - john peel stage - el presidente - alas did not make it onto the site
14:30 - john peel stage - nine black alps - get your guns / not everyone / just friends / over the ocean / unsatified / shot down
15:30 - john peel stage - maximo park - signal and sign / going missing / graffiti / the night i lost my head / the coast is always changing / limassol
16:30 - pyramid stage - zutons - no yellow boilersuits this year - a bit of a orange thing going on though - zuton fever / pressure point / remember me / long time coming / don't ever think / you will you won't
going between stages has now been made a little easier with the introduction of straw along main throughway by the guardian lounge
17:30 - john peel stage - m83 - definate spiral galaxy of sound going on - don't save us from the flames / i guess i'm floating / * / a guitar and a heart
18:10+ - other stage - babyshambles - eventually turn up and pete makes it too (barely) - killamangiro / f**k forever / sticks and stones - jumps into crowd and immediately his hat is nicked - shambolic
19:30 - john peel stage - secret machines - nowhere now / sad and lonely / daddy's in the doldrums / the road leads where it's led / storming version of 'first wave intact' - best act of the festival
20:30 - john peel stage - mia - a bit too hip-hoppy for me
21:30 - pyramid stage - killers - all the hits - somebody told me / jenny was a friend of mine / smile like you mean it / midnight show / glamourous indie rock n roll / mr brightside / all these things that i've done
22:30 - other stage - fat boy slim - apparently you had to have 3d glasses (you see the smiley faces anyway) - praise you / fbs is f**king in heaven / right here right now / rockafeller skank / walk like an egyptian! / slash dot dash
23:20 - john peel stage - tears - everyone's shouting for suede - lovers / autograph / imperfection / apollo 13 / the asylum / brave new century / refugees / two creatures / europe after the rain / beautiful pain / the living dead (suede!!) / the ghost of you / southern rain
was settling in for the night when the jack-meister drags me back out for a night wander until 03:00am up and around the stone circle - needless to say i was completely knackered by the time we got back to the tent having been trapped in the increasingly sticky mud several times

Saturday - 25th
john peel stage - compere announces that it is the only tent with a sea view
lions match was shown on the screen this morning but a) it was too early b) we know what happens to teams viewed at glastonbury
10:15 - john peel stage - boa - some nice rock - jet pack [have now become 'the stawls' their old name was probably too constricting]
10:30 - go to other stage stage to see engineers but deadbeats are on instead - later found out they swapped times - bother!
chris moyles rushes past - looks at me as if too say 'yes i am chris moyles but i'm in hurry to be else where' - probably off to see hayseed dixie
leftfield - drumming circle - nice audience partication - meet up the bro
11:00+ - john peel stage - once under - local band from pilton - young punks - so long, goodbye
11:50 - john peel stage - outset - local band from shepton mallet - nice metal instrumentals - did not really need the guest vocalist [have now become reasonmayruin - american band already called outset]
12:40 - john peel stage - mad staring eyes (unsigned competition winners) - indie rock - crazy
14:00 - dance stage east - ozric tentacles - jurassic shift / chewier / kick muck / sploosh (2 takes after ed cocks up)
14:55 - pyramid stage - kaiser chiefs - inflatable brontosaurus - jumping around in welles - na na na na naa / saturday night / everyday i love you less and less / born to be a dancer / hard times send me / i predict a riot / caroline, yes / time honoured tradition / modern way / oh my god / take my temperature
back to tent for kip - miss the 'make poverty history' moment
16:30 - john peel stage - departure - be my enemy / just like tv / all mapped out / arms around me / lump in my throat
mark radcliffe - gave me a nod of acknowledgement to our predictament as we waded past each other in the mud
17:30 - john peel stage - rilo kiley - bigger crowd this year - little chequered number - it's a hit / portions for foxes / the execution of all things / i never / does he love you?
18:30 - john peel stage - subways - holiday / oh yeah / i want to hear what you have to say / at 1am / lines of light / with you / young for eternity / rock n roll queen
19:30 - john peel stage - longcut - a last act of desperate men
19:50 - other stage - interpol - slow hands / narc / say hello to the angels / c'mere / nyc / not even jail / obstacle 1 / evil / pda
21:20 - other stage - kasabian - tom is obe wan kinobe - id / test transmission / reason is treason (nice crowd interaction k-i-ll) / cutt off / butcher blues / processed beats / stunt man (new track) / lsf / ovary stripe / u boat / club foot
ran into lauren laverne - literally - she is very nice
22:50 - pyramid stage - coldplay - chris on form - has a pop at the crazy frog, jonny buckland the world's greatest guitarist after slash, written michael eavis on his knees - square one / politik / yellow / god put a smile upon your face / speed of sound / low / warning sign / everything’s not lost / white shadows / the scientist / till kingdom come (to all the dads in the world - my dad, gaydad, and the tv prog my two dads) / don’t panic / clocks / swallowed in the sea / can’t get you out of my head (as a tribute to kylie) / in my place / fix you

Sunday - 26th
10:40 - john peel stage - sucker - with trevor out of trevor & simon
11:30 o> - martha wainwright - seems a bit worse for wear - factory
11:40+ - pyramid stage - bellydancers - loads of screaming and gyrating - totally unnecessary for a sunday
crash out at the pyramid stage stage as the sun is now out
12:45 - pyramid stage - james blunt - beautiful / high / 3 wisemen / so long jimmy / goodbye my lover / where is my mind? (pixies cover)
14:15 - pyramid stage - jools holland and his rthymn n blues orchestra + rico - usual crowd pleasing stuff / sam brown - valentine moon / ruby turner - blowin' in the wind / the obligatory 'enjoy yourself, it's later than you think'
bugger! now slightly sunburnt
15:45 - leftfield - go to see the beat with bro - alas not on - some dodgey rap trio
15:50+ - acoustic - patty griffin - have a chill out with a dose of mellow americana - when it don’t come easy / useless desires / long ride home / love throw a line / standing / top of the world / truth #2
17:00 - acoustic - ukulele orchestra of great britain - miss dynamite / wuthering heights
back to the tent for belated sun cream
18:00 - dance stage west - banco de gaia - where is the usual cloudburst for banco? - same set up as last year - how much reality can you take? / zeus no like techno / last train to lhasa / i love baby cheesy / kincajou / gray over gray / obsidian
back to the tent - where the hell are all these chicks nice young ladies coming from? - jem was playing at the jp tent!!
18:40 - john peel stage - kills - vv and hotel rock out - i hate the way you love / love is a deserter / passion is accurate / rodeo town / the good ones
19:45 - john peel stage - client - the airhostesses with the mostesses - don't call me baby / in it for the money / rock and roll
20:50 - pyramid stage - primal scream - bobby is definately on one 'you're all a bunch of f**king hippies' - accelerator / miss lucifer / burning wheel / kill all hippies / jailbird / rocks off / kowalski / swastika eyes / movin' on up - i left just before bobby got forcibly dragged off at the end
22:30 - john peel stage - brighteyes - as ryan adams has cancelled brighteyes are moved up the order - conor is on one (that's two in a row!) spouting 'make poverty history by banging your credit cards together' etc, having a pop at john peel and the crowd - as the atmosphere is getting more edgy i retire to our tent near by and listen from there - does most of digital ash (amidst technical problems) which is handy as it is one of the only 2 albums i have - time code / gold mine gutted / easy/lucky/free - as the compere says at the end 'glastonbury started with a storm ended with a storm'

Monday - 27th
06:00 - have sustained a big black bruise in the side - no idea where that came from
pack up and leave