Glastonbury Friday

OK before the band talk I suppose I must mention the mud. By the Friday it was pretty awful and it did make getting across the site a bit difficulty. To be honest though I think it is now part of what makes Glastonbury. Last year when the weather was very hot and dry the festival just didn't have the same atmosphere (despite it being the 40th anniversary). There's something about the mud which gives the whole festival more of a mad vibe and seems to make people even more keen to ensure they enjoy themselves.
OK on to some of the bands - I'll try to keep things brief and succinct so I cover all the ones I saw.

Festival proper began for me with Brother - must admit I didn't have great hopes for this lot but given they have been getting a fair amount of press thought I'd check them out. My opinion - they were "alright". They seem to have some good tunes and thankfully didn't come across as the totally arrogant band the press might suggest. The tunes themselves were of the pretty standard indie fair. One of those bands where the song starts, sounds pretty good and then just fades out until they start the new one (which doesn't sound much different to the last)

By contrast Mona were excellent. Another band which got a lot of press earlier in the year and were on many lists of ones to watch in 2011. Sadly their album got a very luke warm reception and they now seem to have missed the boat. Now I must admit I really love the album its kinda like a mellower Gaslight Anthem with the focus more on U2 epic songs instead of punk. Live, however, they take things to a different level and play with more a a passion and a fury. The lead singer tends to dominate the show but he displays the right balance of cockiness that a front man needs. Overall a top band and live certainly live up to the hype.

The same cant be said about The Vaccines -another band riding on the crest of press wave. I also loved their singles and the album when it first came out but surprisingly it wasn't one I revisited much. I was looking forward to seeing them live but they were really disappointing. Whilst Mona took the album and made it comes alive, The Vaccines made it sound really downbeat. The vocalist has a lot to do with this where he has somewhat of a monotone voice but in truth the whole set was quite dull and very disappointing.

The Wombats -are probably the opposite to the Vaccines - slated by the press, treated like a comedy band and not taken at all seriously. But importantly I think they recognise their own limitations and the fact is they have some great sing a long songs which were made for festival crowds. Importantly they act like they are enjoying playing and the result of that is a fun set.
I bailed out of the wombats a bit early to catch The Jim Jones Review playing in a small tent. Now this is a true Rock n roll band. They play a classic punk rock N roll/rockabilly set. Its very hard not to get caught up in the sheer exuberance of the songs and the crowd in the relatively small tent certainly did. Jim Jones gives every song his all and its a wonder he manages to perform night after night. Top band

After this we went to see who the special guests were at the Park stage (having heard rumours it was Pulp). Sadly it was Radiohead instead. I am not a fan of this band and having spent some time battling to even see them on stage gave up (on basis that if they were in my back garden I would have to think twice about drawing back the curtains to see them). Instead we retreated to one of the gypsy caravan/ bus stop things to seek shelter from the rain. Radiohead playing songs no one seemed to know and rain makes for a depressing time -BUT this is Glastonbury - by some very strange coincidence we ended up sitting next to two people from Leamington (what a small and weird world) and ended up having fun chatting and watching various drunken people make fools of themselves.

The headlines were of course U2. Again not a band I am a fan of but that is mainly due to Bono being such a dick! But I thought given they have so many great songs and this was my one chance to see them (I wouldn't pay to see just them) I gave them a go. Given their back catalogue, reputation for being a great live band and the fact they were headlining Glastonbury after pulling out last year surely the set would be fantastic?!?! - sadly it was nothing like that, disappointingly they played a very lacklustre set which just didn't excite at all and made you wonder how they ever became anything more than an Irish pub band - oh well at least one of the "must see" bands to take off the list.

Never mind it had still been a good day and there was still rum to drink before stumbling back to bed to try and sleep in preparation for the next day.