Glastonbury For Geriatrics – Updated

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I mentioned in my post last weekend for Song Lyric Sunday that I was looking forward to seeing (on tv, of course) Paul McCartney play a headline set this Saturday at Glastonbury. I have already set the recorder for it! I posted a piece five years ago about how my musical tastes had changed over the years, and how this had impacted on my enjoyment of seeing the festival on tv, and updated it a couple of years ago. Due to the pandemic this year’s event will be the first since 2019 and I took a look at the website to see what might be of interest to me. There are well over 100 acts scheduled to appear between Friday and Sunday across the seven main stages, and my trial was marginally successful. There are probably about ten or so that I’d be interested to see, amongst many that I’ve never ever heard of! The BBC is providing five live streams on its iPlayer service, but as that may leave two of the stages without coverage I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t ignore what I want to see. If you’re reading this, BBC Head Honcho, do please make sure that you give full coverage to the Acoustic Stage. Thank you. But how in hell did Tony Christie get booked for that stage? Or anywhere, come to that – a crowd singalong to ‘Is This The Way To Arm A Dillo’ is in prospect, I fear.

Apart from Macca, the other two nights on the Pyramid Stage (the main one) will be headlined by Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar, who both register high on my indifference levels. On Friday, for example, the fabulous Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are only being given third billing behind Eilish and Sam Fender – I think that proves that my tastes don’t match those of most of the festival-going population.

The big background news surrounding this year’s event is that there will be strikes on the rail network: the first was on Tuesday, followed by another today and a third on Saturday. I guess that will provide some entertainment on the side watching all of the corporate helicopters dropping off their clients, who probably care even less than I do about most of the acts! But at least the official website does give instructions on how to get there by bike, which should be interesting for those carrying full camping gear.

And if you aren’t going or planning to watch on tv, you can always read these thoughts of a grumpy geriatric whose lost musical youth seems to be stretching ever further into the past.

Clive's avatarTake It Easy

Those of you who know how much I love music may be surprised to know that I once wrote a piece which wasn’t all that complimentary. Three years ago today I shared my ‘joy’ with that year’s Glastonbury Festival, which was belatedly saved for me by one of the bands playing there. This year’s version would have been taking place this weekend and, in its absence, the BBC has being going overboard in sharing again some of the highlights from previous years. I challenge you to read the piece and guess how many of these I have watched!

This is the post in question. Answers on a postcard, please:

WHEN THE WHEELS TOUCH GROUND
It is an obvious truth that none of us has ever been older than we are today. But do we always feel our age? Over recent months I’ve been ill a fair bit, and have been…

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19 thoughts on “Glastonbury For Geriatrics – Updated”

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  5. I went to a festival only once in my life, when I was 31, and hadn’t heard of most of the performers then either. Then again, I was never that much into the trendy music of my time. I honestly have only consciously heard music by Paul McCartney out of the ones performing at this festival you’re watching on TV this weekend. Guess that makes me ancient even though I wasn’t even born when he was popular.

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    • Festivals really don’t interest me either, as I said in the piece. I watched about two minutes of the live feed earlier – it was all I could take. It was a band called Wet Leg, and I thought the name suited their ‘music’ well. I’m hoping for better – I now have six acts set to record from the tv offerings, which is probably more than most years.

      If that makes you ancient then I must be positively antediluvian 🤣

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  6. Sam and I didn’t even bother going to the Isle of Wight Festival this year. About 95% of the bands we’d never heard of and didn’t really care that we’d never heard of them either. I think we must be getting old, lol.

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  7. I hope you get some good acts this time. I have yet to see the Foo Fighters in concert, but I know they are non-stop energy. As you said, their music is not for everyone. At least once a month, I can plop myself down for two hours in front of the computer and listen to nothing but Foo Fighters. Their videos are also usually a cut above and appeal to my sense of humor.

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    • It isn’t hugely promising, but as long as they show something from the acts I want to see that will be fine. And there’s Macca to look forward to.

      You’re right about Foo Fighters videos – they are usually very creative with a lot of humour, and the music isn’t bad either 😊

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    • I expect I’ll be sharing my thoughts at some point, Keith! Hopefully there will be something for me to enjoy in there, even if I will have to put up with that numpty Jo Whiley again 😊

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