A Glastonbury Ticket- How Do I Start?

Before you start to roll your eyes in another festival rant of mine, you should find this post creeping into your pocket in order to secure a place at what would be said as, the most magnificently memorable wave of musty incense and hippy hallucinogenics. Hippy not really your vibe? Well too late anyway, this years' tickets sold out in a record of 90 minutes, all 195,000 of them. So why am I bothering on a write up now? that was like in what, November. Meanwhile, if you're a true festival fanatic you would realise that the official capacity of Glastonbury Festival Of Contemporary Performing Arts is 200,000.

Let me tell you, that a measly 5,000 tickets left are for the jackpot of locals that manage to nab on by the skin of their teeth. Myself included. So, as expected we applied way back at the beginning of December, since then it's been an agonising wait and up until last week I was certain that Reading would be my  replacement outgoing.  Nothing wrong with Reading of course but there's just that something about Worthy Farm's waves ringing out into the corner of the country side on a stargazing sunset that makes it an inevitably climatic experience. No where else on earth I believe to have more a beautiful evening of music then up by the Park Stage on the valley onlooking the festival. It would be a frustrating punishment to only hear the distant thuds and crowd hypes of Kasabian and/or Disclosure without catching a simple glimpse of the v-sign vibe. So, it was to be that late last Tuesday that fate had brought me the conclusive victory of lucking out on a Sunday ticket for me and 5 friends. 

I suppose now perched in your swivel chair, couch or other comfort, you're bound to be thinking a Sunday ticket? what's the big deal for a petty 12 hours amoungst the whole weekend. You're having a laugh. Well, whether you're an arrogant individual or not, you're wrong. 

Having already written up a summary of my top gigs of 2013, the majority of them are from Glastonbury. To be honest I love the intimacy of live close up gigs but I understand that bands and artists perspectives of performing really change when they hit Glastonbury. I take performances such as Florence and the Machine ( 2010) Palma Violets (2013) Vampire Weekend (2009) and Bombay Bicycle Club (2011) with dozens more to enhance this. It's not just the fact that the festival site is 'apparent' to be the same size as the city of Bath, is it the capacity? the stages? the style? perhaps, but what makes it that more satisfying is that Glastonbury in effect declares the summer ( sunny or not) to be the true opening of a promising season to many artists. It's obviously not just good for the headliners, that's just the cherry on top of the cake, in honesty Glastonbury is a melting pot for every twang, beat, synth, drum and thrash you can think of. Think of it like a heart, each capillary leaking in from other cultures and countries to join the main artery into the organ of pure life lasting liberation.



Yes, believe the facts. You will NEVER conquer the whole site in one weekend. It is evidently too big. For one I haven't had the chance to explore the likes of Shangri La, Croissant Nerf, Block 9 and multitudinous other hidden voids of lost persons and pot minded souls. Last year for the one day I went, I concentrated on all the acts I wanted to see taking me mostly to The Other and John Peel Stages, along with some other surreal experiences in Silver Hayes ( aka Dance Village). Believe again that it's not just about the music either, even I who's main ambition was to squeeze in dozens of slots found myself submerged between, circus tents, mystical fields and earthy environment stalls was fully involved within this. Everything from silts-men to human swans surround you as you embark from each stage to the next. If you find it weird its supposed to be weird, since when was anything normal in the first place, you will come

out of this place ( as I did on some Harry Potter night bus like vehicle)  with a completely changed perspective of what you would classify as the fucking best day of your life. Just saying the food is second to none. And whether you want to go fancy pancy on tipi yerts

Block 9 stage-need to find it.

or just go classic in a Go Outdoors traditional pop up it has no affect on what you can and will see. No showers are around which I have to say is a bit crap, only 10 somewhere up near the circus tents for public use, ( i know countless people who've had problems with shower privacy) but bring baby wipes and you're on the case. Toilets, stop winging and use the green long drops, I found them another surprise of festival cleanliness. But n.o 1 thing to do if you're lucky enough to have a whole weekender ticket is to go up past The Park Stage by the Glastonbury sign in the evening and watch the sunset-lifechanging. Whether you hit the Pyramid for Arcade Fire, (and as my festival crystal ball predicts) Prince and Kasabian or grace to the dance village for London Grammar or a bit of Chase and Status ( likely to be on The Other Stage). But let me say that just by heading to the heaviest mosh won't make you look any cooler than wandering over to the dozens of other smaller stages, band stands or haystacks. After all since when was a festival exciting just by watching the same old Pyramid punters, yet you can still watch each fluttering flag sway in all it's glory towards the almighty presence of every single sunset blessed afternoon.

I really think that bands can tell if you're enjoying it too.. cough cough Lindsey Troy ( Deap Vally) hugged me and my friend ( without hugging anyone else) whilst falling in during crowd surfing. The xx's Oliver Sim perched on the stage to get a picture of the crowds eternal love after their weekend -topping slot and even a slight smile from Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan was all witnessed in one day.  I even saw Disclosure without realising. Yep it might seem stupid, however  one of the brother's decided to do an 11am mix in which my friend and I happened to be fresh of the bus to dive into and after looking at my neck wearing guide a day after, it was teenage dream to the soundtrack of deep house, rock, folk , Kenny Rogers ( ekk-really great) Public Image Limited and more rock. One day can hold a mass of blurred memories and abnormalities than you couldn't believe. 

So, with that all said, yes a Sunday Ticket this 2014 will do nicely. And for god's sake go and register for 2015 if you're not going already. This isn't Coachella, Reading, Latitude or Isle of Wight, this is on a bloody farm!!