Glastonbury via armchair 2023

CaseOfAce · July 2023

mattdavis said:

After seeing gnr last night it’s even more stark how appalling the sound engineering for their Glastonbury gig was. Not sure if it was the tv or the stage mixing but it seemed to only bring out the shit elements - last night everything was so much more balanced (occasionally slash seemed too quiet) and it seemed to lessen the effect of Axl’s need to adapt his voice.
Mind you I don’t think anyone’s voice at 61 is quite the same as it was in their 20s , particularly when you’ve hammered your vocal cords like he has.

Agreed. At 61 I guess you've got to expect some wear and tear.

I've also never played a festival stage like that before. I can't imagine what it must be like to be at the complete mercy of the sound man on a huge stage like that with sheer volume, monitoring, sweat - not to mention being in the middle of a tour where you've had little sleep, constant travel - all that and the need to run around and entertain an audience. That's why you've got to forgive players not exactly being on point consistently with bending intonation and what have you.

ICBM · July 2023

CaseOfAce said:

Blondie were strong - Deborah Harry in astonishingly good voice

Hmmm... for 77, maybe. But not really - I sadly thought she's finally past it now, even compared to seeing them a few months ago in Glasgow. Clem Burke was great, but he's a fair bit younger.

CaseOfAce said:

but man those guitars were loud - I guess that's what a Soldano sounds like at full pelt. And 3 S*ex Pistols were on stage at Glastonbury this year!

Not just too loud but a bit too 'rock' - although Andee Blacksugar was better. Tommy Kessler (with the Soldano, it's a 30W one I think) who changed guitars far too often (why? One left-handed guitar appeared to be enough for the entire gig...) in particular doesn't really fit the sound of the band, which I thought in Glasgow too.

And Glen Matlock's bass was pretty much inaudible...

digitalkettle · July 2023

digitalkettle said:

Vintage65 said:

theatreanchor said:

Vintage65 said:

Did anybody catch the Editors?

Unfortunately.

There were a lot of marmite acts at Glastonbury this year

I love a bit of Editors…it’s on my catch-up list.

Caught-up: thought it was a great set!

digitalkettle · July 2023

CaseOfAce said:
...Unfortunately Rick Astley and Blossoms had other ideas. I must have watched that Smiths set they did a fair few times on iPlayer by now. Boy With The Thorn in his Side followed immediately by Girlfriend in a Coma. Wow... yes they were using tracks at times - but it took me a few views to figure that out. It was done extremely well...

Good fun...but needed another month of rehearsals!

Vintage65 · July 2023

digitalkettle said:

CaseOfAce said:
...Unfortunately Rick Astley and Blossoms had other ideas. I must have watched that Smiths set they did a fair few times on iPlayer by now. Boy With The Thorn in his Side followed immediately by Girlfriend in a Coma. Wow... yes they were using tracks at times - but it took me a few views to figure that out. It was done extremely well...

Good fun...but needed another month of rehearsals!

That would have spoilt the karaoke feel of it

monquixote · July 2023

Vintage65 said:

monquixote said:

I like The War on Drugs albums but the set was boring and it might be that I listen to too much pop music but I don't get why bands feel they are allowed to look like they just rolled out of bed and make no attempt to entertain.

One of my favourite bands, but they need to try something different. Do you like former WOD member Kurt Vile's solo stuff?

I haven't listened to it.

I also find that 20 guitar changes and 50 pedals but everything just sounds like indie strumming really tedious.

Nova Twins blew my mind for creative fxs use. I had no idea how the bass player was getting some of the sounds and that's rare for me.

EricTheWeary · July 2023

monquixote said:

Vintage65 said:

monquixote said:

I like The War on Drugs albums but the set was boring and it might be that I listen to too much pop music but I don't get why bands feel they are allowed to look like they just rolled out of bed and make no attempt to entertain.

One of my favourite bands, but they need to try something different. Do you like former WOD member Kurt Vile's solo stuff?

I haven't listened to it.

I also find that 20 guitar changes and 50 pedals but everything just sounds like indie strumming really tedious.

Nova Twins blew my mind for creative fxs use. I had no idea how the bass player was getting some of the sounds and that's rare for me.

Just watching a bit of the Nova Twins. I don’t know what I thought they would be like but whatever that was I was wrong! Maybe the band you’d create if you thought dubstep was played on guitars.

The bassist is using a Source Audio Hot Hand at times, controlling rather than generating the sounds but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one used on a gig before.

Wow!

Vintage65 · July 2023

EricTheWeary said:

monquixote said:
Nova Twins blew my mind for creative fxs use. I had no idea how the bass player was getting some of the sounds and that's rare for me.

Just watching a bit of the Nova Twins. I don’t know what I thought they would be like but whatever that was I was wrong! Maybe the band you’d create if you thought dubstep was played on guitars.
The bassist is using a Source Audio Hot Hand at times, controlling rather than generating the sounds but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one used on a gig before.
Wow!

I feel sorry for Royal Blood getting outfoxed by the Nova Twins

rsvmark · July 2023

Vintage65 said:

EricTheWeary said:

monquixote said:
Nova Twins blew my mind for creative fxs use. I had no idea how the bass player was getting some of the sounds and that's rare for me.

Just watching a bit of the Nova Twins. I don’t know what I thought they would be like but whatever that was I was wrong! Maybe the band you’d create if you thought dubstep was played on guitars.
The bassist is using a Source Audio Hot Hand at times, controlling rather than generating the sounds but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one used on a gig before.
Wow!
I feel sorry for Royal Blood getting outfoxed by the Nova Twins

I agree. I thought they took it to another creative level entirely . Perhaps a touch of pedalboard envy but for me they were one of the highlight performances this year

Vintage65 · July 2023

I haven't heard any mention of Maisie Peters yet. I was quite impressed with her set, and I can see her breaking America when she tours there later this year. It's not really my kind of thing, but I can see a market for it and it's currently the UK No.1 album.

distressed · July 2023

EricTheWeary said:
The War on Drugs are just so dreary, reminded me of Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen who I also find dreary.

They've always been more like Chris Rea type sad dad middle-of-the-road rock band to me.

Reverend · July 2023

distressed said:

EricTheWeary said:
The War on Drugs are just so dreary, reminded me of Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen who I also find dreary.

They've always been more like Chris Rea type sad dad middle-of-the-road rock band to me.

They weren't as exciting as that on iplayer

digitalkettle · July 2023

Reverend said:

distressed said:

EricTheWeary said:
The War on Drugs are just so dreary, reminded me of Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen who I also find dreary.

They've always been more like Chris Rea type sad dad middle-of-the-road rock band to me.

They weren't as exciting as that on iplayer

Just finished watching...worked for me: full screen, pushed through my studio monitors...epic

LPManic · July 2023

Saw TWOD in Madrid at a small 2000 club a few weeks ago.

He has 100 pedals and doesn't need the half of them. I didn't see him doing much stomping. I do think there is a lot of smoke and mirrors in their performances. The dynamics of Red Eyes, Under the Pressure, and Ocean in Between the Waves were absolutely fantastic though.

darthed1981 · July 2023

digitalkettle said:

Reverend said:

distressed said:

EricTheWeary said:
The War on Drugs are just so dreary, reminded me of Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen who I also find dreary.

They've always been more like Chris Rea type sad dad middle-of-the-road rock band to me.

They weren't as exciting as that on iplayer

Just finished watching...worked for me: full screen, pushed through my studio monitors...epic

So in summary, some people like War on Drugs, some don't..

I've never made my mind up... I could go either way

digitalkettle · July 2023

darthed1981 said:

digitalkettle said:

Reverend said:

distressed said:

EricTheWeary said:
The War on Drugs are just so dreary, reminded me of Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen who I also find dreary.

They've always been more like Chris Rea type sad dad middle-of-the-road rock band to me.

They weren't as exciting as that on iplayer

Just finished watching...worked for me: full screen, pushed through my studio monitors...epic

So in summary, some people like War on Drugs, some don't..

I've never made my mind up... I could go either way

All this talk of getting old. It's getting me down, my love...

rsvmark · July 2023

Just watching QOTSA and I will humbly revise my initial review. They were superb. Plus a nice selection of guitars and gear

EricTheWeary · July 2023

Catching up with The Chicks. They are great but the mix isn't the best at times. Watching a guitar solo and not hearing it for example, some of those lush harmonies getting lost. Maybe fair enough that it's broadcast this way but a shame no one is tidying it up for the iPlayer.

Philly_Q · July 2023

I watched quite a lot of Glastonbury over the weekend - some whole sets, some "oh no that's quite enough of that..."

Has anyone mentioned Måneskin? We need more rock bands like them. They're young, they look fantastic, they can play, and they unashamedly fucking rock. I think perhaps being Italian helps them pull it off... if they were British or American their act might almost seem like parody.

I'm not sure any of their songs are even slightly memorable, or distinguishable from each other, but I was hearing most of them for the first time. As a live act I thought they were great.

Blueingreen · July 2023

monquixote said:

Vintage65 said:

monquixote said:

Just been watching Caroline Polachek

What an incredible singer and a great performer. It's weird she isn't more famous.

The album is number 2 on the Metacritic album of the year list, so congratulations on your good taste and willingness to step out of your comfort zone

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/albums/score/metascore/year/filtered

I've been listening to her for years.

She is beloved of critics but she was very far down the bill which is what I was referring to.

I'm always being surprised by how wrong my assumptions about artists' drawing power are when I see the pecking order at festivals. I think it's easy to assume column inches and end of year album rankings are a reflection of public profile, but very often they really aren't.

I think that's a good thing, it's much healthier for artists to get well known through word of mouth than by conforming to the latest music journo orthodoxies.

Weyes Blood was one such revelation this year, her last couple of albums have been lauded to the skies but her set at Glastonbury seemed a surprisingly low key and I thought slightly bloodless affair.

UnclePsychosis · July 2023

I've finally caught up with a lot of it.

My personal highlights have been CHVRCHES and Jacob Collier.

Vintage65 · July 2023

Blueingreen said:

monquixote said:
Just been watching Caroline Polachek

What an incredible singer and a great performer. It's weird she isn't more famous.
I'm always being surprised by how wrong my assumptions about artists' drawing power are when I see the pecking order at festivals. I think it's easy to assume column inches and end of year album rankings are a reflection of public profile, but very often they really aren't.

I think that's a good thing, it's much healthier for artists to get well known through word of mouth than by conforming to the latest music journo orthodoxies.

Weyes Blood was one such revelation this year, her last couple of albums have been lauded to the skies but her set at Glastonbury seemed a surprisingly low key and I thought slightly bloodless affair.

That is true.

Regarding exposure to the general public, I read that when it came to touring she had to decide whether to spend money on the stage design or a backing band, which suggests there wasn't a big promotional budget available. However, you can be sure that anybody who is connected to pop side of the music business is paying attention to what Polachek is doing in her role as a tastemaker.

thecolourbox · July 2023

I watched my first bits last night, the Mrs put some junk on Netflix so I took that as my cue to put Jacob Collier on full screen on the laptop with headphones in. That guy is my absolute hero - so many sounds in every song, so much beautiful harmony and unexpected changes that just work, and the fact that while he had an (excellent) band with him, you know he could still smash it all by himself and keep it interesting. Enjoyed the new song as well, Djesse 4 sounds like it['s going to have some rock on it which is awesome. I've not heard him rapping either before, which was great fun especially as he seemed to be running around the stage like a wind up toy with ADHD at the time. The dude is just on another level to anything else for me, proper "head and heart" music as I like to call it.

I also watched a song of Lana Del Ray but found that while it started well and her singing sounded great while the backing was quiet, when the volume rose up she just seemed to vanish into mumbling. I love her recorded output and the fact it's very different in focus than the usual pop singer thing, but live I'm just not sure it works with the full backing track sound for me.

A fair few of the names on my list don't seem to be available on iplayer which is a shame, but looking forward to Christine & the Queens, Queens of the Stone Age, and Editors. Sounds like I need to check out Caroline Polachek as well (although somebody mentioned Karen Carpenter in the same sentence, so I hope that's not to accurate)

I've no interest in Guns & Roses nor Elton, I don't like their music and by all accounts neither of them sound like they can sing them anyway, so while at least GNR have Slash to enjoy on guitar, I'm not sure Elton has anything redeeming for me (and I say that as a wedding pianist!)

JezWynd · July 2023

Philly_Q said:

I watched quite a lot of Glastonbury over the weekend - some whole sets, some "oh no that's quite enough of that..."

Has anyone mentioned Måneskin? We need more rock bands like them. They're young, they look fantastic, they can play, and they unashamedly fucking rock. I think perhaps being Italian helps them pull it off... if they were British or American their act might almost seem like parody.

I'm not sure any of their songs are even slightly memorable, or distinguishable from each other, but I was hearing most of them for the first time. As a live act I thought they were great.

They won the Eurovision Song Contest a few years ago. Unless they’ve changed personnel, I’m not sure ‘young’ is a good descriptor.

EricTheWeary · July 2023

My son put the QOTSA set on. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. They are playing where my other son works in November so given a fair wind and poor ticket sales I might go see them.

thecolourbox said:

Sounds like I need to check out Caroline Polachek as well (although somebody mentioned Karen Carpenter in the same sentence, so I hope that's not to accurate)

Skinny white women who sing. Otherwise nah. I went back to YouTube just to listen to Polachek again and really nah.

JezWynd · July 2023

EricTheWeary said:

My son put the QOTSA set on. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. They are playing where my other son works in November so given a fair wind and poor ticket sales I might go see them.

thecolourbox said:

Sounds like I need to check out Caroline Polachek as well (although somebody mentioned Karen Carpenter in the same sentence, so I hope that's not to accurate)

Skinny white women who sing. Otherwise nah. I went back to YouTube just to listen to Polachek again and really nah.

I gave her a spin due to the praise hereabouts. Again, nah. Karen Carpenter had great tunes, something conspicuously absent from my toe in the water with Ms Polachek.

ICBM · July 2023

If you want to listen to someone who sounds like Karen Carpenter - at least a bit - try Rumer.

thecolourbox · July 2023

EricTheWeary said:

My son put the QOTSA set on. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. They are playing where my other son works in November so given a fair wind and poor ticket sales I might go see them.

thecolourbox said:

Sounds like I need to check out Caroline Polachek as well (although somebody mentioned Karen Carpenter in the same sentence, so I hope that's not to accurate)

Skinny white women who sing. Otherwise nah. I went back to YouTube just to listen to Polachek again and really nah.

I'm not averse to that concept in general but yes I think I see what you mean, sometimes singists really appeal for some really specific small reason, and other times they just seem very pleasant but ultimately quite dull. I shall listen with an open mind though as half the stuff I wanted to catch isn't on iplayer so I'll have to make do with what is!

Re QOTSA they are one of those bands for me that I feel like I should enjoy more than I do - theyt tick a lot of the usual boxes I enjoy in a band but without ever really moving me to anything at all. I'll enjoy a well filmed festival set for what it is but I don't ever remember any of the songs afterwards and I don't ever feel compelled to seek it out on Spotify or learn to play any of it. I think it would help if they had a better vocalist (sorry!) as his voice gets on my nerves, and visually it's offputting to see a frontman with an annoying (to me) voice looking like a chap i'd expect to see working at Wickes or something

west · July 2023

thecolourbox said:

I watched my first bits last night, the Mrs put some junk on Netflix so I took that as my cue to put Jacob Collier on full screen on the laptop with headphones in. That guy is my absolute hero - so many sounds in every song, so much beautiful harmony and unexpected changes that just work, and the fact that while he had an (excellent) band with him, you know he could still smash it all by himself and keep it interesting. Enjoyed the new song as well, Djesse 4 sounds like it['s going to have some rock on it which is awesome. I've not heard him rapping either before, which was great fun especially as he seemed to be running around the stage like a wind up toy with ADHD at the time. The dude is just on another level to anything else for me, proper "head and heart" music as I like to call it.

I also watched a song of Lana Del Ray but found that while it started well and her singing sounded great while the backing was quiet, when the volume rose up she just seemed to vanish into mumbling. I love her recorded output and the fact it's very different in focus than the usual pop singer thing, but live I'm just not sure it works with the full backing track sound for me.

A fair few of the names on my list don't seem to be available on iplayer which is a shame, but looking forward to Christine & the Queens, Queens of the Stone Age, and Editors. Sounds like I need to check out Caroline Polachek as well (although somebody mentioned Karen Carpenter in the same sentence, so I hope that's not to accurate)

I've no interest in Guns & Roses nor Elton, I don't like their music and by all accounts neither of them sound like they can sing them anyway, so while at least GNR have Slash to enjoy on guitar, I'm not sure Elton has anything redeeming for me (and I say that as a wedding pianist!)

Dude agree with you about jacob , i loved it ! check out louis cole really great , im not so keen on the vox /rap bits but he and his band are fantastic ...

Philly_Q · July 2023

JezWynd said:

Philly_Q said:

I watched quite a lot of Glastonbury over the weekend - some whole sets, some "oh no that's quite enough of that..."

Has anyone mentioned Måneskin? We need more rock bands like them. They're young, they look fantastic, they can play, and they unashamedly fucking rock. I think perhaps being Italian helps them pull it off... if they were British or American their act might almost seem like parody.

I'm not sure any of their songs are even slightly memorable, or distinguishable from each other, but I was hearing most of them for the first time. As a live act I thought they were great.

They won the Eurovision Song Contest a few years ago. Unless they’ve changed personnel, I’m not sure ‘young’ is a good descriptor.

They only won Eurovision two years ago. And unless their bio is a pack of lies, they put the band together in 2015-16 when they were all schoolkids. They're all 23 or 24 years old. That, I think most would agree, is young.

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Glastonbury via armchair 2023

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