Inglorious Mud

I’ve immersed myself in the BBC coverage of Glastonbury this weekend. I really appreciate the musicianship of those who can perform well live, and I do feel that I don’t get out to concerts often enough, but the simple honest truth is that I’d rather sit on my arse at home with a CD on than venture out to a venue.  So the opportunity to see dozens of wonderful acts FOR FREE in the comfort of my own living room is one I have grabbed with both hands. And I know there are those who would tell me ‘you have to be there to appreciate it’ and I’m sure the atmosphere is euphoric, and the camaraderie is wonderful, and the sights and sounds gain in the open-air environment, but why would I spend 250 quid to traipse around in mud and other people’s piss for three days when I could be on my own sofa, using my own toilet, and seeing it all in close-up on th e telly? There’s no amount of drugs on Earth that would persuade me that sitting on a hillside 300 yards from the Pyramid Stage is better than seeing Muse on a Widescreen Samsung with surround-sound. And I don’t have to spend two hours finding my waterlogged tent at the end of it. 
So the pretentious Glastonbury veterans who would criticise me for not going this weekend can kiss my lazy arse. I’ve locked myself indoors with wine and probably seen a Hell of a lot more bands than they have. 
It’s hard to pick out favourites, but the drummer with ELO was pretty bloody magnificent, and that weird group who looked like Cossacks (I think they were called DankhaBankha or something similar) blew me away on Friday. I might have an early night tonight because I’m not a big fan of Coldplay, and I think they‘ll find it hard to top Adele, even if there are 4 of them. How the Hell she performed alone in front of 75,000 people and just talked to them like it was a pub gig is beyond me, but I found it amazing, even though her songs make me want to cut my own ears off and staple them to a ferret. (Philippa wanted one of her songs at our wedding, but I put the block on that. Just another disappointment I threw her way on our Wedding Day…)

RC 26-6-16