The
days are getting longer, the rain is getting warmer, and that can
only mean one thing – summer is here! And what does summer mean
(other than bipolar weather and crushing disappointment) music
festivals.
As
I write this, Download had just been and gone and it's now the turn
if that legendary staple of British music – Glastonbury! Founded by
local farmer Michael Eavis as the Pilton Festival in 1970, every year
since then (with a few exceptions) the sleepy village of Pilton,
Somerset plays host to roughly 175, 000 music fans. Just think about
that for a moment. 175, 000 – that's the size of two or three
towns. All crammed in to a single location – Worthy Farm.
I
actually attended in 2000 and it was a remarkable experience –
David Bowie, Travis and the Chemical Brothers (although I think I was
elsewhere for them, watching – of all people – Rolf Harris.. wow,
it really was a more innocent time). There were some quite remarkable
performances by bands I'd never heard of before or since, and
remarkable performances by bands I had, but most of all it was just
fantastic to be up close to the big boys, watching them set up and
adapt under pressures of time, no proper sound checks, just plug in
and go – in other words, just like the rest of us have to do!
But
although that experience has a special place in my heart, I consider
my first Glastonbury to have been in 1995 – eight months after I'd
picked up the guitar with the sole ambition of learning the riff to
“Teen Spirit”, my eyes and ears were opened to a whole world of
music I'd been deaf to. I pretty much spent the entire weekend in my
room with guitar, practice amp and TV, jamming and learning and
absorbing every little thing I could. As a beginner guitar player, I
couldn't have asked for a better learning experience.
Next
month – Allan Holdsworth tribute, I promise. It's just taking a bit
longer than I thought – he was VERY clever...
