Arcadia, a dark place with a giant metaliic purple stage that belches fire. That’s the first impression you get once you wade through the mud to get there. That and ‘AWESOME’.
I’ve been here twice so far. On Friday I came across Sub Source who blew people away with their fusion rock and breaks. Saturday was another favourite of mine, Far too Loud, who played a DJ set of Psy-Breaks.
Standing on the steps below the column of fire feels like you’re at Burning Man rather than Glasto. I spent a good three hours there bouncing up and down grinning like a loon. There were other shows too. A great poi person and a girl doing a hula hoop ring suspension thing. Arcadia - my new favourite place at Glastonbury.
- posted by StuMonkey on June 28th, 2009 06:00
So that was Shangri La! Crazy, mad and theatrical. We’d seen it while it was being built, but mingling through the Central Square and the Badlands with the crowds at 3am was like entering another world. Because the bars there stay open until 6am it’s the obvious place to head after the music stops on the main stages.
Getting there along the main path was like being in a human traffic jam, but once you turn the corner into Central Square - set out like a normal town square - the mood lifts and there’s space to enjoy the psychedelic projections and amazing, surreal carnival performers including giant puppets and tall mutated bat creatures on stilts.
The overall theme is ‘pleasure utopia’, but there are also areas of ‘pleasure gone wrong’ known as the Badlands. In these covered alleyways there are even more surreal sights around every corner: a shop window displaying mutilated stuffed animals such as a rat stabbed with a carving knife; a stall advertising kidneys and livers for hire; a video wall full of TV screens erasing things…
We ended the night at Hotel Slumberave Metropolis which wasn’t quite as sleazy - or as luxurious - as it sounds. It’s compulsory to leave your wellies at the door to keep the hotel a ‘mud-free’ area of Glastonbury, but it’s not so much fun padding around in socks after stepping in a wet patch of floor. Inside, most people had made use of the changing rooms where you can borrow kimonos and pyjamas and were happily chatting on giant 30 ft beds.
In another corner others were relaxing in the jacuzzi, sipping champagne poured by spangly attendants as trapeze artist Absinthia performed a balancing act overhead.
When we left Shangri La the sun was coming up but the place was still buzzing with people. At Glastonbury there’s always something going on - it’s hard to know when to stop and go to bed!
- posted by Trina on June 28th, 2009 05:06
African Express Soundsystem at Club Dada- UNBELIEVABLE! Got there early and right to the front. Mind-blowing beats, drums, decks, beatbox and acouatics. It’s Africa meets Beatbox meets Dance. I’ve never seen anthing like it before. The crowd were going crazy. Really crazy.
- posted by Heather on June 28th, 2009 04:54
We’re on our way to Shangri La again. Last night we planned to come and have a good look round all the hedonistic attractions but got side-tracked by news of Lady Gaga’s secret gig in Club Dada. Let’s see what tonight has in store. The path down from the main stages is packed. Everyone seems to be heading down to the pleasure zone - and everyone is singing Hey Jude. Let the pleasure begin. More posts in the morning…
- posted by Trina on June 28th, 2009 01:35
That wasn’t the night we were expecting to have! We left Bloc Party early to get to Shangri La in time for 12.30 am where Sarah and the nice people who work there had arranged for us to get backstage at Club Dada for a secret Lady Gaga gig.
Having dashed through thick mud to get there, we then waited an hour and half for the lady herself to arrive. That was partly because her Land Rover got stuck in the mud when it went a bit too far off road - and had to be pulled back out by 10 burly men. The secret gig was a well kept secret - the stage area could only hold 2000 people and we reckon about 1500 turned up in the end. They weren’t kidding when they said it was a small venue - backstage was practically on the stage!
Behind the scenes there was a lot of rushing about and when her people arrived things got bit frantic. At one stage security told us we had to evacuate the area completely and no one was sure what was going on. Eventually we got a stage-side view of the gig which was amazing. We grabbed a few photos on our mobiles.
It wasn’t a long set, but even so Lady Gaga managed to squeeze in a change of outfit. She announced on stage she wasn’t allowed a costume change so she was just going to strip off - but Lady Gaga doesn’t get undressed like normal people. She started by making her metallic cone bra explode, leaning backwards to avoid the flying sparks. We saw the remnants being carried off stage. She was left wearing a sparkly bra and shiny oversized Bridget Jones knickers which was much more glamourous than it sounds! She finished the gig with Pokerface which had the crowd dancing and cheering.
A top night, but at the end of it we were left wondering “Did that really just happen?”!!
- posted by Holly and Heather on June 27th, 2009 05:41
It’s the half-way mark of 100 Hours In A Field. The crowds around the main music stages have gone in all directions - some to the campsites, some to the dance venues, some just wandering and others to seek out the hedonistic pleasures you can only find in a place like this.
So purely in the interest of capturing the full Glastonbury experience we’re off to focus on the latter. Someone’s got to do it. Cate nipped off ahead of us for a look at the infamous Trash City - that’s her picture of amazing rythmical blowtorches there.
We all want a closer look at Trash City - maybe tomorrow - but tonight we’re off to the opening night of Shangri La, where they apparently have very strict rules. You only get to stay if you promise to abandon yourself to pure uninhibited pleasure. Apologies if there’s no blog posts till later in the morning!
- posted by Trina on June 27th, 2009 00:03
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Matt, a dentist from Manchester, left home 24 hours ago and he’s still going strong … after a half-hearted attempt to go to bed.
- posted by Trina on June 25th, 2009 05:04
TJ works at a bar on the site and he really should be getting some sleep before turning up for a big briefing at 9am. Trouble is he’s just enjoying the craic too much.
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- posted by Holly on June 25th, 2009 04:36
4am and the party animals are still partying! Lots of people are flocking to an impromptu party on the path just above the Park campsite. All you need is a CD player, some Human League tunes and lots of happy campers.
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- posted by Holly on June 25th, 2009 04:32
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It’s 1am and wandering down from the Stone Circle I met Rick and Tarik on board their tandem. The boys proudly introduced themselves as being part of Mr and Mrs Hurley Burley’s Vegetarian Solar-Powered Cabaret Cafe. It’s all in the title!
Rick explained that the VSPCC is an entirely eco-friendly cabaret act complete with four-part harmonies and tandem cycles. There’s a bus at the back. The team who serve the food also dance. Its run on solar power. And it starts at 3pm tomorrow afternoon. What could be clearer?
Oh, one thing - neither Rick nor Tarik seemed to know where it was. They both pointed in opposite directions when I asked them where we should head. But hey, it’s 1am. I’m not sure where I am either. I’m going to add it to my list of things to check out tomorrow.
I’m looking forward to watching the Brighton-based act whilst tucking into their delicious veggie delights knocked up by the all-singing, all-dancing kitchen staff. All I need them to do now is come back and pick me up on the tandem.
- posted by Heather on June 25th, 2009 01:03
