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Glastonbury Clashes

Hi guys. So basically I'm going to Glastonbury this year and i'm super duper excited. The line up is predictably awesome:

U2
Coldplay
Beyonce
Elbow
Morrissey
Pendulum
Paul Simon
BB King
Laura Marling
Wu Tang Clan
Tame Impala
Primal Scream
Chemical Brothers
QOTSA
Mumford & Sons
Fleet Foxes
Kaiser Chiefs
Friendly Fires
Bright Eyes
White Lies
TV on the Radio
The Vaccines
Cold War Kids
Cee Lo
Big Boi
Kool And The Gang
Janelle Monae
Hercules & Love Affair
The Go! Team
Nicolas Jaar
DJ Shadow
Glasvegas
The Streets
Battles
The Horrors
Robyn
Lykke Li
Crystal Castles
Wild Beasts
Caribou
The Walkmen

...to name most of the bands who I've heard of (and think are good)

Anyway this inevitably leads to some clashes, so if I put some vs battles, could you guys state who you think I should see? Or rather, who would you see? I'm close to clueless.

U2 vs Primal Scream (playing Screamadelica) vs Ceelo vs DJ Shadow vs Crystal Castles

The Walkmen vs The Horrors
Elbow vs White Lies vs Janelle Monae vs Battles vs James Blake
Coldplay vs The Chemical Brothers vs Big Boi vs lasvegas vs Wild Beasts
Paul Simon vs TVOTR
Pendulum vs Kaiser Chiefs vs Robyn vs Lykke Li vs Hercules And Love Affair
Beyonce vs QOTSA vs Kool & The Gang vs The Streets


Thanks guys!

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Those are some awesome problems to have.

The ones I feel strongly about:

Elbow vs White Lies vs Janelle Monae vs Battles vs James Blake

I'm personally most interested in Janelle. James Blake is a bit too downbeat for a festival atmosphere.

Coldplay vs The Chemical Brothers vs Big Boi vs lasvegas vs Wild Beasts

Rock beats rap for concerts anytime. I'd take Coldplay over Big Boi.

Paul Simon vs TVOTR

Tough one. I think I'd go Simon because he won't be around much longer and he'll play S&G stuff too (most likely).

Pendulum vs Kaiser Chiefs vs Robyn vs Lykke Li vs Hercules And Love Affair

Kaiser Chiefs would probably put on the best show, but Robyn has the best music. Pendulum and Hercules and Love Affair would be crazy if you prefer to dance (while high) at concerts though.

Beyonce vs QOTSA vs Kool & The Gang vs The Streets

I might personally take the Streets, but QOTSA are most likely better live.

Most importantly: do your homework. Look up recent setlists and reviews. It makes a difference if Paul Simon is going to play all his new stuff or trot out a greatest hits collection. That could sway your decision.

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Wow, some difficult decisions to make. My thoughts...

U2 vs Primal Scream (playing Screamadelica) vs Ceelo vs DJ Shadow vs Crystal Castles
I'm tempted to say Crystal Castles because they will likely be performing on a smaller stage and a more intimate setting suits their intoxicating synth-noise sound. But festivals like Glastonbury are best for stadium rock and few do that better than U2. So even though you will be knee-deep in mud and the guy to your left will spill his beer on you while the guy to your right relieves himself into a bottle because the nearest toilets are miles away, it will be worth it.

The Walkmen vs The Horrors
I think the Walkmen are more exciting at the moment.

Elbow vs White Lies vs Janelle Monae vs Battles vs James Blake
This time round I would forsake the more stadium-friendly sound of Elbow for Janelle Monae. From the live footage I've seen of her on YouTube, she has a stage presense and live voice like few others.

Coldplay vs The Chemical Brothers vs Big Boi vs lasvegas vs Wild Beasts
10 years ago I would have said Coldplay or The Chemical Brothers, and although Big Boi shouldn't disappoint I'd go for Wild Beasts. That way you could brag to the rest of us that you've seen them live when they top numerous year-end lists.

Paul Simon vs TVOTR
I saw TVOTR live in London and although I'm a big fan they... well... sounded better on the radio. Paul Simon is a seasoned performer and it will probably show.

Pendulum vs Kaiser Chiefs vs Robyn vs Lykke Li vs Hercules And Love Affair
No clue. Go for your favourite artist.

Beyonce vs QOTSA vs Kool & The Gang vs The Streets
The production of Beyonce's set will be spectacular but QOTSA will probably crank up the volume and wreak havoc in the audience, which will be... er... more memorable and a better story to tell?

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Hmm let me make some more comments about the bands. I ought to make the decision soon so I can listen to the albums of the bands I choose before late June, so I can singalong ^_^

U2: They'll inevitably be a "stadium band". They do have that feel, and the songs do certainly seem huge. However I'm still not rather clued up on them - are they actually "great"? I haven't really heard the Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, and I seem to get the feeling that AMers (who I trust more than critics ) feel that they're perhaps a bit overrated?
Primal Scream: The chance to see Screamadelica in its entirety is certainly hugely appealing (imagine seeing Come Together live!), especially since I've heard that album and like it quite a bit (though not love). Anyone seen them live?
Cee-Lo: OK, I probably won't see him, though singing Fuck You out loud would certainly feel great.
DJ Shadow: I have very little idea what his music's actually like. I mean, I've heard Entroducing, but I've never been able to get through the whole thing enjoying it in one sitting. Nonetheless it's a critical favourite, and I'm sure that if I take the time to listen to it properly I'll enjoy it. Whether seeing a DJ live is a good thing at a festival is another thing entirely.
Crystal Castles: I had the chance to see them at another festival but I instead chose the Horrors, hehe. Apparently they wrecked shit, and Alice Glass like punched someone in the audience and it sounded like they would be LOUD. Don't really know them musically, though, though I've heard good things.


The Walkmen: They're a band I know nothing about, except they have quite an indie following and apparently they're quite good. I really need to hear an album from them.
The Horrors: I have seen them live already, and they were really good. I was annoyed I had to leave before I heard "Sea Within A Sea" though . Having seen them already, does that make it worth going again, cos I'll know I'll have a good time, or pointless, cos I've heard the songs live before?

Elbow: They're a band I moderately dislike. They fit the kinda Coldplay mould, and while I have no doubt that they'll be good live, I don't really like most of their songs (especially the new ones, Asleep in the Back and Leaders of the Free World aren't bad, tbh)
White Lies: Ok, I won't actually go and see them. It's a shame though that a band that I've heard quite good things about will be so close, but I won't be able to hear them.
Janelle Monae: I saw her live once, supporting Vampire Weekend (should've been the other way round). She was enticingly good, and it was such a shame that she only had about half an hour. Coupled with the fact that I really like her album, as well as the fact that you two agree that I should see her, Janelle is a lock.
Battles and James Blake: Again, two that I do like moderately. Hearing Atlas and Tonto live would be glorious and hearing James Blake's album would be pretty awesome as well, but I'd much prefer Janelle.

The threeway between Wild Beasts, Coldplay and Big Boi is just downright awful. While Coldplay would doubtless have the stage presence and production to really make a stadium-esque ending to the night, I don't love their music. While I've seen Wild Beasts before, I really loved it, and of course they'll play new songs from Smother, which sounds like a huge critical success. And then there's Big Boi. Sir Luscious is such a beast of an album. It seems also that he plays Outkast era songs like Ms. Jackson and B.O.B. live as well though which would be HUGE (though perhaps not without Andre). And on the other hand, there does seem to be this feel that rap doesn't work on a festival stage.

Paul Simon vs TVOTR is I guess one about critical reputation vs a band whose songs I know and love. Furthermore I've also seen TVOTR live before (they played a couple of Dear Science songs, though I didn't know them very well). While I'm sure that I will love Graceland, I'm also sure that he'll play a lot of "So Beautiful" songs, which I don't think are so good. Is he a spent live force? Or would just being able to say "I saw Paul Simon" be worth it, when I inevitable fall for him later?

Pendulum vs Kaiser Chiefs vs Robyn vs Lykke Li vs Hercules And Love Affair will probably go down to Robyn vs Hercules and Love Affair. I love Body Talk, though I agree that dancing to Hercules and Love Affair sounds awesome. Pendulum "sound" like they'll be good live, but I've hardly heard a song from them, and I don't think they're actually that good. Kaiser Chiefs are just a no really (I agree that their music isn't as good as Robyn), and Lykke Li is an outsider, since I don't know her very well. Anyone seen her live?

I'm surprised none of you have mentioned Beyonce- she seems like a HUGE stage performer and hearing Crazy in Love live would be so awwwwwesome. Her music apart from the obvious hits isn't that good though, I hear. QOTSA I'm sure will wreck shit up and seeing them live would be awesome, I'm just not sure I like them as much as (I think I would like) Beyonce. Kool & The Gang for the history, I know nothing about them and most certainly won't see them, and The Streets do make good music, and can you imagine Mike Skinner live?

If you've seen any of these bands live and would like to testament to their glory or their utter shiteness, please do. Or if there's a band you just feel passionately about. Or just give your opinions on who you think would be better. Important decisions to be made here (far more important than my upcoming exams and what university I want to apply to, at least ).

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Zorg

Beyonce- she seems like a HUGE stage performer and hearing Crazy in Love live would be so awwwwwesome.


I'm posting this video for two reasons: 1) because it might help you to make up your mind, and 2) because no one other than me has put this song in their top 20 in the 2003 poll yet.

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

U2 vs Primal Scream (playing Screamadelica) vs Ceelo vs DJ Shadow vs Crystal Castles

Crystal Castles is not worth it live, they start great but Alice quickly do too much and it gets quickly repetitive. I'm a big DJ Shadow fan and I think electronic music is great at festival so I would go with him probably, though I guess U2 live is a must see.

The Walkmen vs The Horrors
I've seen part of sets of both in festival, and The Walkmen have much more charisma on stage in my opinion.

Elbow vs White Lies vs Janelle Monae vs Battles vs James Blake
White Lies is OK live, but from what I heard Janelle Monae is mind-blowing, no hesitation here for me

Coldplay vs The Chemical Brothers vs Big Boi vs lasvegas vs Wild Beasts
I'd love to see Big Boi live, Wild Beasts too... I would pick The Chemical Brothers most likely, but if there is a way to see part of the sets of the others (I assume they don't all start and finish at the same time ! )

Paul Simon vs TVOTR
TVOTR are fantastic live

Pendulum vs Kaiser Chiefs vs Robyn vs Lykke Li vs Hercules And Love Affair
Never seen any, I would pick Robyn most likely, Hercules without Anthony Fogerty must not be that great

Beyonce vs QOTSA vs Kool & The Gang vs The Streets
Well, QOTSA is my favorite band, I've seen them live six times, but if they only play songs from their first album, which should be the case for every concert this summer, it is not really a great introduction to their live performances.

By the way, are all the scenes really IN the festival ? Billy Bragg and Badly Drawn Boy are in the 10th stage listed !
And you gotta tolerate dubstep to enjoy it but Asian Dub Foundation know how to make a crowd dance like craze, and I guess Flux Pavilion can too.

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Glastonbury and Reading are the reason the folks at Coachella got so greedy and money hungry. They're now using the UK Festival methods of selling tickets You had to pay the minimum $300 to go all three nights and out of the blue they somehow managed to "sell out" the concert within 3 days. Coachella sold out ONE show like 2 days before the actual concert. They've turned Coachella underhanded and scheemy.

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

I'm going to Benicassim, which gets a lot of offload from Glastonbury PLUS the minor additions of The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys. Two I'm buzzing a lot about are still Screamadelia and Pendulum. Just the experience of the house album of all time live will be incredible, and though like you Zorg I don't especially listen to Pendulum of my own accord a massive DnB party and, based on my friends' past experiences, such a good live band seems too good to miss.

My picks for the battles:

Primal Scream (U2 and Ceelo in concert aren't really for me, so maybe I'm being biased, but like I said before - Screamadelica!!!)
The Horrors
Elbow and James Blake, I'd probably flit between them for the anthems of Elbow and James Blake seems pretty exciting
Coldplay/The Chemical Brothers, depends if you've seen Coldplay live before really
TVOTR, got to be an emotional show at the moment, though I wouldn't say no to Paul Simon either!
Pendulum
Any of Beyonce, QOTSA or The Streets, personally I'd go for QOTSA every time but then I'm not really into the mega diva show type performances

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

In general, I'd say bands who are more technically skilled and experienced fare the best live, and bands who are new or use tape loops in concert fare the worst.

U2 vs Primal Scream (playing Screamadelica) vs Ceelo vs DJ Shadow vs Crystal Castles

I like Primal Scream better than U2 but I'm skeptical about their live performance. U2 I do think is overrated, but they've got a really deep catalog and a whole lot of concert experience. I might actually go with U2.

Although I'd rather listen to Screamadelica on CD than any U2 album.

The Walkmen vs The Horrors

The Horrors.

Elbow vs White Lies vs Janelle Monae vs Battles vs James Blake

Janelle Monae. All are pretty 'green' bands, but other than Elbow she relies the least on studio effects.

Coldplay vs The Chemical Brothers vs Big Boi vs lasvegas vs Wild Beasts

I've never seen Chemical Brothers live, so I guess it depends what they do. If they try to recreate the songs on the album, pass. If they do some hardcore DJing, go for it. Otherwise, depends how much you like Coldplay. Either them or Wild Beasts.

Paul Simon vs TV On The Radio

TVOTR

I've seen them live twice and they rock, although Paul Simon has such a deep catalog he's got to be awesome. (He's not so focused on technical playing.)

Pendulum vs Kaiser Chiefs vs Robyn vs Lykke Li vs Hercules And Love Affair

Robyn. I like Herc but I can't imagine them faring very well live. Of the other three I like Robyn the most.

Beyonce vs QOTSA vs Kool & The Gang vs The Streets

ehhhh...pass? Beyonce's probably got one of those super-choreographed performances, I've seen the Streets live at Bonnaroo and they're weak. I guess if you like QOTSA or Kool, go for them.

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Zorg, I too am going Glastonbury and am facing similar clashes. Let me help you out:

U2 vs Primal Scream (playing Screamadelica) vs Ceelo vs DJ Shadow vs Crystal Castles

U2 at Glastonbury is a true one-off. I'm not the biggest U2 fan but I'll be at this just, because. Crystal Castles are very patchy live, and I find their crowd to be young and screechy. The other three are good options though.

The Walkmen vs The Horrors

The Horrors will be both playing tracks off an amazing second release, and premiering a lot from their upcoming third (Skying, 12th July) - if that's as good as Primary Colours it could be a real 'I was there' moment!

Elbow vs White Lies vs Janelle Monae vs Battles vs James Blake

Battles are only playing new material. Literally nothing off Mirrored. James Blake could end up fairly dull. Janelle kills it live, she's fabulous.

Coldplay vs The Chemical Brothers vs Big Boi vs Glasvegas vs Wild Beasts

I was planning on Wild Beasts, and may still see them. But I see Big Boi at ATP on Friday and, oh my god, it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Hands down the best rap one too. His is so charismatic, has fun, plays all the hits and generally was just awesome. See him.

Paul Simon vs TVOTR

Paul Simon's gonna wrap up touring soon. Should be a no-brainer.

Pendulum vs Kaiser Chiefs vs Robyn vs Lykke Li vs Hercules And Love Affair

Kaisers at Glastonbury always will be a joyous, riotous occasion. Robyn is meant to be top-notch in the flesh though so it's a tough one. Hercules & Love Affair I believe are playing twice on the weekend, so if you're torn, you could see them elsewhere? (an after-hoursy type of thing, I believe)

Beyonce vs QOTSA vs Kool & The Gang vs The Streets

This is by far the hardest. Beyonce will have a raft of new material to promote, plus she doesn't do Destinys Child material live which is a big shame. I'll personally be at QOTSA - they are guaranteed to be fantastic, and one of the only true ballsy rock acts on the bill. If you're in a party mood, however, Kool & the Gang can't be beat.

Hope you enjoy the festival all the same!

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Really? Haha we should meet up then, I'd love to meet another AMF member. And plus we're sure to go to the same gigs ^_^

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Sure thing, I'll get in touch closer to the time

Re: Glastonbury Clashes

Ok, so as you probably know, Glastonbury finished two days ago and I thought I'd give some feedback on which bands I saw and what I thought of them:

U2 vs Primal Scream (playing Screamadelica) vs Ceelo vs DJ Shadow vs Crystal Castles

I chose...Primal Scream, and I don't regret it a bit. Screaming about with four friends, surrounded by 40000 people, listening to Movin' On Up was a wonderful experience. Even the weak songs on Screamadelica (Don't fight it, feel it, for example) sounded incredible, and Bobby Gillespie oddly seemed to epitomise rockstar frontman. It was mindblowing.

The Walkmen vs The Horrors:

It turns out they didn't clash, but I still didn't see The Walkmen. I did see the Horrors though, and having the chance to see two of my favourite songs from 2009 (Sea Within A Sea and Mirror's Image) was very exciting. And lucky for me, guess what two songs they started with?? It was Karma. But overall I thought they weren't very good, I have to say. There was just something missing.


Elbow vs White Lies vs Janelle Monae vs Battles vs James Blake

I chose...Janelle Monae. And WOW. The girl had to compete with other pop divas like Robyn and Beyonce and she comes out on top. She even had the cheek to play I Want You Back. 5/5, 100%, A*, whatever, she got it.

Paul Simon vs TVOTR

Turns out they didn't clash completely either, so I got to see most of both sets. Paul Simon was I thought rather weak. The weather was horrendously hot - and it was really hard to concentrate on his slow brand of music when just standing still made you sweat like a hyena. TVOTR were brill though. The crowd were still not really up for it due to the weather, but I certainly was. I've got more positive thoughts about the new album now (saying "my repetition is this" like 30 times is badass) and they ended with Ghost Busters, which was creepy but hilarious!

Pendulum vs Kaiser Chiefs vs Robyn vs Lykke Li vs Hercules And Love Affair

I'm thinking that Pendulum drew the biggest crowd of the whole festival, so it took us about half an hour to walk to Robyn. So we got there and it...was near empty. Pure injustice. Anyway due to some audio malfunction that occurred sometime in the afternoon, Robyn came on about ten minutes late, eating further away into her mere 50 minutes of time. She came on during the oddest but coolest androidy/femboty intro ever wearing the oddest outfit (looked a bit like a Lakers jersey), and started with Fembots - great! I can rap to this! It was only later that I realised that there was even more malfunction - her earpiece was somehow failing. So while some tech guy was basically manhandling her for like 20 minutes trying to sort out her earpiece, how does Robyn respond? SKANKING. She danced till her poor feet fell off. She basically couldn't sing properly, because she couldn't hear her band, so she got pissed off at her roadies meaning after almost every song, she walked off while this tech guy tried to fix her earpiece. In the middle of one song, she just walked off (seemingly to leave) and then BOOM she attacked her roadie! She then eventually came back on, and just threw her microphone stand, and continued skanking. She was WONDERFUL, and the crowd were fully behind her. I think that if the same thing happened to Beyonce, or even Janelle Monae, they would've collapsed, but Robyn took it on the chin, and continued doing this wierd dance routine which incorporated punching, jumping in the hugest shoes I've ever seen and flailing of the arms.

Beyonce vs QOTSA vs Kool & The Gang vs The Streets

I ran from Robyn (leaving early) to get to Beyonce. Pendulum had just finished, but nonetheless there was absolutely nowhere to go. We eventually just went as far back as we could go, figuring that we'd be able to see the screens on either side better. So Beyonce comes on about 15 minutes late (with some boos) and starts with Crazy in Love. Oh my god it was great. And in the middle of it, fireworks! And more fireworks and more fireworks! I eventually came to the conclusion (after the second song, Single Ladies) that Beyonce really didn't have any ideas at all. They took her biggest songs, pimped it up a little bit so that they wouldn't sound boring and then chucked fireworks on top. After Janelle and Robyn it was a huge disappointment. We decided to run to Queens of the Stone Age, hoping to catch just over half their set, and the contrast was incredible. Beyonce started her set by saying somethiing along the lines of "You are witnessing my dream - I always wanted to be a rockstar", and listening to QOTSA made her claim appear ridiculous. Being a rockstar is about attitude, spontenaity, musicality, things I've realised Beyonce doesn't have. Queens of the Stone Age have it in the bagfuls. Josh Homme was such a charismatic front man (at one point saying that they would play so loud it would "shake Beyonce's bones" to huge cheers, before blasting out No One Knows). They were just one of the best bands I have ever seen, and I didn't know any of their songs! To end a rock festival, there was absolutely no one better. It's changed my opinion on what music's about forever.

All in all it was a great festival, despite the coverage of it being godawful (The Guardian and the BBC even went so far as to say that Beyonce's performance was "game-changing", and Robyn's set wasn't mentioned AT ALL), even managing to see Radiohead (at the expense of Fleet Foxes) and some of Pulp (though hunger and heatstroke meant I really couldn't stay for fear of collapse!). Anyway I have now made a pact with myself that with any festival I go to, I will almost never go to the main acts on the main stages, but check out the smaller acts who don't get the recognition they deserve (like Tame Impala, who played twice, and sounded like a heavier, more psychedelic version of Television and STILL weren't mentioned on the BBC).