Glastonbury

[Bonefishblues]

The guardian article contains allegations of water shortages, which are denied by the organisers, I read.

[661-Pete]

The guardian article contains allegations of water shortages, which are denied by the organisers, I read.

Read the article more closely.

"The festival’s organisers vehemently denied access to water was limited and said the 21 taps were working at all times."

But according to one witness:

“The festival setup [for water] worked nicely up until about 4pm and the pressure at the water stations dropped out, so you had to sit there and keep pressing the tap for five minutes to fill up a bottle, and the queues were huge and lots of people were put off by that....I had no option but to stand in the sun and wait 10 minutes to fill up a water bottle”

So maybe both statements were true. Still leaves a lot for the organisers to answer for...

[Bonefishblues]

Indeed, there are sufficient questions to merit a proper enquiry, including the issue of limiting water that could be brought in by festival goers. Once we have some facts then matters can take an appropriate course, both in terms of culpability, if any, and wider policy issues for festivals more generally

[pwa]

and these last couple of paragraphs are reminiscent of the musings of a DM commenter, for instance about cyclists.

All right, say that if you must - but not really a fair analogy. I see nothing in the attendance of a music festival, which tells me anything about being good for one's health, good for one's pocket, good to ease traffic congestion, good for the environment, etc. etc.

All that that sort of activity seems to be 'good for', as I see it, is the pursuance of hedonism.

So what can one say about the 'hedonistic' aspects of cycling? Especially when battling one's way against a headwind with a piercing sleety rain getting into one's clothes?

My own kids attend the occasional festival. Not my sort of thing, but they like it. They are not the sort to pop pills (especially my daughter, who is pretty vocal about the stupidity of haphazard self-medicating for pleasure) so I don't worry too much about that. I've known some well grounded people who have done Glastonbury and enjoyed it, so I'm not going to condemn it just because it doesn't appeal to me. Each to his own.

[Cyril Haearn]

I have not been to the Hay Festival, not sure I would like it
Does a different calibre of person go to Hay?

There are interesting people promoting themselves, I mean saying interesting things at Hay

Fortunately I can read about them at home in the Grauniad

[Cunobelin]

A lot of those 'Age Concern' performers like Barry Gibb and Kris Kristofferson just come up with the old stuff, they are often slightly sad too, musical shadows of their former selves. I observe that many people stay locked into the music of their youth and eschew anything new and fresh. People generally seem to like sticking with the original interpretation.
With Classical music it's all written down in the dots and there isn't huge scope for variance, just subtle changes but I am no expert. I loved watching Nigel Kennedy improvise in the middle of a well known piece (Bach's violin Concerto in A minor I think ) https://youtu.be/C2T-stg5BMU he's a real musician! People walked out, more fool them!
The best artists and bands constantly write new stuff and evolve. If they don't they slip off the radar. My daughter's outfit's sets comprise 2/3 old, 1/3 new which keeps things fresh and long standing fans happy. I think that's about right. It also helps to sell the latest album.
I always look forward to what the Proms season brings every summer. We have a great sound system and its often transmitted in surround sound which makes you feel you are right there.

Al

I saw the stunning 40th Anniversary "Journey to the Centre of the Earth at the Royal Albert Hall, and these guys can really still perform


The point was that it was a new and extended version, unrestricted by the constraints of two sides of an LP