In Review: Glastonbury Festival 2009 - The Boss still rules

Festival organiser Michael Eavis declared Glastonbury 2009 to be the most successful festival he has hosted.

Eavis also claimed Bruce Springsteen's played "probably the best show of his life" in his Saturday night performance on the Pyramid Stage.

Yet, before The Boss could rule Worthy Farm, the festival endured a most surreal moment in not, for once, being the main music story of the week.

The news of the death of Michael Jackson was broken to me straight after East17 had finished playing in the Dance Village.

Immediately I considered it to be a typical, if slightly crude, Glastonbury rumour.

But, by the time I suffered my usual festival faux pas by losing my spectacles to Hattie Hatstar, Jackson's death had been confirmed.

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Despite this, there was still an air of unreality as I stared at the newspaper and took in the opening set on the Pyramid Stage, Bjorn Again.

Thankfully, the up-tempo Abba tribute act were a timely boost as they made their way through all the classics.

The Rakes followed this up with a lively show on the Other Stage before I made a gem of a find in a group called Baskery.

As it happens, Baskery is a trio of good-looking Stockholm lasses.

But minus my glasses, of course, it was actually their music - acoustic, punk rock - which got me into the Acoustic tent.

On Friday night, I saw an excellent set from The Specials on the Pyramid Stage before heading back to the Acoustic tent for The Kinks' Ray Davies.

Davies was brilliant. He had the whole crowd singing along to his many classics.

I was right towards the front and, partly because I'm a soft lad but also because the cider had been flowing, broke down as he sang 'Days' and 'Waterloo Sunset'.

Davies was my Glastonbury highlight - for me, he even beat The Boss.

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Saturday began with the political comedian Mark Thomas on the Speaker's Forum.

A large attentive crowd listened as he recalled entertaining accounts of being stopped and searched, having his DNA taken before later getting it destroyed.

Thomas was followed by a wonderful set from the natural entertainer Rolf Harris on Jazz World.

Harris, who enjoyed the biggest attendance of the festival on his last Glastonbury visit, sung his classics (finishing on 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport' to the tune of 'Land of Hope and Glory') and cracked a few decent jokes.

It was the perfect set up for an amusing interlude on Pyramid from Spinal Tap, which inevitably featured the Stonehenge dwarves.

After a short break, it was off to see the mercurial Peter Doherty on the Other Stage.

Perennially-troubled Doherty played well and looked much better than he did when I saw him last - at Benicassim Festival in 2006. But, disappointingly, his set was one of the shortest of the weekend.

This allowed me to catch The Gaslight Anthem on the John Peel Stage but I still missed out on their highlight - an early appearance by Springsteen who joined the band on stage for 'The 59 Sound'.

The Boss returned the favour when Gaslight lead Brian Fallon played alongside Springsteen for 'No Surrender'.

After the Gaslight Anthem, there was the rather unusual festival sight of Kasabian fans impatiently waiting for Crosby, Stills and Nash to finish their stuff on the Pyramid Stage.

Meanwhile, I caught a bit of Maximo Park having missed them opening up the festival on the Park Stage on Thursday.

But, just as I thought it might be before the festival, Saturday's music was all about The Boss.

Dressed in a dark shirt, blue jeans and welly boots, he arrived at five past 10 and played until 39 minutes past midnight.

The nine minutes beyond the curfew will cost Eavis a fine of £3000, imposed by Mendip District Council.

But Eavis has said he doesn't mind paying this time around, calling the last nine minutes "spectacular".

The Boss quickly struck up an affinity with a huge Glastonbury crowd and the front rows were treated to frequent visits as he dived on top of them, guitar in hand.

It was the show that got better and better and better. Notably, he held back 'Glory Days' and 'Thunder Road' until the encore before finishing on 'Dancing in the Dark'.

So, while Davies was my personal highlight, Springsteen was undoubtedly a Glastonbury 'I was there' moment.

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Unsurprisingly, The Boss was still the talk of the campsite on Sunday morning.

Providing the entertainment on the Pyramid Stage were the Easy Star All Stars who played a dub/reggae version of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP.

The All Stars were followed by Status Quo who were happy to play their chord to stereotype, commenting on their performance in a wonderfully self-depreciating fashion.

I did not see all of the Quo's set, however, as I made my way over to Other Stage to see Art Brut for the second time this year.

Frontman Eddie Argos was as entertaining as ever in front of a modest crowd and further strengthened my belief that Art Brut are much better in an intimate venue.

A stroll over to the Acoustic tent to see some instrumentals from The Penguin Cafe Orchestra was well-timed as they struck up 'Music For A Found Harmonium' as soon I got there.

And I made it back to the Pyramid Stage for an enjoyable performance from Sir Tom Jones during which I moved through the crowd for Madness.

The Nutty Boys were as impressive as ever in the evening sunshine but as their set ended, my thoughts turned towards the festival's end.

Thankfully, there was one final act to savour as Blur made a triumphant return to Glastonbury for the first time since 1998.

They played magnificently, complementing the raucous 'Girls and Boys', 'Country House' and 'Song 2' with stand-out moments of raw emotion on 'Tender' and 'The Universal'.

***

It's hard to disagree with Michael Eavis and his belief this has been the best year yet - even if he tends to say that every year...

Glastonbury has been good to me, very good to me. I even got sunburn when the Friday rain gave way to glorious conditions on Saturday and, for the most, part, Sunday.

Ray Davies and Blur both gave unforgettable performances and Bruce Springsteen's 150 minutes will undoubtedly become the stuff of Glastonbury legend.

While the King of Pop may have sadly fallen to his demise, The Boss still rules.

Glastonbury

Wellies at the ready - it's that time again when thousands of revellers descend on Somerset for Glastonbury Festival.

This year's festival will be my second visit to Worthy Farm after my maiden experience at last year's event.

I became truly captured in the magic of Glastonbury as the sun beamed out over the Pyramid Stage when Crowded House played 'Weather With You' on Saturday after two days of rain.

And I placed my deposit to guarantee a place for 2009 as soon as I could.

The outlook for this year's event is set to be unsettled with warm weather interspersed by summer showers. Not that it's likely to bother anyone.

As usual, the gates to the campsite open on Wednesday but I will be arriving on Thursday due to logistical reasons.

But, hopefully, I will be in time for the first main act, Newcastle-based band Maximo Park playing at the new William Green area.

The opening night of wandering aimlessly around the site is sure to follow with likely stop-offs at the Brothers Bar and the Cider Bus before late night indulgence in Trash City and Shangrai-La.

A visit to the Stone Circle is a must and, this year, I'm hoping my body-clock holds out to allow me to see dawn rise over the campsite from the hill.

In terms of music, the festival remains generally as varied as ever, though without the JayZ-sized risk from 2008 in the headliners.

Instead, Michael Eavis has lined up Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Blur to finish on the Pyramid Stage over the weekend.

In a Friday night clash, Young will compete against The Kinks' Ray Davies who I am more likely to see for the expected sing-a-long.

But Saturday will be all about The Boss and his two-hour set as a headliner with Kasabian as the warm-up.

On Sunday, there is another unseemly clash with Blur on at the same time as The Prodigy.

The return of Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon et al is likely to shade it for me, though, especially having seen Keith Flint's group on previous occasions.

As for the rest of the acts, I am very excited to see ska legends The Specials on Friday with Madness on Sunday thrown in for good measure.

And another personal favourite, Art Brut, will make an appearance on Saturday at the Other Stage

Novelty acts Bjorn Again and Spinal Tap earn their place alongside old-timers Rolf Harris and Sir Tom Jones.

And I expect to make room for the traditional speech from Tony Benn, a real conviction politician who completely shows the current spineless bunch for what they are.

But the wondrous element of Glastonbury is its unpredictability.

These plans are just that - plans. I expect many of them will go to waste, which makes the whole muddy mess even more fun.


Useful links:
*The official Glastonbury Festival website
*Halvin's Clashfinder - an impressively accurate compilation of the set times for every act on every stage
*Efestivals messageboard - Glastonbury rumour and counter-rumour
*Glastonbury Map
*BBC Weather (for Glastonbury)