Five finds at Glastonbury

Five finds at Glastonbury

29 June, 2011
by: Mewcy

Just in case you missed them...

There really is so much to be found at Glastonbury festival. You may discover you love Burmese stew whilst realising you look great in a hamster onesie before acquiring an abandoned airbed then 'finding yourself' upon visiting the Hare Krishna tent.

When there's all that going on it's sometimes a bit hard to really keep up with all of the fantastic music flying into your ears from every direction - so you will be absolutely delighted to know that trusty old Spoonfed were there for you. If you didn't make it to Glasto '11 or confusedly woke up too late a muddy wheelbarrow at the Stone Circle, here are my five top finds from this year's festival. 

DeVotchKa 

DeVotchKa were possibly the band whose set I was most glad to have stumbled upon during one of those happy wandering afternoons to nowhere in particular. I approached The Avalon Stage purely to check out where The Wombles would be rocking out later that weekend and found myself drawn in to join the rather dense crowd. 

They were behaving like they'd all enjoyed intravenous hits of Haribo as the energy pulsating from the broad array of instrumentalists on stage had us all moving like we were part of DeVotchKa's invisibly orchestrated puppet show. You may have checked these lot out after hearing their exceptionally beautiful soundtrack for 'Little Miss Sunshine', but if you're unfamiliar you should definitely give their folksome Arcade Fire meets The National in Beirut sound a little go. 

Benjamin Francis Leftwich 

It may have been officially called the 'Acoustic Stage' but it felt more like Benjamin Francis Leftwich played Glastonbury's 'Arse End of Nowhere Tent' with how long it took me to find the blasted place on Saturday. To be fair, it probably was my own fault because by that point I had found that the Cubana Tent did splendid mojitos and I didn't know my left and my right without putting my hands out in front of me and seeing which thumb and index finger makes an 'L' shape.

Thankfully, it was well worth the effort. Taking a sidestep from the slightly wet, drippy image projected by some other singer-songwriters, old BFL is coming up through the ranks to stand quite happily alongside your Ed Sheeran and James Vincent McMorrow characters of suave vulnerability. His voice sounds like a picnic in a lovely meadow under the dappled shade of a beautiful old tree with an anti-wasp force field protecting you and your jam sandwiches. 

The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble 

Acoustic techno? It was always going to be on the West Holts stage wasn't it. A classical orchestra taking to the stage and making music you could simultaneously imagine in the Royal Albert Hall and a neon-lit nightclub, The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble could be one of the best finds of the weekend for their originality and experimentation alone. Electronica has been abandoned in favour of violins, harp, piano, trombone, tuba to recreate the sounds of synth and energy of a good old fashioned rave. The Germans' set drew a very healthy crowd as people passing through the field had to stop and work out exactly what it was they were listening to. Those already suffering from the weekend's debauchery may very well have thought it was an intricate industrial machine from the future coming to destroy us all through dance. 

My Tiger My Timing 

If it's a tip for your sunshine-filled playlist you're after, My Tiger My Timing will be the band you need to get Spotifying or Myspacing or whatever it is you kids do these days. Their latest single is called 'Endless Summer'- so that should give you a good idea of the vibe running through their indie pop like a puff of glitter in a hazy breeze. They enticed an impressive amount of dishevelled heads to their slot in the John Peel tent on the stiflingly hot Sunday morning. No doubt the feel good factor they dish out like the Childcatcher's sweeties was as good a hangover cure as a Bloody Mary with raw egg and paracetamol sprinkled on top. 

Beyoncé 

'Ere, I've discovered this right good lady singer- she's a bit of a diva and does cracking things with her booty. I think she's called Bouncy or something?' It's not that kind of a find. This is more about the fact that anyone at the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night found that Mr Eavis made a bloody good shout by taking this festival-closing gamble. 

As I was experiencing the agitating shoves of the crowd influx I have to admit I was stood there thinking about Josh Homme tuning his guitar and Kool getting his gang ready to celebrate good times; but as soon as the knee-weakening silhouette of Mrs Jay-Z rose up from beneath the stage to the opening bars of 'Crazy In Love', I was dumbstruck. Not only was the show itself a firework smattered display of incredibleness, I can vouch for the fact that the new material is actually really good. I'll be honest, I think I'm infatuated.

Click here to see Lowri's full review of Glastonbury 2011.
Click here to return to the festivals homepage.

Image courtesy of wristsnaps. 

Mewcy