For the past few days, Uncut’s Tom Pinnock took a relatively idiosyncratic path around Glastonbury Festival 2013. Here are the reviews he filed over the weekend, featuring Elvis Costello, Portishead, Goat, Robyn Hitchcock, Matthew E White, Melody’s Echo Chamber and, of course, The Rolling Stones…
Glastonbury's final day starts with blazing sun, but cloud thankfully emerges along with a cooling breeze - good conditions in which to see Matthew E White on the West Holts stage.
What with the sun blazing dangerously down on Worthy Farm, everyone seems to be in a blissful mood at Glastonbury this afternoon. Extraneous, and in some cases, all clothing layers have been shed, and the Southwest's supply of UV facepaints has been decimated.
Stunning weather today (Saturday) at Glastonbury - though due to the lack of shade there are now thousands of people walking round with horrific sunburn, dazed from a combination of heat and cheap cider.
Compared to the number of people packed in to see The Lumineers and Foals on the Other Stage earlier today, headliners Portishead had a much smaller crowd - after all, they're up against Arctic Monkeys on the Pyramid Stage, and Geoff Barrow and co are hardly feelgood fodder for festivals.
At 2011's Glastonbury, Robyn Hitchcock performed all of Captain Beefheart's Clear Spot record - this year the former Soft Boy is toeing the line a little more, and appearing with his American supergroup of a backing band, The Venus 3.
So music at Glastonbury begins today, after Thursday's rain-soaked warm-up. Thankfully the sun is out, the mud is mostly gone, and the relieved party atmosphere is perfect for Goat at the West Holts Stage.
Before the doors of the Dome Studio Theatre even open tonight (Saturday, May 18), there's an excited queue stretching most of the way down the street. Not surprising considering one of the most hyped groups of this year, Irish band The Strypes, are first on the bill.
While last night's Club Uncut at Brighton's Great Escape festival hosted bands with a definite Americana bent, Friday (May 17) sees the invasion of US-based (or -inspired) garage-rockers.
