Picture from The Telegraph
I had been looking forward to seeing The Who playing at Glastonbury, especially as it was potentially the last time they would be playing together, at least under that name. In my opinion they sound better live now than they did in the 1960s and 1970s which makes me wonder if Keith Moon and John Entwhistle were the be all and end all that they are eulogised as. Sadly, if Worthy Farm really did stage their swansong, then it wasn't worthy. The band had allowed the BBC to broadcast an hour which annoyed me as if you're playing the festival then you should agree to being filmed or broadcast live. This wasn't live (unless it gets dark later in the far south of England) and due to a ridiculous decision the band were on far earlier than they were meant to. Bands need to sound-check and make sure things are perfect, especially if they are on the world's stage. On this occasion The Who, one of the greatest bands this country has ever produced, sounded irritable and forced at times. I know Pete Townsend's anger is one of the main ingredients of a Who gig so they did manage to turn it around after a stilted start, possibly getting it out of his system after saying something about the sound.
Having watched a few seconds of Kanye West from the weekend and I'm surprised I lasted that long. When Jay-Z played a few years ago it got people's backs up but his reply was to put on a brilliant show, there are people who question hip hop at Glastonbury but when it is done properly it is as good as anything else on the bill. Maybe Public Enemy or De La Soul next year, because they have something that Kanye West is lacking - talent. I don't know what Glastonbury's age remit is, or indeed if they ever had one, but it is rather telling that the best acts on the bill were pensioners. In addition to that, The Who not playing to the best of their ability due to dodgy sound is still a million times better than some of the young bands.
The Sunday Alternative Podcast #45 is available from here.
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June housekeeping
The audio book of Bowie Day (a short story inspired by A Christmas Carol) will be released on August 31st. In the meantime the book can be downloaded to your Kindle from here.
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