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That Glastonbury Feeling

caldrail

Entry posted by caldrail

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As I write this I'm watching the Glastonbury Festival on the box. Its amazing that a cow shed in a muddy field can be such an important event. Its been a long long time since I hit the stage at such an event - I certainly never got to play Glastonbury itself - but I remember one of our gigs on the bill of a folk festival in the west country. The stage was a lorry flatbed. No expense spared obviously.

 

It was a cold and dark november evening when we went on. You could almost see the frost forming on the grass. You certainly couldn't see an audience. Oh hang on, there's one... over there...

 

By the time we finished our set I was bare chested and sweating profusely. Stage performance in rock bands can be tiring on an athletic level, and since I was the drummer, I was giving the most physically intensive contribution of the band. Luckily DD, the frontman and band manager, isn't on this blog to claim his performance was the most effort. I doubt there's enough disk space. RH, our guitarist, came last in the exciting performance stakes. He so wanted to be a serious musician.... To be honest, I so wanted a reaction from the crowd. Playing to a muted response is hard work, a test of your resolve and morale. At least we weren't booed.

 

Funny thing is, DD was in the crowd later and had a conversation with him. "Great gig man" The audience told him. Oh? Then why the heck didn't you clap? We were dying up there....

 

"You try clapping wearing gloves with a pint in one hand and a burger in the other". Said the audience, who noticeably hadn't brought a girlfriend with him. We never did spot clues like that...

 

A Pimp Too Far

Pimp My Ride is a tv program where poor people let the specialists do a makeover on their old bangers. Usually the result is a tasteless and garish eyesore even worse than the original flaking paint, but I suppose if thats what shakes your tree... Anyhow, the Michael Eavis, the farmer behind the Glastonbury Festival, gave the team a sixty year old tractor to be pimped and turned into a desirable street machine. At least they tried.

 

"What does 'Pimping' mean?" Asked Mr Eavis with a look of innocent curiosity.

 

Election Result of the Week

Mugabe has won. The rerun of his presidential vote has taken place and Mugabe beat his opponents. You know what I mean. Thing is, since there weren't any competing politicians after Morgan Tsvangarai pulled out, you have to wonder why he only got 85% of the vote.

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caldrail

Oh we did play to crowds sometimes :)

 

As for Amy Winehouse, you can't help wondering how long she's going to be with us. Its sometimes said that the greatest stars are driven by internal demons. Maybe thats not rue across the board, but it certainly happens for some people. Amy Winehouse isn't quite that. She's a girl with some talent for singing whose life is out of control because she's too emotionally immature to handle the success.

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docoflove1974

I agree...it's like she's trying to be just like Billie Holliday. But I'm sorry, she can't have half of the demons that Billie did. And while I like Amy fine, she's not Billie's level of talent, either.

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caldrail

Probably not (I'm not acquainted with Billie Holliday) but then isn't this sort of publicity and hype an essential part of profiteering from the music business? I wonder if the pressure on Amy to perform at her best is part of the reason she wobbles. A lot of time and effort has been expended by her record company to put her in the public eye - and sometimes you have to wonder if her quirks are being quietly encouraged to make her newsworthy, thus a saleable commodity. When I got involved in the music business, I knew there were sharks in the water. What I didn't know was that they'd eaten all the fish.

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docoflove1974

So, she's the female Noel Gallagher? Could very well be. She also could be just this weak individual who crumbles when given the opportunity to alter her experience in life. The 'powers that be' could just be banking on the old adage that 'bad press is still good press.'

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caldrail

I doubt she was in control of herself to begin with. You can just see her becoming a prostitute or an addict if her life hadn't gone into music. I wonder what will happen when she gets older? Can't really see her ever being happy.

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docoflove1974

You're assuming that she'll live that long. Those who get that messed up on that crap, unless they get help that sticks, well, it's not a happy ending. But, if indeed she does, it really depends on how damaged she is from the effects. I've seen it with family and friends, and it really depends on how it is they got clean (forced to or of their own accord) and their support network. But regardless, they're never the same as before they got f'ed up.

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