busybeeburns Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Rapper Jay-Z triumphs in headline spot, but Eavis says risk too great to repeat Glastonbury festival will "revisit its musical roots" next year with guitar-based bands returning to the headline slots. The move comes after the controversial decision to select the US rapper Jay-Z as the main headline act at this year's event. Organisers are now considering Coldplay and Radiohead for next summer, bands that have delivered renowned festival performances. The decision to abandon the experiment with more diverse headliners is likely to confound the music press, widely believed to have been won over by the rapper's show at the event. The hip-hop artist was warmly received by fans and sceptics alike yesterday. But Michael Eavis, who runs the festival on his farm in Somerset, has indicated an unwillingness to take a similar risk again. He said Coldplay's lead singer, Chris Martin, sent him a congratulatory text message during Jay-Z's show on Saturday while watching the performance live from New York. Jay-Z's arrival at Worthy Farm drew an enormous crowd to the Pyramid stage - 100,000, according to Eavis. The rapper capitalised on the hype, mocking his most public critic, the singer Noel Gallagher, by opening the set with a rendition of the Oasis star's Wonderwall. At a press conference yesterday, a tired-looking Eavis, 72, expressed delight that the crowd knew Jay-Z's "New York street poetry" and said the festival was "an absolute triumph". He added: "We've done it now, we pulled it off." Speaking about Amy Winehouse, whose gutsy performance, despite diagnosis with the lung condition emphysema, received mixed reviews, Eavis explained that the soul singer's seeming punch to a fan had been made at a man who had groped her. "It's a Prescott situation isn't it? The general view is [the fan] deserved it." But despite his optimism he has told fellow organisers he is unwilling to take such a large financial risk with future Glastonbury events. Tickets sold out for the three-day event on the last day but less than two months ago, with tens of thousands of tickets unsold, Eavis was contemplating £5m losses. To recoup costs, this year's charitable donations may need to be curtailed, from £2m to £1m. Eavis, who says he pays artists a fraction of what rival festivals offer and relies on goodwill, has told friends that the fiasco over ticket sales this year caused him more stress than the pitched battles between travellers and police in the 1980s, and the mass gatecrashing of the 1990s. His daughter Emily, whose decision it was to entice a more diverse crowd, is keen to ensure Glastonbury retains its reputation as a springboard for the next big bands. Her Park area, celebrated by music critics, was a success, running a raft of new talent. Her father said this week that he expected to hand over the festival to her in 2016, when he reaches 80. Today, most of the 150,000 visitors to Worthy Farm will have left for home. There were few complaints as the tent packing began. This was, after all, the year that the sunshine returned. http://music.guardian.co.uk/festivals/glastonbury2008/story/0,,2288111,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 YAY Coldplay!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Fantastic news!! And from what I saw of Jay-Z's set, it was a pile of sh1t!;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I heard he did really well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I heard he did really well Those are just reviews and mutual backslapping by people in the music industry. It's what you hear with your own ears that counts.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 is it on youtube? cuz I wanna check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 is it on youtube? cuz I wanna check it out. Do yourself a favour and leave it. If you want to check out a fabulous Glasto performance, go for Neil Diamond.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 And another thing. If Jay-Z was so good, how come the BBC showed very little of his set in their highlights shows?? Doesn't that tell you something? They showed far more of the likes of Neil Diamond.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talkingonsquareone89 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 ^Sorry mate, but I disagree with you still. It isn't fair to be telling 2732 that Jay-Z's performance was awful and dismiss the idea to go watch it, IF HE/SHE HASN'T HEARD (or seen) IT YET. As you said yourself: " It's what you hear with your own ears that counts." Anyway, what's done is done. I think it's rather disappointing that Eavis is backing out on diversifying Glastonbury. Fair enough that the festival's profits go to charity, but.....meh, I hope Glastonbury still keep the music diversity up in other ways. is it on youtube? cuz I wanna check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-xFoiQGFRA&feature=PlayList&p=00B50EA8EBA2DC72&index=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Thanks for the vid, Im gonna watch it now. BTW I love Neil Diamond:heart: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talkingonsquareone89 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 LMAO me too. :lol: My goal in life is to go to a Red Sox game and sing "Sweet Caroline" off the top of my lungs alongside the crowd (which has been a tradition since....when some genius announcer decided to play the song). :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 *Silently chants "Go Yankees* So far his performance is absolutely lights-out at Glasto. Ive never seen the crowd that into it, not w/CP in 02 or 05, or even w/Radiohead in 03. They are all pumped up and Jay-Z is owning th stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Thanks for the vid, Im gonna watch it now. BTW I love Neil Diamond:heart: Neil Diamond was everything Jay-Z wasn't. He was fabulous. What a professional!!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 *Silently chants "Go Yankees* So far his performance is absolutely lights-out at Glasto. Ive never seen the crowd that into it, not w/CP in 02 or 05, or even w/Radiohead in 03. They are all pumped up and Jay-Z is owning th stage. You must be watching a different show, then. There was nothing for the crowd to sing along to, which was awful.:angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 The whole crowd is so pumped. Theyre screaming the lyrics at the very beginning. I still gotta watch Neil Diamond's performance, but Im watchin Jay-Z's first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 The whole crowd is so pumped. Theyre screaming the lyrics at the very beginning. I still gotta watch Neil Diamond's performance, but Im watchin Jay-Z's first. To "Wonderwall", yes - but that isn't Jay-Z's song!!;) And Jay-Z slaughtered it.:angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Well thats your opinion, but the crowd seemed to love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 he owned that stage. Encore was awesome and the crowd went nuts. That was a beautiful moment in musical diversity history and Im so glad he headlined! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talkingonsquareone89 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 *Silently chants "Go Yankees* So far his performance is absolutely lights-out at Glasto. Ive never seen the crowd that into it, not w/CP in 02 or 05, or even w/Radiohead in 03. They are all pumped up and Jay-Z is owning th stage. Oh so that's how you roll in baseball :dozey: LoL to be honest, I'm not THAT much of a Red Sox fan; my heart's with another team but even then I have to agree with what one of the comedians' commentary about the Red Sox (from that one episode of "I Love The New Millenium")...that the Red Sox pulled off the greatest ultimate-wedgie in baseball history when they won the World Series that year. Now that was good (if only my team would do it someday!) :laugh3:. The only thing about Jay-Z's performance was that around the middle part of the whole gig, the crowd seemed a bit tired. I guess not only that, but maybe they didn't know those other 'classics'. But still, HOV maintains a lot of energy and most of all, how everyone came together all for the spirit of the festival, music, fun, life, etc. That was beautiful. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseudonym Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I just watched Neil Diamond's too and I gotta say Jay-Z's was just as good. And I hate rap.:dozey: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talkingonsquareone89 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Sometimes all that rapping gets out of hand. From gunz 'n hoez, to candyshops and thongs. :lol: And ugh....nothing gets crazy like Twista and Sean Paul. What are they saying again? :dizzy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 he owned that stage. Encore was awesome and the crowd went nuts. That was a beautiful moment in musical diversity history and Im so glad he headlined! I'm not, and I hope things return to normal next year.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 The only thing about Jay-Z's performance was that around the middle part of the whole gig, the crowd seemed a bit tired. :) They weren't tired - they were bored out of their pants.;) If Coldplay had been on stage nobody would have felt tired. That's the difference.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimixxx Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Oh come on Mark if you didn't like it so be it. But don't try and change the minds of those that did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I just watched Neil Diamond's too and I gotta say Jay-Z's was just as good. And I hate rap.:dozey: No way. Neil's performance was uplifting, and everyone was able to sing along to all his songs. Big difference.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now