today

today i should have been woken by a rather stupidly early alarm after holding down discussions as to when Sel would be round to pick me up

it wouldn't have really mattered as the build up of excitement would have kept me awake and the momentum of the day would have kept me going until i finally retired to our tent in a field in Sommerset amidst the familiar smells of camp fires and bbqs



but not today

sadly, this is the first year that we have taken the decision not to go to Glastonbury



it wasn't a decision any of us took lightly, but after failing to actually get hold of tickets at the very first hurdle we were distraught, but slowly came to accept that perhaps 2011 just wasn't gonna be our year

it all seemed perhaps for the best, me and my girlfriend had bought a house and, useful as the deposit scheme is, it would all come at the wrong time, and as the ticket price has increased eash year, we would have struggled slightly with it leaving our now-joint account

and Sel was planning on doing some travelling this year and would be paying out a lot for that

we then took into account that, since they had split up, a couple of friends that we usually camp with would not be going this year, neither would their friend, and another couple that have joined us the past few years didn't manage to get tickets either

last year's Glastonbury, bathed in glorious sunshine for the whole time was a perfect way to leave it, we'd witnessed floods in our times going and we have had one particular wet and miserable weekend that nearly drove us to the edge of sanity (and led me and my girlfriend to give Benicassim a go)

but it felt like those years that we had stuck with the festival had really paid off, as 2010 saw us camped with more friends than we ever have before, we didn't have to suffer a single drop of rain, and the intense sunshine changed the whole dynamic of the usually soggy Sommerset bash

the temperature was up, high spirits were soaring and every single person battled dehydration as we rejoiced, caught up in the giddy throes of a laid back, serotonin enriched festival that England so rarely witnesses

so we bowed out on a high!


i know coverage shall be hard to avoid, and i've cringed everytime there is even so much of a mention of this year's glasto, completelly racked with jealousy and sentimentality for the good ol' days

i've tried to ignore the innevitable stage line-up reveals, and tried telling myself that Beyonce, Coldplay and U2 won't be much of a line-up anyway

but Glastonbury is so much more than just the headliners, and it is so much more than just the music.


my memories of times, good and the bad, at Glasto are innumerable, but i shall have to leave it to all of this years ticket holders to create their own unique take on Glastonbury 2011 as i sit at a desk typing out this blog, considering putting the tent up in our garden, instead of being sat in a car filled to bursting with all our kit, eagerly awaiting the sight of Stone Henge and the requisite stop-off at Countess Services

thrill me

i'd be lying if i said the U2 gig was everything i hoped it would be

when it kicked off it felt like u was caught up inside a giant U2 music video (or a Blackberry advert) but, although the stage was stunning enough it didn't feel like every song was connecting with the crowd

at an enormo-gig like this for an enormo-band like U2 i want to be surrounded by people singing every word but the energy wasn't really there

perhaps they feel the need to give you value for money when they choose to play a two hour set, but i think i'd much prefer it if they spent afew extra quid on dazzling lazers and epilepsy inducing holograms and instead played a slimmed down set that is all killer and no filler

that isn't to say it wasn't a good gig, this is all just personal opinion from someone that knows what he likes, and i'd have liked 80's songs, the 90's gimmicks and The Fly and Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me thrown in for good measure

i woke up this morning and decided to create a new playlist for my generic mp3 player, a fantasy U2 setlist put together with careful consideration

if Bono is so concerned with changing the world, perhaps if i sent him a nice letter he may consider changing his setlist

if god will send his angels

who would have thought you could buy a standing ticket to see U2 a at Wembley Stadium a day before the gig?

what's gone wrong with touts these days??

i couldn't get my hands on these tickets when they went on sale because of the demand!!

i've always thought that the spectacle of seeing U2 live was something i'd love to experience, they have such an impressive back catalogue to draw upon and are renowned for their extravagent touring set-up, but maybe the chance had passed me by this time... until i realised i might be able to take advantage of that villianous corporate sponsorship deal

a friend of the brother of my girlfriend works for blackberry, so i suggested to her a little bit of cheeky begging on our behalf, while all his other friends are asking for blackberrys from him, we'd ask for some U2 tickets

he tried, with no luck, and i thought it was worth a try, it just wasn't meant to be this time

and two days ago my girlfriend rings me up with 'good news and bad news'


the good news...

he'd manage to blag tickets to U2 for saturday

the bad news...

i couldn't go


her brother had claimed one of the tickets and she was gonna go with him


what a kick to the teeth, a bad mood commenced, i felt empty inside and tears were almost shed - who knew i'd feel this way about missing out on seeing a band! - actually it was a double blow, as we were planning to go see Dan Black in Camden on saturday, so not only would i be missing out on Dan Black (again - long story), i'd also be missing out on U2 AND would be sat at home on a saturday night on my own feeling sorry for myself

some things, like seeing Dan Black, watching U2 or relying on a 217 just aren't meant to be...

i knew this wasn't my girlfriends fault (tho i may hold her accountable for the 217s) and i wouldn't deny her the chance to see U2 for free and after much huffing and puffing and moping and bus missing we took a look for tickets online, only to find that standing tickets were still available

the long version of this story also involves trying to find out whether the complimentary tickets were standing or seating, whether the tickets were in hand, issues with both ticketmaster and livenation and a frustrating mission to top up an oyster card

thankfully the short version doesn't, and this is the abridged version that you are reading right now

but both versions have the same ending, i bought my ticket of ticketmaster yesterday morning and have been charged nearly four pounds for the priveledge of collecting it myself from the box office (on top of the £6 booking fee, obviously)

and tonight, i get to see U2!
and won't be going anywhere near a 217