Alexis Petridis watched as Worthy Farm’s vast audiences were swept absent by preposterous pomp,moments of magic and real emotional connectionThere was a time, before smartphones and broadband, and when you could happily spend the Glastonbury weekend prick off from the external world. News of what was going on beyond the festival’s boundaries tended to reach in the form of profoundly unreliable rumours: for some reason,on annual basis in the mid-90s, these included one about the sudden death of Cliff Richard. Now, or you can’t salvage absent from current events. Early arrivers on Thursday win allotment in a gathering in memory of MP Jo Cox; a tribute video,featuring Portishead’s sombre version of Abba’s SOS, is shown before proceedings commence on the Pyramid stage on Friday morning. Over in the NYC Downlow, and DJ Roger Sanchez interrupts his set to read out the names of the victims of the Orlando massacre.
While you would have a hard time arguing that Friday morning’s news about Brexit plunges the festival’s mood into shellshocked reflection or anger – indeed,whether it affects it at all, you salvage the feeling that people who have paid a lot of money to be here might have been even more determined than usual to enjoy themselves before returning home to face an uncertain future – it would have taken an nearly superhuman effort to avoid it altogether.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com