Initially, it was strange to see The Rock of Travolta on such a large stage. It was amazing to think that less than a year ago they had played their debut gig to hundreds(?) in the barn at Truck, and now they were opening the stage (a much bigger one in size too) to thousands of people. Today proved that they are as much suited to the large stage as well as the small one, with the band being contagiously energetic, running from instrument to instrument. The fact that none of them said a single word throughout their set was not noticable, as a computer generated voice (in the style of the voice in Fitter Happier) doing all the speaking instead. Particularly amusing was the pisstake of Fitter Happier that was played as the band walked on stage (especially after all the versions the night before at Your Song).
Hester Thrale have been away for a while, and although they had as many great melodies as TROT, there was something lacking in their stage presence, and the effect on everyone was less. However it was good to see that their time off from gigging hasn't gone to waste, as their new songs are of equally high standard as their great existing ones.
Then came our midafternoon break, with Humphrey Littleton and his band providing the jazz backing. The gift they brought to the day was their amazing musical ability, a bassist that was contiually playing throughout a song without a break, an amazing clarinet player...
After this warm up, Sigur Ros came on. Their dreamy sound was a bit lost in the expanses of a park, it would probably work better inside a proper venue. But they were still a wonder to watch, particularly as the lead singer would play his guitar with a bow. It was a great calm moment before the madness ensued.
As a complete contrast Supergrass played all their energetic songs, Mary, Caught By the Fuzz as well as some new songs which sound promising. It was great to see this often forgotten local band coming to play, and the Sun almost came out for them.
Beck's acoustic set was a bit odd, probably because it was so much calmer than Supergrass's songs, but still this rare chance to see him was outstanding.
What can you say about Radiohead that hasn't been said already? Well their sound was so amazing, that it didn't matter that we were stuck behind tall people 90% of the time, or that by the end we were soaking. They played songs spread equally from their last 4 albums, starting off with an amazing version of The National Anthem. Thom seemed more talkative than he usually is at gigs, and even admitted that the band were nervous about this gig. Well it didn't really show, apart from one failed introduction. The surprising ommission was that they didn't play Life in a Glasshouse, considering that Humphrey Littleton was here, and it was also a shame that they didn't play Just. But anything we were disappointed with faded into insignificance when, as their 3rd encore, they played Creep. No one really expected them to play it, even though we were crying out for it, as they had avoided playing the song for so long, but when they did, it didn't matter how wet we were, or anything else. The feeling of singing along, both to the band, and to 42,000 other people was just unbelievable. This is a memory most of us will treasure for the rest of our lives. The band must have been prepared to play it, otherwise they wouldn't have produced such a great version of a song that they hadn't played live for so many years.
By the end no one cared that they were wet and muddy. We've had such a great day, watching brilliant bands, rounded off with one of the best songs ever, that would have been worth the cost of the ticket alone.