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August Bank Holiday Weekend IS Greenbelt. Sometimes it feels like the banks are closed in honour of it. For 19 of the last 21 last-weekend-in-Augusts I’ve spent my time in a field (til ‘99) or racecourse (the fest has been in Cheltenham for 11 years) engaged in four simple pleasures:
It’s all kicking off on Twitter today, after a comment I made about not wanting to watch anyone play for 3 hours. Which in turn was inspired by people commenting on how great it was that Springsteen did a 3 hour set in Hyde Park. Great? I’d be reaching for the tranquilizer darts, and start picking off his band before he reached 2 hrs and 15 minutes.
I once made the mistake of seeing Bruce Cockburn on 3 consecutive days. I LOVE Bruce Cockburn. Def. in my top 3 all time fave performers, songwriters, etc. But by the 3rd gig, I lasted about 40 mins before heading outside to chat. He wasn’t any worse, it was just that I didn’t need to see it 3 times. Live music just doesn’t engage me over that amount of time.
For just under 2 hours, it can be the greatest 2 hours of my life. Beyond that, I get fidgety. Shorten that for venues where I’ve been standing for 3 hours before the band comes on. Lengthen it for ones with comfy seats, and add another 40 mins if they include an interval.
So, who are the exceptions? Who have you seen that played too long, who have you seen who could’ve gladly gone on for days?
Ornette Coleman’s Meltdown is well underway in London - the one downside of Lo and I heading of to Geneva this weekend was that we missed seeing The Roots at the Festival Hall, as part of the fest. Shame. (More …)
