Sunday “must see” list

Time to round out the last day of music at Glastonbury and look for a general sense of who I really want to make my must see bands for the day.

The Pyramid opener is quite interesting…the Yeovil Town Band.  As in a brass band?  Of course there is a family connection to Yeovil as it’s the large town close by to East Coker where my ancestors departed from to head off to the New World.  So, seeing a brass band at a rock frstival seems a quite eclectic thing to do…  (Or, I may sleep in…as nothing really compelling is listed at that time).

In fact, the next round of bands doesn’t seem to be anyone I have a burning desire to rush and see.  Paloma Faith, the Bees, Frightened Rabbit…humm so far nothing on the must see list yet.

Next round of bands Norah Jones…maybe?  The Hold Steady….maybe?  Fisherman’s Friend….(sea chanty’s?)…maybe?  Heard some raves about Tuung, but not heard them to know if I’d like.  So far Sunday is wide open for wandering and hopefully finding something interesting in the first few hours of music.

Then comes Slash…also a maybe, I saw Slashes Snakepit once in San Diego and have seen him guest in with Queen and Black Eyed Peas….there’s two bands you don’t find in the same sentence very often….  He has talent, but I don’t know if it’s enough to draw me to the Pyramid if I’ve found something else cool on my wandering.  So, just one more maybe for the day.

Of course after a big chunk of day with nothing compelling…I’m stuck with four overlapping bands I’d like to see.  Dr. John (I’ve seen him before, but he’s darn cool), Corinne Bailey Rae…saw her do a couple songs at a Stevie Wonder House of Toys show a few years back.  Very talented.  Plus her new album is quite good.  So, a strong pull for me to see her on a small stage.

She’s up against Ray Davies of the Kinks…saw him in 1979 and never since.  But, he will be at Hop Farm next weekend, so I can catch him there if I miss him for Corinne and Staff Banda Bilili…who are amazing.  A group of paraplegic musicians from the Congo who live in a zoo…seriously, in a zoo?…  Check them out on YouTube doing a song called Je T’Aime

When else can I ever see them live?  I think they may be my first must see of Sunday!

Now the clashes get more frequent and tougher to pick from.

Jack Johnson (seeing him in London the following week at least), MGMT, the Gang of Four or JUDY COLLINS?  There’s some diverse (okay just pain weird choices to pick between at the same time…)

Then, LCD Soundsystem, Toots and the Maytals or Imelda May?

Then the final clash of the weekend…

Stevie Wonder, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Jackson Browne, Ash, Orbital or Gomez?  Rodrigo y Gabriela are cool, but young and will be around to see again.  Jackson..seeing two days later in London (and maybe on Sat too?)…Ash, Gomez and Orbital…all have possibilities, but how can you pass on a living legend like Stevie Wonder singing to 80K or so people in a huge field…”Superstition”, “Sir Duke”, etc…

I wavered at first, but I think I have to cap off the festival seeing Stevie…put him in the “must see” category….

There’s some DJ’s playing for hours on a couple smaller stages after Stevie ends.  But I think the end of his set sometime after midnight will end my festival in a spectacular fashion.

My Concert Agenda for London

Well, since this is going to be a trip mostly about seeing concerts, I now have most of my shows scheduled and tickets bought…Only one more show to still book, and more about that later.

The Plan:

June  19 – Richard Thompson – “1000 years of popular song”.  I have the CD of this show he did a few years back.  He touches on songs from the 12th century right on up to Bowling for Soup.  This is part of the Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall and he’s one of those guys who somehow I’ve missed each time he’s passed through town.  Critically, he’s names as one of the top 20 all time guitarists.

June 20 – Elvis Costello – Solo Acoustic. Also part of Meltdown.  Really, what can you say about him?  Plus, seeing him in London…should be awesome!

June 23-27 – Glastonbury….MUCH more about this later…

June 29 – Jackson Browne & David Lindley.  Found a great single floor seat for Royal Albert Hall when I get back from Glasto.  They are playing twice at the festival, but knowing I can see them here will free me up for others acts at the festival itself and reduces my potential clash list of bands by one.

June 30 – Jack Johnson at O2 Arena.  Another show I found a great single for.  Love his music and never seen him live.  He’s also playing Glastonbury, but for the reasons above, knowing I’ll see him in London takes another potential conflict away at Glasto.

July 1 – Laura Marling – Serpentine Sessions in Hyde Park.  Honestly, don’t know much about her, but the little I’ve heard puts her into the Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap class.  Close to my hotel (short walk) and I’ve always wanted to see a show in Hyde Park.  She’s also at Glasto and Hop Farm.  But, the setting of Hyde Park is too cool to pass up.  Support acts still to be named…so many be Mumford & Sons who record with her?  One can only hope…

July 2 – Hop Farm with Van Morrison!  Just amazing…a chance to see Van in the UK at a really interesting sounding smaller festival.  Still no idea who else will be playing, but Van is enough draw to get me out there…

July 3 – Hop Farm day 2…No ticket yet, but leaning this way.  Bob Dylan, Ray Davies top the bill….pretty sure I’ll end up going to this.

A small gap with the potential to see Dr John, CSN or Buddy Guy…still not nailed down…and I may need a night off…:)

July 6 – My last night- Jools Holland at Kew Gardens.  An outdoor show in a botanical garden with one of my favorite bands that never tours the US.  A suitable way to wrap three full weeks of music.

So, there you have it.  Less than three weeks that includes pretty much a who’s who of the rock and roll hall of fame (U2, Stevie Wonder, Ray Davies, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan) my favorite songwriters (Squeeze, Nick Lowe, Al Stewart, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson, David Lindley) and newcomers that I’m enjoying already (Muse, Midlake, Hot Chip, Magic Numbers, Imelda May, Laura Marling)…and all to be seen live and in person in less than 20 days in the UK!

WOW, am I excited?…a little, just a little….