Photo: Shirlaine Forrest
Day one of Glastonbury was kicked off to a roaring start, with epic highlight sets from Muse, Foals, Editors, Frightened Rabbit, Skepta and many more.
Muse took to the Pyramid Stage to headline Glastonbury for the third time in their career, delivering an epic, career-spanning set complete with all the space-rock theatrics that you've come to know and love. 'Pyscho' got things off a filthy and furious start, as the mosh pits continued to spiral into Drones highlight 'Reapers' before the classic guitar anthem 'Plug In Baby' receives an early airing.
One of their finest and most underrated moments 'Map Of The Problematique' glows with its Depeche Mode-esque grace, while other highlights include the dance-rock brilliance of 'Supermassive Black Hole', the pop gem 'Starlight', the consecutive trio of Absolution favourites with 'Hysteria', 'Time Is Running Out' and 'Stockholm Syndrome', before a grand fireworks spectacular for 'The Globalist'.
Returning for an encore of 'Uprising' and 'Mercury' before a monolithic closer with 'Knights Of Cydonia', Muse set the bar high for Adele and Coldplay to fill the Pyramid Stage with the remainder of the weekend.
Muse played:
Psycho
Reapers
Plug In Baby
Dead Inside
Map of the Problematique
The 2nd Law: Isolated System
The Handler
Supermassive Black Hole
Starlight
Munich Jam
Madness
[JFK]
Interlude
Hysteria
Time Is Running Out
Stockholm Syndrome
The Globalist
Drones
Encore:
Uprising
Mercy
Knights of Cydonia
Photo: Shirlaine Forrest
Meanwhile, Sigur Ros headlined The John Peel Stage, where they entranced a swelling and hypnotised crowd with a visual and sonic display of utter magic. Opening with menacing and ghostly new track 'Óveður', Sigur Ros weave a gossamer web of sound over a live show that only enhances the entire world that they create with their delicate and spine-chilling sounds. Without a doubt, they remain one of the finest live acts on the planet, and truly in a class of their own.
Many have said that Foals should have headlined Glastonbury this year, and their sunset slot on the Pyramid Stage arguably proved that. From the offset their performance felt like a huge moment in the band's career, a pivotal step that put their whole discography to date in perspective. Early tracks including 'Two Steps Twice' and 'Red Socks Pugie' sounded huge alongside fresher cuts from their latest record What Went Down. Showing his dismay at the Brexit result, frontman Yannis Philipakkis is adorned with a T-shirt emblazoned with 'Abuse Of Power Comes As No Surprise', channelling his rage as he unleashes a positive tension to ignite Glastonbury. With stunning visuals and the whole band bringing a ferocious energy throughout, this was a performance for the ages.
Photo: WENN
“It’s the end of the fucking world, isn’t it,” sighs Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison, to a crowd all too downtrodden from the morning’s EU referendum new. “This is probably the best place to be.”
He’s not wrong. Battling the downpour, F’Rabbit attract a dedicated crowd to brave the cold Glastonbury rain, with cuts from their astounding new album Painting Of A Panic Attack blooming over the vast fields from the size of stage that they’ve always deserved to play. ‘Get Out’, ‘Woke Up Hurting’ and ‘I Wish I Was Sober’ ache with an anthemic melancholy, while ‘Keep Yourself’ inspires what was probably the darkest, most twisted sing-along that Glastonbury’s Other Stage probably saw all day.
“Our set is being cut short,” snarls Hutchison, before turning around for his brother and drummer Grant to have a word in his ear. “Actually, Grant just said ‘fuck that, let them chuck us off’ – I like your style.”
Amen. As the howling refrain of ‘The Loneliness And The Scream’ overtakes the crowd, it feels criminal that Frightened Rabbit weren’t on for longer. If there’s any justice in this world, they’ll headline one day.
Photo: Shirlaine Forrest
Another act worthy of far, far higher up the bill were Editors – who ironically bring out the sunshine for a stadium-sized dose of darkness and melodrama. Opening with ‘Sugar’ into ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’ Tom Smith and co deliver a flawless set that plays on all of their many strengths. From the post-punk rush of 'Munich' to the artful rave of 'Papillon' via the sheer grace of 'Ocean Of Night', Editors' performance is one at a constant peak. This is from a band truly on top of their game.
Yesterday morning saw Skepta bring grime to the pyramid stage, in a landmark performance that will no doubt go down in Glastonbury history. Performing a mix of deep cuts from his illustrious career and tracks from his critically-lauded new album Konnichiwa, the Tottenham MC tore through an energetic set that drew a suitably huge crowd. Joined by BBK alumni Shorty, Jammer and Frisko, as well as a guest appearance from Novellist on collaboration 'Lyrics', Skepta effortlessly proved why he is one of 2016's most talked about artists. Glastonbury, shutdown.
Photo: Shirlaine Forrest
Earlier in the day, Vince Staples made his Glastonbury debut with a much-anticipated performance on The West Holts stage. Fully justifying the buzz that has surrounded him over the last year, the Long Beach rapper was clearly taken aback by the sizeable, fiercely dedicated crowd, and seamlessly flipped between tracks from his acclaimed 2015 record Summertime '06 and more recent tracks that have seen him work with producers including Major Lazer, Flume and Clams Casino among others. Delivering a near-perfect setlist that brought high energy moments while still displaying his flawless talent and unique flow, expect to see Staples on much bigger stages in the coming years.
Glastonbury continues today with performances from Adele, Tame Impala, New Order, The 1975, Chvrches, Hurts and many more. Check back at Gigwise for the latest news, reviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2016
