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Glastonbury 2010 - Q's Best Bits

The Q staff are back in the office, after-sun in hand, Pop up tents eventually popped down, with most of us having had that magical first post-festival shower. Here are a few of our highlights along with a few helpful tips for those of you thinking about making the journey down next time.

Best Musical Moments:

Simon Butcher, Tune-Yards - West Holts

Lo-fi front-woman Merrill Garbus adapted her minimal production methods in a live performance drenched in African sunshine.

The National - Other Stage

Frustrated front-man Matt Berninger uncomfortably stumbled around stage, unable to stay within his tortured persona as the crowd grew evermore excited. Fans cheered excitedly and Berninger told them to shut up in an incredible Morrissey moment.

Matt Mason, Phoenix - Other Stage

An admirably energetic set. Even the elegant Parisians lost their cool in the broiling heat, with Thomas Mars sinking to his knees and battering his microphone against the stage during a storming ten-minute version of 1901.

Chapel Club - Queen's Head

This felt like witnessing a band taking sure strides towards the big time. The quintet could be more descriptively named My Bloody House Of Jesus And The BunnySmiths, but songs such as Surfacing and Five Trees are worthy of their lofty influences.

Jo Kendall, Frank Turner - Queen's Head

I saw Frank rehearsing backstage. He suddenly realised the already burgeoning crowd could hear him warm up and were chanting his name, only to go onstage to a flabbergasting 4,000 people and the biggest cheers of the day, even in 30 degree heat. The vast overflow of fans out of the tent could be seen from the Q helicopter flying high above...

Michael Eavis - Pyramid Stage

Michael Eavis drowned out Stevie Wonder and entire band with his wonderful, wonky West Country baritone singing Happy Birthday to Glastonbury.

Paul Rees

My two musical highlights... No, need more than two: The National on The Other Stage, Mumford And Sons in the John Peel Tent, The Avett Brothers at The Avalon and Muse showing how to headline The Pyramid Stage... Each in their own way A Moment.

Matt Yates, The National - The Other Stage

Matt Berninger is an oddly compelling frontman; intense, slightly unhinged and fond of an excursion into the crowd or two

Muse - Pyramid Stage

Worthy headliners and nicely judged set where the piano-led ballads exerted as much power as the loud'n'heavy numbers. Nice to see Edge come on for the encore, too.

Best "Only at Glastonbury" moment:

Simon Butcher

Only at Glastonbury would you seek shade from the sun under a paper-Mache elephant.

Matt Mason

Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Bobby Womack and Damon Albarn are sharing a stage in front of us... but we're having to keep one very wary eye on the naked man sat on the rigging above us doing unspeakable things with his penis.

Jo Kendall

Christopher Eccleston roadies for I Am Kloot and is spotted by no-one, just people saying "that stagehand in a jumpsuit looks a bit like Doctor Who."

Paul Rees

Ringing home and being drowned out by a men dressed as a Victorian English soldier playing the Last Post on a trumpet.

Hidden Gems and Top Tips:

Simon Butcher

My tip is to make sure you don't try and meet your friends under a flag. there's quite a few of them and they move around too...

a hidden gem would be the Green Futures field, a great place to save the planet, and your dignity by having a Solar-Powered shower.

Matt Mason

The Morrisons in Wincanton, just a few miles from the site, was stocked with everything we realised we'd forgotten on the drive down (Jim Beam, reasonably priced chairs, 20p painkillers).

Jo Kendall

The 50p Tea Shop in the Green Crafts area. Chilled and cheap and in the heart of the Glasto you don't get to see on telly.

Paul Rees

The hammocks at the top of The Park - great place to watch the sun go down and a great view. Also very close to a café that serves refreshing herbal teas that taste of something other than rabbit urine (or what I imagine rabbit urine to taste like).

The Practical Stuff:

Simon Butcher

Get there early to put your tent up. It becomes a game of Tetris the later you leave it.

Matt Mason

If you're lucky enough to be in hospitality, beat the morning queues for the showers by having one on the way home at 3am. No waiting around, no violently fluctuating water temperature... and it's too dark to see properly so there's no wondering which tropical diseases your feet catching on the grimy floor.

Jo Kendall

If you want to get ahead, get a head torch!

Paul Rees

Don't attempt to drive home having not slept the night before.

Matt Yates

Buy your beer on-site. Yes, it's quite pricey, but at least it's cold and you don't have to lump cans of the stuff from your car for half an hour.

Relive it all: Reviews, interviews and photos - Q's Glastonbury Festival 2010 coverage.

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10:39 AM | 01/07/2010