Day Two
The sun is out for day two as girl group
The Staves open The Other stage but the first show stopper is
Azelea Banks. A woman whos Twitter account is slowly destroying her, her natural talent for rapper and performing really comes out here. Dressed as an extra from Jurassic Park her blend of urban rap and tribal beats is a catchy one.
Davendra Banhart is more than just a pretty New Yorker as he is joined by The Strokes Fabrizio Moretti for his Dylanesque weird America arty sound, its perfect for the free love spirit of The Park Stage.
Billy Bragg is at his rightful place on the Pyramid stage, his folk sound finally in fashion and his words cutting, its a shame most people here to see it are still passed out from the night before.
Laura Mvulas sunny African influenced pop works in the sunny weather but its clear that the newcomer is still not entirely comfortable on stage.
Ben Howard delivers on the sound, even going on a long instrumental solo which pleases some of the older music fans here who remember when every band did one of them. His lack of repertoire with the crowd does leave some of them wanting more.
Alabama Shakes are a band that should have been the warm up for The Rolling Stones, singer Brittany Daniels is a star putting her all into every song, leaving a good number of the crowd in tears. Their bluesy rock is powerful and makes the bands sandwiched around them (Noah and the whale and Two Door Cinema Club) seem amateur and lazy.
Chase and Status set wont convert but to dance fans it could well be a highlight of the weekend, its a little predictable and the pre-recorded vocals from the likes of Plan B dont feel in the spirit of events like this.
The Hurts sound isnt an obvious choice for a headliners especially when competing with the Stones and Chase and Status. Their sound is a little drone like and something that comes across better on TV than in person.
Primal Scream know they were once incredibly popular so Bobby Gillespies ego gets a severe battering when everyone there is just getting their spot for the headliners. Joined by Haim who managed to perform on every stage over the weekend, he was fighting a losing battle. He at one point starts swearing at the crowd asking What do you want from me?, they sound great but his performance is less rockstar and more tantrum throwing child.
The Rolling Stones are the definitive rock band, iconic from the way they talk to the way they hold their instruments. From the second they hit the stage with Jumping Jack Flash; every moment is a special one everyone there should cherish. Gimme Shelter with vocals from Lisa Fisher (no celeb guests like the internet hoped) sounds so much better here than on record.
The crowd thins out in the middle as Keith gets his moment on 'You Got The Silver' and former member Mick Jones' returns on 'You Hear Me Knocking', but they are both giving a musical master class that every wannabe should be taking note of. Midnight Rambler is an only low note to a casual fan but real music lovers will be bathing in the bluesy rock solos. Mick Jagger despite being shy of his 70th birthday still moves like he did twenty years ago and you can't help but feel the bad press is just jumping on the ageism bandwagon. Anyone who thinks Micks grinding strutting and Keiths out of it look is a sign of old age should watch concert footage from the 70s. Sympathy For The Devil is accompanied by a giant metal bird perched above the stage which mimes and sprouts flames and is a gimmick that a band this good dont need but it makes for a good show. The encore starts with a choir singing You Cant Always Get What You Want ending a spectacular event in both the Stones 51 year career and the festivals 43 year history.They end with an extended version of 'Satisfaction', which is a holy grail of rock songs and you do feel like you have witnessed an iconic moment.