Top 5s

[peridot]

Ooh .. just made it before the deadline. Not that mine will change anything. Personally it was probably my least favourite Green Man line-up. Limited attractions and few moments to remember from those that were. I still managed to have a fantastic weekend however.

1. Ziyad Al-Samman
2. Amy True
3. Self Esteem
4. Amyl & The Sniffers
5. Lost Map Weird Wave

Honourable mentions for Plastic Mermaids, The Bug Club, Pencil, Courtney Marie Andrews.

Non lineup "highlight" was getting to visit the one tent at Green Man that I've never been in .. the medical tent. I don't recommend it .. the music there is shite

[blackcatista]

And we have our overall winners! Thanks to 16 of you choosing 46 acts between you.. here are the top 11 (too many ties once you get below that!)

11. Young Fathers
10. Devo
9. Etran De L'Air
8. Self Esteem
7. The Walkmen
6. Melin Melyn
5. Cory Hanson
4. Courtney Marie Andrews
3. Goat
2. Amyl and the Sniffers
1. Lankum

Well done to all of them, not that they're likely to be reading. My initial reaction is amazement that I saw all the top 6.

Also, quite a few of these appear in aide-memoire form on our own Born in the Fifties' youtube channel- I particularly recommend the Cory Hanson set. www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJayqxcHvy0n_UCdJFeeBF3mBEyeeEdt4

[staffop]

Missed the cut but wouldn't have made a difference - the breadth of choices reflects the excellence overall.

Green Man 23

Arrived on the Monday for Settlers, welcomed by a gentle pattering of Black Mountain rainfall. Popped the camp up and then it was sunny, pretty much until the following Monday (albeit Friday was a deluge..)

Spent a lovely 3 days pottering, eating, drinking and listening to lots of great music. Ivan Moult was possibly the highlight but props to Joe Kelly Voya,and Elin Grace. Food options were more limited than previous years but overall we had a blast.

Rest of the family arrived Thursday and the festival began in earnest. Headed in, over the Mountain entrance to be met by the happiest steward in the festival. This continued for the whole weekend and was genuinely lovely. Popped to Chai for a bit of Beatles Dub Club (felt a bit karaoke TBH), then sat outside Far Out (as usual on a Thursday) where most of the music washed over us.

Had a Green curry from the Thai hut which was great (loved the little pager system too), Girl Ray was fun, albeit a little samey, but Spiritualised were transcendental. Had tried to get in to the Walled Garden to see Bug Club who are always fun, but it was too full - headed back avoiding the surly security shouting at everyone to hand in cans of booze. Gutted we also missed Will and the People so ended the night at Chai Wallahs as usual.

Friday came, as did Storm Betty. We headed in for a Kedgeree, picked up a Bloody Mary on the way and hid in Chain Wallahs for most of the day - saw Ceitidh Mac, Mike Dennis and Gringo Ska (best name of festival). Ceitidh Mac on cello was pick of the three, Mike Dennis interesting violin/hip hop mix, and Gringo Ska did a fun set of ska classics - fact of the day is their drummer is the GM production manager - surprised he’s not pulled in a favour previously.

Managed to get an amazing loaded fries from Smoking Joes during a dry patch, and also tried their smash burgers the next day which were… smashing (sorry). Keeping to covered spaces as the rain just kept a coming, we saw Broadside Hacks do Wicker Man (just lovely, though plagued by sound issues) and then saw the film, introduced by Robin Hardy’s son. We were at the back so sound bleed from Squid and Comet made it often difficult to follow unfortunately but the new 4k print is excellent.

Watched the end of SlowDive but the Far Out was already a swimming pool, so settled for a bit of comedy at Babbling Tongues (meh) and ended up watching the brilliant Dance Craze at the cinema tent.

Thankfully the rain had abated and we were able to enjoy Chai Wallahs (from the outside as again it was like the Somme inside)

Headed back at closing, cursing my early onset trench foot

Rain made such a difference - gutted to have missed Spielman, Minor Conflict, Beth Orton, WarmDuscher, Comet is Rising (especially), Buck Meek and Rozi Plain

Saturday arrived bathed in sunshine which meant we could chill out at the Mountain Stage for Yasmin Williams (stunning Primitive Guitar), Julie Byrne (beautiful acoustic folk guitar) and Etran de L’air who got everyone dancing. Courtney Marie Andrews was dreamlike, also enjoyed Obongjaya - just a great day at the Mountain stage all in all. Headed back for layers/wine and caught end of Lankum who were immense. Walkmen smashed it out of the park and Self Esteem (surprisingly for me) performed maybe the set of the weekend.

Tried the CockTail/drag bar a few times but wasn’t as fun as last year. Gutted to have missed Bob Vylan and Clipping, but FatDog were excellent - chaotic, loud and messy, just what you need at 1am. More Chai Wallahs and Usain Bolts followed, bed by 5am tonight. Although far too old to sustain this level of debauchery, it would seem churlish not take take advantage whilst available….

Headed in, very bleary, for the final stretch Sunday am (just). Watched the end of the Lionesses game, which had one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. Shame about the result though. More Bloody Mary’s, then Kando Bongo Man which was fun, but, as a long time fan, Jake Xerxes Fussell was sublime. Missed Sarah Jarosz to participate in the Cinema Quiz. Always fun, but we usually end up near the bottom - picture round and music intros always confound me!

Watched Alabaster de Plume who blew me away previously but seemed unable to hold the crowd this time. Horace Andy was all you would expect - loved the security guard dancing in front of the stage throughout. Tried the Katsu Curry (v good) and Amyl and the Sniffers were great fun (who knew they held the record for most ****s in a set by one band (the word rather than the members)). Finished off with First Aid Kit who were incredible. Gutted it clashed with Young Fathers though who smashed it apparently. Did the burning, more cocktails, more Chai Wallahs and another late, late night. What’s not to love?!

Had left GM 22 unsure if we’d be back, even though we’d been coming since 2008 - food prices seemed extortionate (slightly better this year), **** count higher than usual, Security overly intrusive and heavy handed, and just seemed busier overall.

This year felt special though and I’d come back in a heartbeat (finances willing). That said, sort out the Crispy Duck and Caribbean Shack please - their absence was significant as both my favourite food places from 2022 were missing !

Top 5

Self Esteem
Spiritualised
Horace Andy
Walkmen
Jake Xerxes Fussell

[mikey]

Good write up, Staffop. Would also give a special shout out to the security guy at the mountain stage entrance. Made you happy and smile whether you wanted to be happy and smiling or not.

Cans?, I only saw one guy confronted by security…because he had a can in his hand when entering the walled garden and asked not to come in. Obviously he would have been ok if it was in a bag or poured into a stack cup, not aware of any other heavy handed approach to carrying alcohol so interested if others had different experience. The fact that this was on entering the walled garden, I wonder if that was a rule due to this area being regarded as a ‘bar’ rather than a stage, which is a bit unfair when this is different at all other stages. Another reason why GM should rethink the walled garden and make it a stage only area (albeit with a more modest bar presence).

[rayrad]

according to someone on efestivals, apparently there was one overly-zealous security guy in the WG

who then got a dressing down from a superior - and the 'you can't have cans in here!' thing abruptly stopped

[wakestock]

Sept 8, 2023 11:55:36 GMT rayrad said:

according to someone on efestivals, apparently there was one overly-zealous security guy in the WG

who then got a dressing down from a superior - and the 'you can't have cans in here!' thing abruptly stopped