Top 5s Thread

blackcatista's picture Submitted by blackcatista on

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Wow, that was probably the best ever!

Starting a thread for people to post their top 5s. In order. Then in a week's time I'll put them in a league table.

Im still deciding mine, but 2 or 3 from this year would be in an all time top 5.

berthasdad's picture berthasdad replied on

I've followed on twitter/Green Man Radio (which doesn't function v well...) this year. Which has been totally compulsive and massively frustrating.

And purely by greatest noise generated in the social-sphere, the top 5 were (I think):

Idles 

Snapped Ankles

Stereolab

Wedding Present (more for their last minute thrilling introduction than the set)

Pictish Trail

honourable mentions to Pigs7, Gwenno and SVE.

I intend NEVER not to be be there again - I have hated this last weekend!

Carnie replied on

Had a blast.

Top 5

Eels - Wow such fun. Please get them back every year.

Mondern Nature- Great start to the day.

Jesca Hoop- Lovely 3 part harmonies and funny stories.

Mapache-  Really enjoyed but wrong stage.

Oscar Lang on the rising stage, surprisingly  good surf pop.

Bad...

Self Esteem- wtf?

Four Tet on the Mountain Stage didn’t work for me, just seemed all wrong.

Has the capacity gone up to 25k?

klingklang replied on

My top 5 - 

Highlight of the weekend : Audiobooks, absolutely superb and like nothing else I’ve seen for a while  - 

Eels. They were a blast. couldve topped the Mountain Stage bill easily

Whitney  Suddenly the rain didn’t matter

Aldous Harding Phenomenal vocal range, her band were fantastic.

Four Tet - Crystal clear sound, amazing light show - agree that he was a bit of a left field choice for a GM headliner but he nailed it - I need to track down a copy of that set!

Shout out to IDLES, A Certain Ratio and The Growlers - another couple of standouts  

Another fantastic weekend of music, food, beautiful surroundings and fun-seemed a little busier than usual but the people were great, apart from one geezer who kept knocking into my wife during the Pressies  

  Glad we got the rain out of the way early - looking fwd to next year! 

 

 

Chrissied's picture Chrissied replied on

Richard Thompson - The bloke was amazing, came on, no hours of sound checking, plugged in and off he went. Good to see lots of “youngsters” in the Far Out. There were tears from some people, his guitar break in ”Valerie” was something to behold.

Marika Hackman - Apart from the sound checking delay she stormed it, big sound.

A Certain Ratio - a band in my age group, playing tight and more importantly having a great time.

Mapache were great and were appreciating where they were, agree with Carnie, the stage was too big for them.

The Big Moon, again they were loving it and so were we.

Honourable mentions to Whitney and Big Thief.

The Far Out tent, for me, is still the best stage on site.

marcus_g replied on

Very difficult to keep it to just five. One of the best, if not the best Greenman for music for me.

1. Eels

2. Squid

3. Nilufer Yanya

4. Willie J Healey

5. Stella Donelly

On the bench, Scalping, Amadou & Miriam, Pottery, Steve Mason, and James Heather. 

Oap-Dub's picture Oap-Dub replied on

First thoughts, in no particular order...

Aldous Harding. Just incredible.

Father John Misty. Picked instead of idles and glad we did. Idles clearly oversubscribed and fjm was magnificent. 

Car Seat Headrest. Had a full tent hanging to (or singing along to) every word.

TVAM. Something a bit different, but a really compelling set.

Avi Buffalo. I loved his 2 albums a few years back, and even though he borrowed a band, and half the kit, he played a lovely set with a top cover of Wichita lineman.

Bloody ace weekend all round, despite fridays rain.

smithers replied on

What a weekend. Didn't see as much as intended for various reasons. Clear winner for me.

1.Liminanas

2.Squid

3.Eels

4.Stella Donnelly

5.TVAM

Subs - Scalping, These New Puritans, Audiobooks, Mapache

Stablewill's picture Stablewill replied on

difficult to only name 5..

1. Liminanas

2. Julia Jacklin

3. Eels

4. Sharon Van Etten

5. Penelope Isles (new discovery for me!)

Krasnyi's picture Krasnyi replied on

OK, I'm going with . . .

1. Richard Thompson. A masterclass, drawing on the best part of fifty years of material. His tribute to Sandy had me in tears, Vincent Black Lightning had me in awe. Overused word iconic beut he is.

2. James Yorkston. Could have watched another two hours of this. What an amazing sound. The brass section had all of 6 hours practice. JY never, ever diappoints.

3. Aldous Harding. Again, amazing sound. What a band. And what a performer.

4. Hen Ogledd. Wonderful, wilfull weirdness. Tip to the Trip!!! Cracking version of Tiny Witch Hunter.

5. Tiny Ruins. I did think the electric guitar was a little over utilised but what a voice, what songs.

Very honourable mentions to Pictish Trail, Alex Rex, Anais Mitchell. Mama's Broke, Villagers (surprisingly), Mapache, Gwenifer Raymond, Johanna Samuels, Durand Jones and the Indications, Big Thief, Julia Jacklin and Skinny Pelembe

Muddy Holly's picture Muddy Holly replied on

..... so hard to choose just 5, but I’ll try:

 

Car Seat Headrest - we are all massive fans so for us it was a magical life-enhancing experience and up there with our favourite ever festival sets.

IDLES - my daughter was in the Far Out tent for 5 hours so she could be front centre for IDLES, totally worth it and they absolutely delivered on some very high expectations.

Pottery - great songs that were even better live - loved both their sets and anyone going to EOTR they are def worth a trip to the Tipi tent on the Thurs evening

Bodega - very entertaining set a high bar for the rest of the festival 

The Big Moon - the proposal topped off a great set and exciting times ahead as the new songs also sounded great

 

Others that we really wanted to put in our top 5: Yak, Whitney, FWF, The Beths, Squid and Ezra Collective (not really into Jazz but that blew me away)

 

Elizabeth McEvoy's picture Elizabeth McEvoy replied on

Fantastic festival.

Everything and more.

An ace year for me, musically. 

My 5.... Eels, Richard Thompson, James Yorkston, Big Thief and Bill Ryder-Jones.

Eels could have easily headlined the tent.

 

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

My 5, in order (please put them in order, everyone- that's part of the fun!)

1. The Limiñanas. Huge surprise to see them there as they weren't even a "must see" for me before the festival, but I thought they were absolutely brilliant. Loved every second of it, but the moment when the older guy put down his guitar, strutted forward and started belting out Teenage Kicks won it for me. And that wasn't even their full lineup.....

2. Snapped Ankles. If you haven's seen it, you'll never understand.... VEGAN SUSHI!

3. IDLES. This is what non-toxic masculinity looks like, I guess?

4. Hen Ogledd. Really enjoyed the set. They work so well as a foursome and are better live than on record. Sky Burial brought a tear to the eye. TIP TRIP!

5. James Yorkston jusy edges out Eels on the basis of the stunningly emotional rendition of Broken Wave.

Huge number of potential honorable mentions, so I'll stick to 9 of them, this time in no particular order! The Wedding Present, Pigs x7, Yo La Tengo, Eels, Grimm Grimm, Modern Nature, Audiobooks, Gwenno and the guy matching beers to the bands (why did nobody tell me till now that they do mass free samples??).

CubanPedro replied on

Need to let the dust settle but yip, that could be the best GM of the eight I've been.  Just special moments all weekend.  Think my top 5 musical were:

Richard Thompson.  Its all subjective of course, but if you saw a better performance over the weekend, you're wrong.  Sorry ;)

Four Tet.  Wasn't sure how he'd do as headliner on Mountain Stage - seemed a more natural fit for Far Out - but it was ace.  

Eels.  Didn't intend to go along and watch, but so glad I did.  Really surprised how much I enjoyed them.

Sharon van Etton.  Similarly.  Love her studio albums but wasn't sure how she'd fare on late slot on Mountain Stage.  Should never have doubted her.  She and her band filled Glanusk with the most fantastic sound.  Captivating.

The Beths.  Never heard their stuff but a great tip from someone.

Of the things I missed, really disappointed to pass up chance to see A Certain Ratio.  Hear they were fantastic.

Andalucia replied on

Best year for me by some margin musically, just such a marvellous array of great acts living up to the hype and unknown stuff surprising me in the best way

Top 5:

Audiobooks

Gwenno

Scalping

(completely unexpectedly) Eels

(completely unexpectedly) A Certain Ratio

Honourable mentions to The Comet is Coming, SVE, Stella Donnelly, Tamino, Bodega, Porridge Radio, Adwaith and Snapped Ankles

born in the fifties's picture born in the fifties replied on

My five:

1. Eels - outrageously good. I thought I'd enjoy them, but not that much.

2. Richard Thompson. Its now over 50 years since I first saw him at a festival. Absolutely brilliant then, and still just as brilliant now.

3. Dry Cleaning. Can't wait to see them again, so I'm not going to.  Shacklewell Arms tomorrow night.

4. Bill Ryder-Jones. I'd be very happy if he was on the bill for every festival I go to.

5. Intergalatic Republic of Kongo. I'll not pretend they were anywhere near the top 5 musically, but so much fun, and you've gotta love someone whose main aim seems to be getting everyone in the audience up and having a good time.

Slugger's picture Slugger replied on

Here's mine: 

 

1. Eels  ... They ticked every box for a headliner ... quirky cover version (Raspberry Beret), guest cameo (John Parish), one for the kids (My beloved Monster), singalong (Birds), full scale rock-out (Prizefighter), tearjerker (Blinking lights), the obligitory "hit" (Novocaine ..), humour (the band introduction could have headlined the comedy tent!) ... an absolutely legendary performance!!

2. Big Thief ... The very essence of a "tight" band and what a band leader Adrianne is! The new album is going to be very special. 

3. The Wedding Present ... The perfect Thursday night headliner. Hard to believe that setlist and performance was put together with just a few hours notice

4. Villagers ... He/ they just get better and better and now they've seamlessly introduced electronica and brass into the mix

5. Aldous Harding ... I had my doubts whether she could hold a main stage crowd. I was wrong.  

Bubbling under ... Aidan Moffatt and RM Hubbert, Tiny Ruins, Anais Mitchell, Julia Jacklin 

alittleotter replied on

Top 5 

1. Father John Misty

2.Eels .

3.Yo La Tengo

4.Bill Ryder Jones

5. Sharon Van Etten

Brilliant year, missed loads of bands, bloody kid's

Don't let the kid's win, indeed! 

Smiffy's picture Smiffy replied on

What an absolutely cracking Green Man that was. Number 12 for me – always the same, always different.
Obviously I can only give my top five from the acts I saw, but it sounds like, as usual, I missed some great shows. 

1. Father John Misty
2. Gwenno
3. Big Thief
4. Jesca Hoop
5. Pigs x 7

Special mentions to Marika Hackman, Aldous Harding, Villagers and Skinny Pelembe.
Plus the kids' Bingo on Saturday morning (I don't have young kids). Absolutely hilarious – the humiliation of young children for the entertainment of adults!
 

peridot's picture peridot replied on

This is an almost impossible task. Practically every performance I saw was a sublime experience.

For the record I'll go:

1. Jesca Hoop

2. Anais Mitchell

3. Idles

4. Snapped Ankles

5. The Liminanas

Very honourable mentions to Big Thief, Eels, Fat White Family, Peaness, Hen Ogledd, Modern Nature, Dry Cleaning, etc. etc.

Only disappointment for me was Sharon Van Etten .. perhaps my mood wasn't right but I didn't enjoy her performance.

dr.nick replied on

1. Gentle Stranger

2. Bodega

3. Eels

4. The Comet is Coming

5. Aidan Moffat & R.M. Hubbert

Also 'Nosferatu' with live soundtrack by Minima, Sons of Kemet, R. Seiliog, Adwaith, Bridget St. John, and Stealing Sheep, who I went to see unenthusiastically because my friend wanted to and turned out to be brilliant. Phil Kay in the comedy tent on Sunday night was astonishing. Biggest disappointments were Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs who didn't do it for me (brilliant name though) and Four Tet - I like the music but it didn't work for me on the Mountain Stage like it did in the tent a few years ago. While I'm at it, two minor criticisms of an excellent festival: the sound in the Far Our tent wasn't great, and there weren't enough toilets in the campsite. Also, why do people bother to get right at the front for an avant-garde jazz band only to then talk all the way through the tuba solo?

Mikey's picture Mikey replied on

My top 5

1. Bill Ryder-Jones.  Not seen him before and a toss up between him and Steve Mason.  Going by the subdued final minutes i saw of Steve Mason, I know I made the right choice heading to the Walled Garden.  

2. Father John Misty.  Was going to give him a miss but decided to see the start before heading off elsewhere, totally knocked out by his performanc, on a par or better than last time he performed on the Mountain Stage and such a good backing band (or was that classed as an orchestra?).

3.  Sharon van Etten.  Consistently good performance with incredible songs.

4. The Beth.  A big thank you to Big Jeff for recommending them to me earlier in the year, managed to wangle a ticket to see them in Bristol a few months back and they do not disappoint.

5. Eels.  Always missed them before and really not what I was expected. brilliant show, great music, great showmanship and really funny.  i can Only think of the Alabama 3 meets Alex Horne and the Horne Section.

 Big shout for Say Sue Me, The Liminanas, Car Seat Headrests, The Wedding Present, Whitney, TVAM, Dry Cleaning and Amadou & Maryam

Oap-Dub's picture Oap-Dub replied on

A few disappointments mentioned, so I'll chuck in a couple...

Controversially, I wasn't bowled over by the half a set of Big Thief I saw. I think the main issue was that I think that they played a much better, way more intimate, set in the walled garden in 2017.

Stereolab were perfectly competent, but the whole performance was a bit joyless and workmanlike, which is some feat for music that is upbeat and joyful.

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

Exactly the same as my disappointments! Watched Big Thief from the Dosa queue and then from the hill while eating my dosa. And wasn't compelled to stick with it for a second longer than that! Interesting how that set has split people down the middle.

And I only saw Stereolab over Richard Thompson because I bumped into a mate on Thursday morning who told me he'd seen them a couple of months back and it was brilliant. They were good, but I really regret not seeing RT.

Ciderboy replied on

Thought it was about time I posted something on here. If I'm honest, the line up didn't excite me this year (and certainly didn't a few friends who didn't come this year) but it being Greenman there was still plenty to enjoy and plenty of stuff I wanted to see but missed.

So, in no particular order:

TVAM - great to see them on a big statge after only catching them in small rooms.

Audiobooks - As offbeat as I was hoping.

Jesca Hoop- Must be the most beutiful hour of music I've heard at GM.

Porridge Radio - Great set and they actually had a T shirt that fitted me.

Pottery - so good we saw them twice.

And I'm going to squeeze in Self Esteem as I just loved the set.

Mention to Pigsx7, Comet is Coming, Chloe Foy, Adwaith, A Certain Ratio, Callum Easter, Nov3l, The Beths and a great closing set in the very calm Walled Garden by Nilufer Yanya. Colin Hoult was a new find in the comedy tent but sad that there was no Mark Olver in his usual slot performing to 10 of us while the Greenman was being burnt.

decemberboy replied on

1) Gwenno

2) Self Esteem

3) Sharon Van Etten

4) Yo La Tengo

5) Scalping 

electronicfreq's picture electronicfreq replied on

A great festival.  My top 5 of the sets I got to see:

Hen Ogledd
Four Tet
Sharon Van Etten
Stereolab
Audiobooks

Although I'm pretty sure I should have included The Beths in there somewhere.

 

 

Wakestock replied on

Difficult to pick out five when there was so much to enjoy, but in no particular order Eels (who I hadn’t even planned on seeing), Sharon Van Etten and Ezra Collective (despite an overlap), Aldous Harding and Nilüfir Yanya (Sunday an embarrassment of riches). Honourable mentions too for Audiobooks, Big Thief, Dry Cleaning, what I saw of Squid, Mapache and Hen Ogledd. 

staffop's picture staffop replied on

but what i did was generally excellent. Tough, but...

Eels - could watch them everyday, such a showman and killer tunes to match

The Wedding Present - was looking forward to M&A but these were a great way to end Thursday

Lee Fields - family favourite and a great showman

Car Seat Headrest - fantastic following from the crowd, delivered in spades

Growlers - shambolic but they know how to groove

Gutted i missed so many other amazing acts though...

 

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

Just a reminder to get your top 5s in here by the end of Monday, then I'll add them all up into an overall top 5.... The Wedding Present were overall champions last year, will they defend their crown?

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

For what it's worth, 26 of you have so far named 55 different acts in your top 5s. An impressive range.

Adding up the votes so far, first place is very clear, and 2nd is not exactly close either....

Elizabeth McEvoy's picture Elizabeth McEvoy replied on

1. Eels

2. Richard Thompson 

3. Bill Ryder Jones 

4. James Yorkston 

5. Big Thief

ray_rad's picture ray_rad replied on

quickly, to get under the vote-counting wire - with perhaps some more pointless commentary at a later date - but for now based entirely on just how happy they made me

1.  the limiñanas

2.  mapache

3.  richard thompson

4.  squid

5.  bill ryder-jones

with stella donnelly, pictish trail, four tet, alex rex, stealing sheep, anna st.louis and modern nature all only just edged out

biggest disappointment - gwenifer raymond - incredible technique, but no soul.  she'll be great in a few years though

and not on my list through no fault of her own - sharon van etten.  ruined by our disastrous decision to watch it from too far back and being consequently surrounded by pissheads and hysterically tired children

AdamTWalton replied on

Hello. Didn't realise my computer / the ether still had my log-in for this forum. Love to lurk here, and I've picked up great recommendations and heard some fantastic music that would otherwise have passed me by by being a secretive curtain twitcher.

Just wanted to say that I loved Gwenifer's set! She is very uncommunicative, at least initially, but that didn't spoil things for me. I think there's a real intensity to her playing, it is harem scarem at times, but I think that's down to the spirits in her fingers rather than flashy virtuosity.

I do think there's great scope for a different Gwenifer Raymond when she explores more space in her music, but for now, I like the ride very much! 

Krasnyi's picture Krasnyi replied on

Good to have you on here Adam. For those who don't know, Adam is the dude who plays the awesome choons in the Walled Garden between sets.

I also loved Gwenifer's set. It will be interesting to se how she develops over the coming years - clearly a lot of talent there.

Ta again for the Jim Ford song Adam!

ray_rad's picture ray_rad replied on

certainly no criticism of her ability from me!

she's startlingly talented

i love the record

but just felt that it didn't have the same subtlety in performance

i saw william tyler again a few days ago - and there's so much feel in his performance - along with the virtuosity

whereas in gwenifer raymond's set everything sounded relentlessly fierce

and i missed the light and shade

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

So using first places as a tiebreak, and then how prestigious a slot they had on the bill.... This year's top 20!

20. Big Thief

19.  Scalping (top rising stage act)

18. Four Tet

17. Wedding Present

16. Hen Ogledd

15. TVAM

14. Snapped Ankles

13. Squid

12. Carseat Headrest

11. Aldous Harding

10. Gwenno (best Cornish language act)

9. Jesca Hoop

8. Bill Ryder-Jones (best in Walled Garden; Best on Friday)

7. Audiobooks (best on Thursday)

6. Idles

5. Father John Misty (best headliner)

4. Sharon Van Etten

3. The Liminanas

2. Richard Thompson (best in Far Out Tent; Best on Saturday)

1. Eels (best on Mountain Stage; Best on Sunday)

dr.nick replied on

It fascinates me how people can have such different experiences at the same festival. Despite watching a lot of acts I only saw five from that top twenty, and only one of those made my top five.

Oap-Dub's picture Oap-Dub replied on

On that note, I'm very surprised to see Audiobooks rated highly by many. I saw them support Wooden Shjips 6 months back and they were bloody terrible! I can only assume that they have significantly improved since then.

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

I really enjoyed them, but surprised to see how many top 5 lists they made. Think they're definitely not everyone's cup of tea but they were great for that slot and I loved how the set really built up towards the end. Quite possible that they've improved a lot in 6 months- they've barely been going a year!

Mikey's picture Mikey replied on

think I managed to see at least 15, although only the final numbers from some.  Four of my five made it to the top 20 but really surprised not to see the Beth’s appearing in the list.

peridot's picture peridot replied on

Fantastic (and deserved) to see The Liminanas make the top three!

I assume it would be equally correct to describe Gwenno as the worst Cornish language act :)

 

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

Thought they were an absolute revelation. For a band who appear on the face of it to do very little that no other psych rock band does, they managed to fill that big tent with so much excitement and intensity.