What's it like spending a night in Glasto's 'Naughty Corner'?
After ten years of experimenting, I've found there are just two ways to master Glastonbury's after-dark experience.The first involves picking one night to really go all in - your step count will be absolutely astronomical, but with the correct intake of carbohydrates and tinned cocktails that 18-hour day will pay off.Or you can take the second approach, which involves going fully nocturnal for the long weekend, but has to involve a few mates who are also willing to emerge from their tents at dinner time each day.For the sake of my colleague's workloads this weekend, I picked the first option and dedicated my Friday night to the famous Glasto "naughty corner".
The best (and least overwhelming way) to tackle each of the vast dance sites is to not do too much planning and instead see where the evening takes you.After warming up with Four Tet's Woodsies headline slot, I strolled down to Silver Hayes, which is actually Glastonbury's newest dance corner.Introduced in 2013, it recently expanded to include two huge stages - Levels and Lonely Hearts Club.It was at the latter that I caught a bit of Scouse duo CamelPhat, whose unique blend of tech house attracted huge crowds, despite clashing with some of the main stage headliners.Shortly afterwards, I made my way to perhaps the festival's most visually alluring site - Arcadia.It was first built in 2007 and became a permanent stage in 2014, gaining an international reputation as the giant spider where some of the world's biggest DJs have performed.Now a huge dragonfly repurposed from a former Royal Navy helicopter, it was lit up last night by Australian DJ and producer Sonny Fodera, who told the BBC that performing there "was one of the most insane experiences of my life".Arcadia is often top of the to-do list for first-time Glasto goers, thanks to its lasers and pyrotechnics, which certainly look great on an Instagram story.But the stage's sound system has received criticism over the years for being too quiet to those who aren't directly under it - so you have to really push your way to the front for the best experience.However, I stood pretty far away from the main structure and could still hear his hits pretty clearly.The 39-year-old, who has performed at Worthy Farm twice before, said the stage was "unmatched" this year."The production and the sound system were definitely the best I've ever had at a festival," he added.
Glastonbury's late-night dance music offering has evolved massively in the last 25 years - expanding from one humble tent in 2000 to multiple sites across the festival.The South East Corner is perhaps the greatest innovation of them all - first formed in 2008, it is so far from the main stages that the walk itself has become legendary.By the time I began my journey to the site, it was 1am and my legs were beginning to give in on me.But luckily I managed to find a friend to join me on the pilgrimage - beginning with a quick peek in the Cabaret tent, where comedians James Acaster and Nish Kumar were much to my surprise, going back to back in a DJ set.This was just a primer for the assault on the senses that is Shangri-La.It's one of the most well-known after-dark locations at Glastonbury, mostly due to its intricate instillations that often reflect a political topic or environmental issue.The area, which began to take shape more than 17 years ago has undergone many changes, but was completely reinvented for this year's festival to open up the space.Everywhere you turn there is something weird and wonderful enough to get you to stop and look - from a mattress sprouting plant leaves to a phone line that serves to connect you to nature.The stages have also had a makeover, which is really exciting to dance vocalist Katy B.She tells the BBC: 'I love dance music and I'm definitely someone who loves Glastonbury at night. I'm playing Shangri-La main stage at four in the morning, which is going to be intense'.Katy says the area being expanded shows Glastonbury's organisers have "recognised the demand for dance music" and says she remembers coming to the festival when "the dance section was literally just two tents".
You could describe the experience as like being at a theme park - even part of the South East corner is designed like a fun fair which just so happens to have techno blasting from every corner.Part of the joy of late night Glasto is that it attracts everyone - as I take a walk round Block 9 I see a woman covered in top to toe glitter enjoying some house music next to a man in a Liverpool shirt.At points through the night, as extreme tiredness truly starts to set in, everything starts to feel like a dream.We marvel at the never-ending queue for Glasto's LGBT hotspot NYC Downlow, where it turns out the singer Lorde was enjoying a night out.There's similarly long waits to get into Temple - the home of drum and bass at the festival. Nights here end at 6am and with so much to see, its often hard to call it a night.As we go our separate ways back to camp, feet aching and heads pounding, people are still streaming into the fields.With a fallow year on the horizon, I realise it may be my last trip to the naughty corner for a while and make a detour to the Greenpeace stage on the way home, where a disco night is taking place.Because if you can't allow yourself one last solo dance to some Sister Sledge, then what is the point?
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