Pointless returned to Bassline Circus for Glastonbury 2008 - as the main music venue in Shangri-la, the new 24hour field hidden away from the main stages (aka babylon) With a huge line up of bands and guest circus acts, brand new decor and staging, it's a big step up for the crew- this year's theme is "Cabarave" with a mushing of ska, dupstep and old school rave acts direct from the uk underground scene supported by our cast of aerialists, sword swallowers, and other new school circus talents.
The visual setup had to be flexible to accomodate a busy space and a small budget, and we experimented with DIY designs to bring the imagery daringly close to the audience with freestanding rotating cube screens and swinging projectors. We also devised a sliding stage screen that came out after the bands and acrobats had vacated the stage. The venue was packed up everynight with a great mental crowd lapping up the action, the combination of set design, visuals and sound system creating an immersive surrounding - miles off the stage-centric design of the massive dance arenas and rockstar stage shows.
To help us perform the 4 scheduled days of visuals, we called in for support a cast of guest VJs to work within the style of our lineup and complement's Pointless techno aesthetics. VJ Kodek provided sleek and relentless digital animation on friday, Metzvids dropped some cheeky stroboscopic narratives - both of them working of compact setups with strong personal styles via pre edited dvds. Fat Butcher rocked on sunday with beautiful constructivist compositions seemlessly flowing from his laptop+V4 setup. The rave element was nicely highlighted by Laser Chris' setup.
The festival was over before we even knew it, and the long task of taking down the show was made bearable by the untypically good weather and the satisfaction of a job well done. After last year's punishing summer tour, it almost felt like holiday.
Working amongst the Glastonbury madness can be hectic at times, and it always helps to know there's a homely trailer to collapse into when things get too much... we weren't that lucky this year but our newly acquired black gazebo provided us with a vague sense of civilisation. The festival's aftermath is always a bit depressing with so much stuff being abandonned: we scavenged some structural materials for use in future visual projects.
