(Credits: Far Out / BBC Still)

While football fans flocked to Glastonbury Festival‘s various bars to watch England face Slovakia in their latest 16 knockout game at the Euros, indie legend Kim Gordon played to a Woodsies stage that was barely a third full.

The former Sonic Youth star opened her set with ‘Bye Bye’ before making her way through an array of tracks from her solo records. However, with the football attracting plenty of punters, and Avril Lavigne drawing in even more over at the Other Stage, Gordon struggled to attract the numbers many might have expected given her status.

The previous evening, Coldplay performed to a crowd that was close to the largest the festival has ever seen. However, things were more spread in general today (June 30th), with Janelle Monáe also playing to a sparse crowd over at the Pyramid Stage. Yet, the football can’t be entirely blamed given that Lavigne had easily the largest crowd the Other Stage has seen so far this year.

Gordon certainly wasn’t unaware that Glastonbury can be unforgiving for artist with well over 2000 acts performing. As her former Sonic Youth bandmate and husband, Thurston Moore, commented in 2009: “I wanna play Glastonbury because it’s such a disaster camp and I really enjoy that”.

He told the Guardian: “The general consensus among musicians I know is that it’s like walking into the pit of hell, and in some way it really feels like that.” This seemed to dawn on Gordon to some extent as she looked withdrawn during moments of the set, using intermissions to ask for water rather than engaging with the crowd, that Far Out staff present estimated to be between 300-500 people.

The previous night, Gossip had headlined the same Woodsies stage and took the opportunity to urge their crowd to go and see Kim Gordon, celebrating her as an alternative music icon. Sadly, it would seem that not many people took up that advice. And things got even worse when the England matched headed into extra-time after Jude Bellingham’s last gasp overhead kick.

Nevertheless, Gordon wasn’t the only one to have a smaller crowd than expected. Prior to the Gossip taking the stage, Sleaford Mods performed and vocalist Jason Williamson, who was annoyed by the less-than-impressive numbers in the audience during their slot, hit out at the festival for the arrangement.

“There’s too many fucking people here. Not at our gig, I might add,” he said. “We played this stage ten years ago, and it’s still the fucking same. Glastonbury, fuck off.”

There were no such remarks from Gordon who powered on with a brooding set filled with New York indie energy. In fact, by the end, those present were left assured that they had witnessed an artistic triumph, which is certainly more than those over at the football can say. In true Sonic Youth fashion, there were lessons to be had in overcoming adversity for both camps.