Latitude. It’s been one of my favourite festivals for some time now. The fact that it’s just a mere footstep away from where I live is one bonus. Couple this with one of the friendliest attitudes and some of the coolest music in the UK, and you’ll understand why this event has grown from 10,000 people at its inception to the bustling crowd of 35,000 who make this colourful party what it is today.
This year a mix of old and new music had caught my attention, including (but of course not strictly limited to) SBTRKT, Dexys, Shy FX, Daryl Hall, Django Django and Hooray for Earth. Latitude is one festival where people like to laugh and so they should, as after all that’s what they were probably going for when they included a comedy tent. I’m a bit of a deadpan fan, so was hoping to catch a bit of Rich Hall and Jack Dee to cheer me up with their misery.
Day 1
We met up at the usual point, a Morrison’s car park. It’s one of those times where you get together with people you haven’t seen for ages and then it’s suddenly like you haven’t spent a day apart. The high point of this congregation was our mate who hadn’t checked for adequate toilet paper having to do the shuffle of shame round to the disabled toilet. After the sniggers had died down it was then ‘Wagons Ho’ towards Southwold. When we arrived there was the usually to-do with the security goblins, but we managed to pass their riddles three and parked the car. Beers were cracked, the caravan was sat in for a bit and then it was off to the festival proper.
The first thing that caused a little bit of a headache was the bar system. Here you had to spend £3 on a deposit for a glass. This, of course, was no problem as Latitude has always used a deposit system so this will never be one of those festivals that turns into a sea of cardboard on day three. The trouble was that unlike other years, where you simply kept the same glass, here you had to return the glass, get your deposit back, then pay a new deposit when you got another beer. Sound complex? It was even more frustrating to actually have to go through with it. People were complaining by the time they had to get their second drink. I wondered how long the organisers could keep people happy with this policy.
Apart from the bar, Thursday night was a fairly uneventful, peaceful experience. You could feel the work falling off your shoulders and you’re just beginning to relax. I even got one of those moments you only get when out with randoms ordering a pork roast. The guy behind the spit came from Coventry. He reckoned that he lived three streets away from the lady who famously dunked the cat in the bin. This is now the fourth person I’ve met from Coventry who’s used the cat lady in their claim to fame. Either it’s a small place or the same chap and I’ve been too drunk to remember.
Day 2
Friday morning I had a transcendental experience that I’d never had before. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in my life I actually woke up at a festival without a hang-over. The festival somehow felt smaller than previous years, even though to my understanding it was actually larger. A fact I put down to not being steaming drunk. Breakfast came and went and I chatted to a few people, who all seemed to be from up North. Maybe they don’t have anything like Latitude up there, or maybe they just wanted to get away from it.
Musically I was up for a bit of Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Despite my initial excitement I found myself stuck in the middle of their new material (don’t you just hate it when bands do that) and wandered off before they even got to Gino or Come on Eileen. Keeping it on the musical tip, Janelle Monae was on the money and I managed to catch Metronomy live for a second time. Although they were good, I just don’t think they can replicate their heavily produced album sound live, unlike Bon Iver, who did the opposite for me. I didn’t enjoy the snatches of this artist I’ve heard on the radio, but as a live act he really blew me away.
Day 3
Saturday morning and we’re awakened by the clamour of the festival folk. Thanks to the Summer July weather the site was a real mud pit. We decided to pull up our wellies and down a few quick G & T’s and it was off for the festival proper. The highlight of the early morning was discovering that the festival organisers had finally twigged on about the bar policy and finally reverted back to the old system. However, this satisfaction was short lived as I noticed how many of the crowd had their hoods up while carrying an umbrella. Now I’m not going to tell people what they can and can’t do, but guys, have a bit of sense, when watching a band with your hood up, do you really need a brolly?
First on the musical menu is SBTRKT who were in the Word Arena. This is a cool and classy venue as the place has been kept dark enough to give you lasers in the day-time, for that all round night-time feeling. I also think bass works best when ‘kept in a box’, reverberating round an enclosed space. Although this wasn’t some sweaty underground club in Brixton, it definitely did the job.
Elbow are next, which should have been one of the high points of the day, but I didn’t enjoy the endless conversation the lead singer felt necessary to enact with the audience. I mean, this was supposed to be sonic entertainment, not some whimsical waxing on themes superfluous. The high point of the day was Drum N Bass old boy Shy FX rinsing out the classics in the woods. It was great to catch one of the genre’s true superstars without having to deal with some hatted-hoodie getting all up close and personal about it all. As ever in my life I almost managed to escape the day drama free, but karma wouldn’t let me go without a fight. Having lost one of our party, we panicked about their disappearance until they turned up looking shamed, after having passed out in one of the portaloos.
Day 4
On Sunday morning the sun finally came out. Although I’d been keeping a lid on it (for most of the festival and this review) the mud had been driving me up the pole. Late night festivities always prevent a proper nights kip at a festival and now the combined effect of my hangover and lack of sleep now made Latitude seem like a never ending expanse of people. I’m not as young as I used to be and the three days were wearing heavy on me. My realisation of this fact came pretty much at the same time as I found myself asking what the woman from the catering tent was doing on the mike for the Alabama Shakes.
It was one of those lazy final festival days when you kind of felt you’d already got your money’s worth from the acts you wanted to see. Aimlessly wandering around I managed to catch Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. I was definitely pleasantly surprised with their catchy blend of feel good music. Last, but by no means least on the list were M-83 who managed to bring me enough energy in the Word Arena to stagger off to the woods to catch the Levellers. They reminded me in their grungy glory that there’s only One Way of Life, before the stars carried me on my sweet way back to the tent for a final pow-wow, then bed, then home…
Summing up
Now finally sitting here three nights after the whole chaotic event what are my thoughts? Well, many of you out there will know that Latitude has been conceived as an alternative to Glastonbury. I think that’s still a long way off. They have Indie Dance cross-over and the kind of Dubstep you’d expect to here in University halls, but that’s as close to the real deal they get. The only true Dance music happens here after hours when the DJs come in. They need to spread their musical net that bit wider to make this as eclectic as the big bad boy of British festivals. In all honesty if you don’t do Indie, then I wouldn’t go.
In some respects Latitude has an almost schizophrenic feeling to it. In the daytime you feel like you’ve been transported back to a high school field trip, as you’re surrounded by middle class geography teachers and their English teaching wives, but at night these are replaced by the wild, wild things who want to eat up the night sky and party till the end of never.
Finally, once again I missed all the cabaret and comedy parts of the festival. If you’re reading this Jack Dee, then I’m sorry I didn’t catch your show. For me this is an indicator however of how good the music is when it’s your kind of thing. Latitude is one of those festivals that you can both get the best out of acts you wanted to see and get lost with bands you didn’t know you liked. Despite the weather, the charge of the light umbrellas and the bars, I’ll definitely be there next year.
For more Latitude Festival information and tickets, click here.
