SO LATITUDE. ANOTHER YEAR AND I THINK THIS WILL BE THE LAST YEAR I GO. IT WAS LOVELY AND THE LINEUP WAS SUPER BUT I THINK I’VE JUST GOT TO OLD FOR THE FAMILY ATMOSPHERE. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE LINEUP THERE DID SEEM TO BE A LOT MORE PEOPLE IN THE MID 20s.
WE GOT TO THE FESTIVAL ON THURSDAY, AND AFTER HAVING A LOT OF TROUBLE SETTING UP CAMP DUE TO THE WINDY WEATHER WE RELAXED. MOST PEOPLE WANTED TO GO SEE TOM JONES PERFORM IN THE WOODS, UNFORUNATELY THE AUDIENCE LIMIT FOR IT WAS 1000 SO MOST PEOPLE AND US WERE UNABLE TO SEE HIM. [AFTER SEEING HIM ON THE SUNDAY MORNING SLOT I’M GLAD I DIDN’T BOTHER WITH THE WOODS, HE WASN’T THAT GOOD TO BE HONEST, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO JOANNA NEWSOM OR THOM YORKE.
FRIDAY THE MUSIC STARTED. THE FIRST BAND I SAW WERE THE KISSAWAY TRAIL , WHO HAVE PLAYED AT LATITUDE BEFORE , BUT THIS TIME THEY WERE ON THE WORD ARENA (2ND STAGE). THEY WERE BRILLIANT AND SUITED THE TENT ARENA A LOT BETTER THAN THE OPEN AIR OBELISK. I THINK IT IS A SHAME HOWEVER THAT THEY PLAYED SO EARLY ON THE LINEUP, I THINK THEY WERE SECOND ON. FOR A BAND WHO CREATE SUCH A GREAT ATMOSPHERE AND PLAY EPIC BEAUTIFUL SONGS, IT WOULD HAVE BE NICE TO SEE THEM HIGHER UP ON THE LINEUP. I FELL IN LOVE WITH EVERY MEMBER OF THAT BAND, THEY ALL PLAYED SO ENTHUSIASTICALLY, AND YOU COULD SEE THEY WANTED TO BE THERE. IT WAS A GREAT START TO THE FESTIVAL AND THEY ARE A BAND WHO CAN PLAY LIVE.
NEXT I HAD TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK, I WAS FEELING A LITTLE WORSE FOR WEAR FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE AND WANTED TO SAVE MYSELF FOR THE NIGHT AS IT WAS MY FRIENDS BIRTHDAY. I WAS GOING TO GO AND SEE I BLAME COCO BUT THE BAND BEFORE SHE PLAYED RIPPED THE TENT APPARENTLY AND SO THE SUNRISE ARENA HAD TO BE SHUT FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS. LUCKILY THEY FIXED IT IN TIME FOR TOKYO POLICE CLUB AND GIRLS (WHO HEADLINED THE SUNSRISE) TO PLAY. I CAUGHT THE END OF TOKYO POLICE CLUB AND FROM WHAT I SAW AND HEARD IT SOUNDED ALRIGHT. GIRLS HOWEVER WERE FANTASTIC, ONE OF THE BEST BANDS OF THE WEEKEND.
FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE WAS NOT VERY GOOD ON THE MAIN STAGE, SHE OPENED THE SET WELL, BUT I HONESTLY DON’T THINK SHE HAS ENOUGH SONGS TO HEADLINE A FESTIVAL, AND LET’S FACE IT MOST OF THE AUDIENCE THERE JUST WANTED TO HEAR ‘YOU’VE GOT THE LOVE’. HOWEVER LATER THAT NIGHT WE WENT TO THE COMEDY TENT WERE SMASH AND GRAB DJS PLAYED, AND FLORENCE CAME ON AND DID A SURPRISE SET AND SANG A COUPLE OF SONGS INCLUDING ‘YOU’VE GOT THE LOVE’. SHE WAS SO MUCH BETTER, AND THE ONLY REASON IT SEEMED WAS BECAUSE SHE WAS FUCKED. SHE STAGE ON THE TINY STAGE FOR MOST OF SMASH AND GRAB AND JUST SEEMED TO BE ENJOYING HERSELF A LOT MORE AND WAS HAVING FUN WITH THE AUDIENCE. I PERSONALLY THINK THE WHOLE WHITE DRESSES AND ATMOSPHERE OF HER HEADLINE PERFORMANCES LET HER DOWN, AND MORE PEOPLE WOULD RATHER SEE HER LAID BACK IN ALL GOLD AND JUMPING AND SINGING AND SMILING. AT THE SMASH AND GRAB SET SHE SEEMED LIKE SHE REALLY WANTED TO BE THERE.
SATURDAY DIDN’T REALLY HAPPEN FOR ME, I GOT WAY TO DEHYDRATED AND HAD TO SPEND MOST OF THE DAY RECOVERING AT THE CAMPSITE. HOWEVER, MY FRIENDS SAW THE MACCABEES, THE XX AND BELLE AND SEBASTIAN AND THEY ALL SAID THEY PLAYED WELL. CRYSTAL CASTLES CAUSED QUITE A STIR, ALICE GOT TOUCHED UP BY SOME GUY AND THEN IN RESPONSE TO THAT GOT A BOTTLE OF JD AND WENT IN TO THE CROWD TO HIT THE GUY WHO TOUCHED HER. ALSO SOME BROKE THE ARM BACKWARDS DURING IT.
SUNDAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY AND I WAS FEELING SO MUCH BETTER AND HAPPIER THAN SATURDAY. HEARD SOME OF JAMIE LIDELL WHILE WAITING TO GET SOMETHING SIGNED BY YEASAYER, WHO ARE LOVELY GUYS, AND ALL VERY BEAUTIFUL. NEXT I SAW MUMFORD AND SONS WHO WERE GREAT AND SHOULD HAVE REALLY PLAYED HIGHER UP ON THE LINEUP, THE CROWD WANTED MORE , BUT I WANTED DIRTY PROJECTORS MORE. DIRTY PROJECTORS GOT BETTER AS THEY GOT INTO THEIR SET, THE VOCALS OF THE GIRLS WERE SLIGHTLY TOO LOUD IN SOME PARTS, HOWEVER THE MANAGED TO GET A VERY IMPRESSIVE AUDIENCE FOR THEIR SET AND I RECKON THEY GAINED QUITE A FEW MORE FANS THAT DAY. YEASAYER WERE ONE OF THE BEST BANDS I SAW THAT WEEKEND, THEY GOT EVERYONE DANCING, AND THEY CAN ACTUALLY PLAY AND SING LIVE. JONSI WAS BRILLIANT BEAUTIFUL AND HIS PERFORMANCE WAS MAGICAL, ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF WEEKEND. I MISSED GRIZZLY BEAR BY ACCIDENT BUT FROM WHAT I’VE HEARD THEY WERE SPECTACULAR TOO.
ALL IN ALL IT WAS A GOOD FESTIVAL WITH AN EXCELLENT LINEUP. I HOPE FOR NEXT YEAR AND IN THE FUTURE LATITUDE OPEN THERE ARMS TO MORE OF THE 20-25 AGE GROUP AND PERHAPS PLAY DOWN THE FAMILY CARD A BIT, BECAUSE IT CAN ATTRACT AMAZING ARTISTS AND PERFORMERS BUT I JUST THINK IT NEEDS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT AGE GROUP TO GET THE ATMOSPHERE BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS IN 2007 AND TO WHAT IT IS AT OTHER FESTIVALS.
PEACE OUT.X
