The one about Latitude Festival

[shewho]

Long time coming! But it would appear that I have nothing better to do today at work.

WARNING!!!!!! LOTS OF WORDS ALERT!!!!


Thursday
My throwing-a-sickie powers are amazing. In that, I am actually disgustingly coughingly sick. I leave work early, to go home and rest, although in actuality I go to meet diamond_geyser at Liverpool St Station. The train and bus is easy, we find the guest camping no problems and pitch tents, joined quickly by myfirstkitchen and Emil, and head out to explore.

There are pastel coloured (real) sheep!
There is a beautiful lake!
The literary tent looks like a library and has a giant book!
The site is teeny and beautiful and not going to make me paranoid!
The trees are lit up with green lights and look like broccoli. That, or there is acid in my Malibu.

We bump into Johnny Candon who entertains us with tales of certain people, and then head into the literay tent for Book Club in a Field!

Noone is actually on site yet, so Peter Buckley-Hill is compering, with some some Danielle Ward and Johnny. I can't remember much, the pear cider sends me running toiletwards repeatedly. Doh! We have a nice early 1am night, after a boogie to Funky Cold Medina by a stage in the woods.


Friday
Starts where else but in the Comdey Tent, for Jen Brister, (not my favourite. At All.) Dan Antopolski (very good indeed, especially for lack of scary belly baring which is my scarring memory from last time), and Russell Howard who is bl00dy ace. Big Tall Greg Klang (I'm sure he has a real name) is compering. I like that man. A Lot.

At some point the rest of the world appears (the rest of the world = drasticsturgeon, catbo, glamrazzle, ifnotnow_when, assorted others and eventually stephens. verlaine and companions are even later. It is highly likely we locate each other watching The Book Club. What do you mean, obsessive?

The first band I see are (the Nightingale sponsored) The Crimea. Good choice ladies! They are very good indeed. In fact, the singer starts the gig in the middle of the audience. I love such guerilla staging tactics (see also - Lightning Bolt) and am won over. So it helps that the music is also quite marvellous too. I am told this was not them at their best at all. I shall certainly be attempting to see them again.

Afterwards, I drag everyone to see (the col_d sponsored) Republic of Loose. Good choice again! Kind of like Prince crossed with The Commitments, we decided, except brilliant, and not terrible like that description. I think they were annoyed at the lack of dancing and the mostly sitting down, but Cat and I boogied at the back, grinning like loons.

Next up is poetry with myfirstkitchen in full on ranty shouty mode. I'd never seen Penny before, and am suitably impressed. Also annoyed at myself for missing the calmer Sunday set, but then I am an IDIOT. We catch the end of Nathan Penlington beforehand, with some magic.

Legging it across the field for The Lemonheads I manage to hear stupid Darren Hayman's voice and get angry. Ooops. The Lemonheads are OK I suppose, this is where I come clean and say I was never really a huge fan. Nostalgia trip! I miss most of the songs I actually *know*, by disappearing off to see....

...The Organ, who may not be very interesting to actually watch, but whose singer has a beautiful voice, and they are lovely to listen to. One for the iPod, methinks.

Much of the rest of the day is obviously spent in The Book Club tent, although I do a runner to check out the last few songs by Scritti Politti (featuring rhodri!) and wish I'd seen more. They are one of those bands I really don't know much, if anything by.

I get a little bored, and run off to my tent to do some shopping, deciding to be wasted all the better to hear Howard Marks. However, I can't get into the tent. Booo! So I sat outside the poetry tent listening to Saul Williams instead. I am glad of the shopping, it makes me far more appreciative of the new age-ish poetry ;)

The Book Club in a tent is the best idea ever. Talking to John Robb very fast whilst slightly wasted and waiting for it to start possibly isn't. Matthew Crosbie comperes, and is fantastic all weekend actually. At some point I declare I am "more hardcore than Howard Marks". Oooops. Book Club til bed!

Everything finishes at 3am. Sleeeeeeep.


Saturday
There isn't much festival for me Saturday, so I make the most of the morning.

Ben Moor's Coelacanth one man play is the perfect way to start the day. Funny, sad, beautiful. I am not alone in crying at the end (oh c'mon, even Howard Marks does that the morning after!). Set in a world where tree climbing is a professional sport, a tale of love and loss. If you ever get the chance, see it.

Mark Watson is on nice and early in teh comedy tent, so I get to catch him too. He's brilliant! So enthusiastic and Welsh and lovely and aaaaaaah. *Adds to Edinburgh list*.

.... and then I blow out the rest of the festival today, and head over to Bury-St-Edmunds for a 30th Birthday Party. I meet 2 lads at the station leaving the festival, and pray they don't talk to me, they seem like drunk idiots. But they do, and then they give me beer, and they are actually lovely boys, most entertaining travelling companions. Beren / Rowan, hurrah for you!

Lisa's birthday is Tarantino themed. I am the 2nd of 2 Gogo Yubarins to arrive. However there are approximately 5 Seths from From Dusk til Dawn. Hah! Cocktails are drunk, tasty BBQ is eaten, the host has MADE A BAR for the occasion. It is quite lovely. Games are played with eggs, we 'jump rope' with other Gogo's weapon. I think bedtime is called when one of the Seths and I start singing along to indie tunes too loudly.

I pass out on a sofa.


Sunday
Wake up on sofa. Have real shower, use real loo, feel smug. Back to the festival via Ipswich. This weekend sees too much time spent at Ipswich.

I time my journey back to cunningly arrive on site in time to see Rob Newman in the comedy tent, hurrah! Finding diamond_geyser is easy, she is by the comedy tent with red hair. Rob Newman is ace, the history of the world backwards is genius!

More Book Club follows, followed by an abortive attempt to see Nicky Wire again. Sorry Nicky, I just CAN'T. Poor Alex has her dreams completely smashed!

Luckily, My Latest Novel are on at the same time, except they are blinking ace! Almost as ace as the "when we were wolves" game that diamond_geyser invents. Another band for me to check out. A bit indie, a bit scottish, completely lovely. Cor, you can tell why I'm not a music journalist!

Sunday evening is a scheduling nightmare. Obviously there is Book Club. Also there are 4 bands I want to see all overlapping! I decide to make a 4 songs, then move on rule. Mostly, I stick to it.

Mercury Rev do what Mercury Rev do. I love it. You know it.

Regina Spektor I don't know, however she is brilliant. Beating out a rhythm whilst playing keyboards and singing weird little ace songs. Baby Jesus is my new favourite thing. I spend too long in the tent, breaking my rule, and drag myself out by the hair.

I have a soft spot for little Euros Childs. Strangely enough, his solo material is very Gorkys. There's the fey, winsome, pretty Welsh songs, then the crazy, shouty Welsh songs. Good enough. Not amazing.

I debate staying in the Book Club rather than seeing Mogwai. I am very glad I didn't, popping in on the way back from the loos. I have seen them numerous times, but always forget quite how wonderful they are and how mesmerising I find them until seeing them live again. Mogwai mogwai mogwai, rah rah rah! They do give me that wonderful euphoric almost coming up feeling. In fact, you know that thing you used to do when you were a kid? When you stood in a doorway and pressed your arms as hard as you could against the frame for a minute, then when you stood outside the door way you couldn't stop your arms from lifting up? Mogwai make me feel like that. I think.

However, the end of the festival HAD to be back at Book Club,......


The Book Club
Ah, so many, many highlights over the weekend......

Phil Jeays - my first ever Jeays experience. Lovely stuff. I can't let barrysarll be right! damn!
catbo's spontaneous performances. especially judging the Sex-Off by the medium of aria!
Neil Edmonds's interpretive dance.
The Trap - I like them more in a field.
The interaction between Robin Ince and martylog.
The Safe & Sounders stuff again - I think I am liking Isy Suttie.
The usual Book Club experience

My special special favourite thing of the whole festival though was Gary le Strange and his Beef Scarecrow pieces. Maggots, maggots, maggots, maggots!!!! Absolute *insert hyperbole here* genius. Love love love love. 10 minute maggot opus! Michael the Swan! *grin*

We rounded off Sunday evening in the Guilty Pleasures tent. Now, I hate the thinking behind guilty pleasures, why should you feel guilty about any of the songs? I mean, tis almost as bad as liking things IRONICALLY. Grrrr. But anyway, there was dancing the night away to brilliant things, with a possee of friends, most of the Book Club-ians, other comedians, poetry representatives and a fella who had played the main stage. Happy, smiling, drunken people. Rob Newman starting folk dancing.

It got a bit much, and I lay on my back in the dewy grass staring at the stars. Lovely.

*****

Special Wings mentions to:

♥ Jo Neary for Denny Laine / Penny Lane. I hadn't noticed! Hee
♥ Charlie, for giving my 'better than Morrissey' argument merit.

*****

Monday was a shock, as diamond_geyser and I got in a taxi at half 5 to get the train straight into our respective workplaces. Not as much of a shock as for the regular "Train Gang" whose seats we had unwittingly taken. They tried not to catch our sleepy eyes. Perhaps because we were muttering about maggots and swans called Michael and generally not making sense.

*****

Who fancies it next year, eh? ;)