Latitude (part I)

After a long journey from London to Suffolk, via a good train and a really bad shuttle bus, we arrived at Henham Park on Thursday afternoon.  Almost all the stages didn’t really get going until the Friday, but that evening we did manage to see Jon Ronson do a reading (with his son reclining on a chaise longue – it’s a chaise longue kind of festival – occasionally asking his dad not to do a particular story “because he’s heard that one 300 times”) of a selection of articles, including both his domestic columns for the Guardian and his more interesting proper journalism on crackpot conscpiracy theorists.  After this we did some more wandering around, getting to know the layout of the grounds, and finished the evening by watching a silent 1920s version of Moulin Rouge, accompanied by a live orchestra.  The story was that of a mother who unwittingly attracts the lover of her daughter against the glamorous background of 20s Paris.  This story may have been more compelling had not the daughter looked at least as old as her mother.

The next day we began by queuing for tickets for BBC Radio 4’s Just a Minute.  Two episodes were to be recorded at Latitude over the course of the weekend, and despite getting to the queue as soon as the main gates were opened (and running from the main gates to the queue, to boot), I didn’t manage to get a ticket to either recording, which was a bit of a stinker considering that’s what I wanted to see most at the festival.  However, we recovered by going to the comedy tent, where there were half-hour/forty minute sets from Robin Ince, Adam Bloom and Simon Day in quick succession.  Ince and Bloom were both good, though I’d been expecting quite a bit less shouting from Ince for some reason; Bloom was unknown to me and quite impressed me with a well-pitched performance; but Day was a real disappointment, especially because I’ve always been quick to defend him in the past – when others say he rode on the coattails of more talented performers in The Fast Show and other programmes, I’ve always said he has a charm of his won.  His Latitude appearance was entirely charmless.

Over the rest of the day I saw sets by Beth Orton (excellent) and The Go! Team, who won me over with their immense likeability, their youthful energy, their colourfulness, but were sadly lacking in tunes to match everything else about them.  They had two good songs and the crowd erupted for them, but otherwise they didn’t quite live up to their promise.  I also saw a few songs of Julian Cope’s set, which were impenetrable to a non-fan such as myself.  My highlight of Friday was set by The Irrespressibles on the “In the Woods” stage.  This stage was a magical setting, where the man-made stage was beautifully incorporated into the sylvan surroundings; the trees provided a canopy overhead, making it a lovely natural venue.  The Irrepressibles are nigh-on indescribable: they were a nine-piece orchestra playing a specially-commissioned piece for the Latitude Festival, but that doesn’t even begin to tell you about the choreography, the outlandish Flash Gordon/1920s costumes married perfectly with the lighting and presentation and just the sheer sound of it.  They were fronted by a singer who sounded like a cross between Morrissey and Antony of Antony and the Johnsons.  Apparently an album is coming out in October – I am excited.