Helping out on schools day at
Latitude made it one of my best ever days at the festival even after 10 years
and set the tone for me for the whole weekend! It was fantastic greeting the
kids from the different Suffolk schools and taking them onto the site for
schools day. Their excitement was beautiful and having the schools wristband
and information sash meant that I felt it was possible to just go up to people
ask questions and provide support if needed. Spotting sheep, fending off the
Trolls under the bridge and helping pond dipping - excellent. Then after all
that onto Gob Squad - very funny,
gently subversive, interactive deconstruction of film - Christine and the Queens - sweet and then the crowd going wild when
old school tracks are interspersed - why not just listen to the original track but
then she is charming (old person comment, apologies) - Christopher Brett Bailey's this machine won't kill's all out assault
on the body was grindingly awe inspiring - my second time and it just gets better
with each experience http://christopherbrettbailey.com/
I really urge you to go see and be dealt with whenever you can - Grimes - squeaky electro pop - not a
crime but...saturday Will Hutton
excitedly talked to a room of like minded people occasionally sort of providing
possible ways forward - 'seems like a
good bloke'! Christopher Brett Bailey reading
from this is how we die - I last heard this in a room as part of Pulse - the
text felt fixed but here his adlibbing shocked me dragging and kicking back to
the contextual reality of sitting in a tent in a field. The conversation at the wellcome
tent around artificial intelligence with Prof Arthur I Miller & Dr Robert E Smith was constantly halted by their desire to agree their frames
of reference and define concepts - most excellent. Cassette Boy = FULL ON FUN with great head spinning twists https://www.youtube.com/user/cassetteboy
. Sophie - knob twiddling without
much soul but great noises in there. Gold
Panda - his beautiful swirling soundscapes were as ever complimented with
lyrical projections. I can't talk about the awful Airnadette we will dub you - lip-syncing is a great idea for 10 minutes but for an
hour.....but back to dancing. Suggs
- just no - old man wedding disco playing terrible records badly but then
magically Rodigan is on the decks
all old school sound system teaching us music history dropping squelching,
fades all ska and dub and I am transported back in time to dodgy smoke filled
rooms of my youth and all of a sudden its 3 in the morning sunday Mark
Kermode - my go-to film person was charming, thoughtful and direct talking
about the responsibility of the critic. Mark
Thomas's Red Shed had me in tears for an hour - it is important that people
like him exist and his performance was a fairly sobering affair. Sh!t Theatre were a wonderful shambles,
a new play with an interesting idea at its core, not quite sorted tech wise but
I love their 'just getting on with it' attitude. Adam Green - (part of Mouldy Peaches) was just beautiful, stoner
punk at its best! New Order live - not interesting then not interesting
now so wandered off around the site taking in the whole vibe for a final time.
Where else can you sing along to songs from a big gay song book, dance to some
old-skool jungle under the stars at the disco shed and in the Cabaret tent catch
Kenny Everett arguing with princess Di and Freddie Mercury about who gets into
Heaven (not the club) first. monday back on-site collecting material, tents and
stuff to work with - general camping was carnage, who would ever consider
recycling again?
