www.latitudefestival.co.uk en Live Nation Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:22:56 GMT Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:22:56 GMT We hope you've all fully recovered from the mince pie overdoses and getting tangled up in fairy lights and are looking forward as much as we are to Latitude 2008.<br /> <br /> Look out for the brand new newsletters coming soon with all the latest Latitude updates. If you can't wait til then, why not join the <strong><a href="http://forums.latitudefestival.co.uk">forums </a></strong>if you haven't already and get chatting about your dream line-up or meet your long-lost festival friend.<br /> <br /> Until then, Happy New Year to you all! Jennifer Roberts General Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:30:00 GMT 2008-01-08T00:30:00 f544da09-d64a-4839-8cd5-bc430e87c727 1000000 <p>Buy your latitude t-shirts <strong><a href="http://www.bandmad.com">here......</a></strong></p> Jennifer Roberts General Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT 2007-11-07T00:00:00 6c700cb8-c901-46d7-8152-decc01b9a79d 1000000 Thanks to everyone that voted! <p>We take pride in making sure you have the greatest experience at our festival and we are so glad that you think we do!</p> <p>Thanks to everyone that voted.</p> Jennifer Roberts General Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:15:00 GMT 2007-10-22T14:15:00 09f0f3f4-2168-416e-8e86-49f1426648ed 1000000 Read all about it..... <p>We are delighted to announce our new Festival Republic name. As promoters of the best festivals in the world we are extremely proud to list Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals, the critically applauded new kid on the block - Latitude, our involvement in Glastonbury not to mention our annual London festivals including Rise, St Patricks Day, Fleadh.<br /> <br /> As part of our new focus we have sold the Borderline, Jazz Cafe, The Garage, The Old Fiddler, G-A-Y Bar and G-A-Y Late Club to Mama Group. But have retained ownership of the much celebrated Astoria with the newly renamed Mean Fiddler, The Astoria 2.<br /> <br /> We will continue to bring to you the greatest festivals on the planet and are looking forward to many exciting new projects on the horizon.<br /> <br /> <em><font color="#ff0000">You must register with the new Festival Republic site in order to receive our newsletter.</font></em><br /> <br /> <strong><a href="http://www.festivalrepublic.com/register">Click here to register</a></strong></p> Annie Day General Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-10-22T00:00:00 b3b86615-5518-4836-9daa-a47dedce1057 1000000 I thought the first year was special, but Latitude 07 was even better! <p>I arrived on Thursday and went for a wander round the site - the woods and lake were still where they were and looked beautiful, and then the film on the Lake stage. It was Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger, which was great. And then about ten minutes in, Jon Dunn, my mate Wally and me noticed the live orchestra playing the soundtrack. That was great! It felt like a festival hitting all the senses - oh to be able to have a weekend off and see eveything!<br /> <br /> Other highlights across the weekend for me was - Polar Bear's poetry, Stuart Silver in the Literature tent, crepes, short French films, every band on the Lake Stage from Dan le Sac vs Scroobious Pip to Gentle Good, Middleman to Duloks, TANAOU to Hot Puppies, Sam Isaac to Get Cape, Vessels to - just everybody!</p> <p>I enjoyed the late night partying, Rob da Bank djing in the woods, Andy Votel, Gruff Rhys, Jarvis Cocker, Forecast, Vinyl Vendettas and Ex Boyfriends Records djing, Arcade Fire and Rodrigo y Gabriela, and the whole vibe I saw was lovely.</p> <p>Here's to next year!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> Annie Day General Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-07-19T00:00:00 cc4eab0b-3d35-41e7-b329-84b3f602a6c2 1000000 My brain feels as woolly as a sheep’s coat and I don’t know if it’s sleep or glitter that’s clogging up the corners of my eyes. One thing I do know though is booking sunshine as a headline act was a complete masterstroke and I gratefully thank whoever arranged that for us. Greatest supporting act has to be the incredibly lovely audience.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> I know that sounds greasy and sycophantic but it&rsquo;s so brilliant to have worked hard all year to watch everyone have a great time and then not burn your effigy in a campfire. I feel a bit overcome with it all and want to gush about all the performers but I&rsquo;ll try not to get too Gwyneth Paltrow about it and save myself from the embarrassment of reading this at a later date and choking on my own enthusiasm.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Absolutely loved the indefatigable Robin Ince&rsquo;s Book Club in the Literary Arena and especially the fact that he managed to get Hollywood A list actors, James Franco and Ian Hart, to crawl under the stage to shout &lsquo;Maggots&rsquo;! at the unsuspecting audience.&nbsp; Hmmm, you had to be there I guess. Will try for some more coherence.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> A favourite moment had to be Mark Lamarr presenting Alabama 3 in the Music and Film Tent, amazing atmosphere, great set and it even made Lamarr smile. Kate Nash in both Music and Film Arena and the Poetry Arena was quite beautiful, as was the haunting and touching Minima, oh yes and Simon Armitage showed how truly inspirational poetry can be (wish he&rsquo;d help me with this blog). For energy and wit, Luke Wright, my host and co-organiser of the Poetry Arena, steals the show and I proudly wore his wrong as wrong can be badge all weekend; &lsquo;I Glassed A Swan&rsquo;. Please don&rsquo;t write in, I know it&rsquo;s wrong but that&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s funny.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> I tried to catch as much theatre as possible, Nabokov, Paines Plough and Joe Penhall&rsquo;s sharp as a knife writing in RCT&rsquo;s Shuffle were all spellbinding and moments which brought my feet soundly to terra firma. Hey, weren&rsquo;t the Irrepressibles brilliant and Albert Hammond Jr (God loves a Stroke). Talking of which, what a huge lashing of pleasure in the Comedy Arena all day and yes I think we need to make the tent bigger as it proved to be wildly popular. Thanks to everyone who patiently sat outside, we turned up the volume and at times I think you could hear Bill Bailey over at the main stage.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> And of course the fabulous Sean Rowley and Guilty Pleasures. After my impromptu stage dancing with the gold jock strapped dancers on Friday night, Sean and Kirsti tried to get me to dress up as an icecream on Sunday. Took a bit of a swerve on that one to see the &lsquo;Cabearat&rsquo; and the Bikini Beach Band who were amazingly good fun. I learnt a lot of things in the Cabaret Arena that night and lets just say Walking Like An Egyptian wasn&rsquo;t one of them. I&rsquo;m not Beautiful, I certainly feel Damned, but I had one hell of a time and I hope you did too. Annie Day General Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-07-19T00:00:00 2d020919-390d-404e-926d-a7f5cba9dadf 1000000 Lost something at Latitude? Please contact laurenrayner@aoldotcom&nbsp;&nbsp;or &nbsp;write to 23 Mill Lane, Wrentham, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 7JQ - we regret phone calls are not possible.<br /> <br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/11028389@N03/">click here</a> for photos of lost property. Annie Day General Mon, 16 Jul 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-07-17T00:00:00 5b92f5fa-167e-4f29-8f75-c69a88229b4c 1000000 <p>The last time I saw Brendon Burns he had long hair wrapped in a bandanna and exposed himself on stage.&nbsp; This is the first thing I tell the short-haired Burns when I meet him for an interview after his Latitude act. He looks shocked and confused, &lsquo;How high was I? I don&rsquo;t remember any of this.&rsquo; Burns has been clean for a year and a half. Back in the day he gave out mushrooms to fans at Glastonbury, led audiences out of venues and into the streets of London, and of course, stripped.&nbsp; But although his stint in rehab has rendered him considerably less volatile, after watching his act today I can confirm he is certainly no less entertaining.</p> <p>Brendon Burns&rsquo; act is that of an angry Australian; he is potty-mouthed to the extreme, or rather cesspit-mouthed, and he shouts a great deal. Using his assertive humour to dissect the oddities of his adopted Britain, he was as offensive as I had hoped today. Yet despite targeting subjects like burqas and terrorism head-on, he is oddly loveable in his execution of what are usually taboo topics.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Burns has been performing at festivals for 17 years, having first taken to the stage in Perth when he was 19. At that time he feels it was more of an older man&rsquo;s game, something you entered after you had a couple of careers under your belt providing you with food for material. Burns had no such material; &lsquo;I went straight into it and didn&rsquo;t really know that much, except drinking and fucking, that was all I had. Then I did several years of spurious social&ndash;political nonsense and then I&rsquo;m back to drinking and fucking. So I&rsquo;m full circle.&rsquo; Burns has been living in London since 1990, with a 2 year stint in Melbourne between 92 and 94. &lsquo;It&rsquo;s the comedy capital of the world. It&rsquo;s where the best come to play. There&rsquo;s more money, the crowds are more comedy savvy. It&rsquo;s an art form that people truly appreciate here; there are actual stand-up comedy fans.&nbsp; There is a very well trained, well developed sense of humour in this country.&rsquo; I ask him how different being on stage is after having cleaned up his act; &lsquo;My mind is a lot clearer. I don&rsquo;t feel as invincible as I used to. I did Glastonbury recently and I got nervous. The first time I got nervous I was fresh out of rehab and I had a gig to go to. I got nervous about the fact that I was nervous because it was such a foreign feeling.&rsquo;</p> <p>Having caught a flight from Amsterdam, where he was performing at the English Comedy Festival, to be here today, Burns is keen to get straight back to London when the interview&rsquo;s over; &lsquo;You know what? I&rsquo;ve just survived Amsterdam and stayed clean. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ll put myself through another festival&rsquo;. I explain that it really isn&rsquo;t that sort of festival, that it&rsquo;s a fairly wholesome event on the whole, but he&rsquo;s not convinced, &lsquo;Look at me, vicars offer me drugs. I bet you I could score in a minute.&rsquo;</p> <p>Burns has 6 albums beneath his belt, and is showcasing a different look on the cover of each.&nbsp; Right now he is sporting a rather fetching moustache. He tugs it, and explains that it&rsquo;s for the play that he&rsquo;s about to start doing up in Edinburgh, &lsquo;The Breaker Morant, it&rsquo;s a famous old Australian play with a huge cast, all comics, and Phil Nichol directing. Hence the fucking ridiculous facial hair. I fucking hate it. It gets in my teeth in my sleep.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s disgusting. If I drink milk I look homeless.&rsquo;</p> <p>If you&rsquo;d like to see the tash in question there are ample upcoming opportunities. The play will be showing in the Underbelly every afternoon in August, whilst Burns&rsquo; new stand- up show, very honestly entitled, &lsquo;So I suppose THIS is offensive now&rsquo; will be showing every evening in the Pleasance Dome.</p> <p>Henrietta Clancy</p> Jennifer Roberts General Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:15:00 GMT 2007-07-16T03:15:00 9f140033-faae-4632-89b8-7c3828a8131f 1000000 I'm in the Literary Arena on the Sunday, watching one of the WordTheatre events. This is where actors read other people's short stories. And it really makes a difference, compared to all the slots throughout the weekend where authors read their own work. <p><strong>The Well-Spoken Story</strong></p> <p>I'm in the Literary Arena on the Sunday, watching one of the WordTheatre events. This is where actors read other people's short stories. And it really makes a difference, compared to all the slots throughout the weekend where authors read their own work.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;The truth is, some authors are just not great readers. They can be nervous, mumbling, shy, or cursed with an inexpressive voice. Reading aloud has to involve elements of an actor's technique: clarity, conviction, personification, strong delivery.<br /> &nbsp;So when the likes of Ian Hart and Kerry Fox take to the stage, it's a real treat. Even if you can't quite remember where you've seen Mr Hart or Ms Fox, chances are you've seen one of their many films. For me, I think of Ian Hart as the divorced father in Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland, or as John Lennon in two very different movies about the Beatles (Backbeat and The Hours and The Times).<br /> <br /> &nbsp;And in my mind, Ms Fox will always be Janet Frame in An Angel At My Table. Especially the scene where she's a junior schoolteacher standing at her blackboard and staring despairingly at the piece of chalk in her fingers, feeling empty of any thought whatsoever. Every writer's idea of hell.<br /> &nbsp;Also appearing is the young Hollywood actor James Franco, who appeared in all three Spider-Man films as Toby Maguire's rival for Kirsten Dunst's affections. He is as James-Dean-like handsome on the small Literary Arena stage as he is on the big screen, and his choice of short story makes perfect sense: a sweet, sexy tale of a man pretending to be a fire-fighter in order to impress the girl of his dreams. Though if the character looked like James Franco, he'd be in there without a word.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;All the famous movie actors read beautifully, of course, and I'm reminded of locally-associated novelist Esther Freud's slot in the same tent on the Saturday. She read extracts from her latest novel clearly and charismatically, then followed with a Q&amp;A where she talked about her former life as a struggling actress. So it all makes sense.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;The Latitude Literary Lesson is: if you're going to write books and read them aloud, taking an acting lesson or two alongside the creative writing classes would be worth every penny.</p> Jennifer Roberts General Mon, 16 Jul 2007 01:00:00 GMT 2007-07-16T02:00:00 b5c25705-f270-411c-8534-9e19b8804145 1000000 <p>It is the definition of surreal, after too much questionable cider, to chance upon the Cabaret stage. As I entered the already packed out tent, near-naked men were prancing about the stage, black leather covering their assets. It&rsquo;s the last night of the festival, the music is over, and I want nothing more than to be entertained by weirdness. Entertained by three burly men in little more than waistcoats (and cuffs) doing an almighty can-can, to riotous response.</p> <p>Ophelia Bitz, a renowned burlesque dancer, takes to the stage to strip to Amy Winehouse&rsquo;s &lsquo;Rehab&rsquo;. Ophelia proves the old adage that skinny isn&rsquo;t what is sexy: confidence is what is sexy. And shaking up a cocktail with your breasts, that&rsquo;s pretty sexy. Then she swallows some fire, removes her corset to reveal tassel covered boobs, and departs the stage. And again: uproarious response.</p> <p>At this point I almost went to bed. Luckily I was lured back by the tantalising call of three saucy burlesque dancers stripping to &lsquo;Hey Big Spender&rsquo;. Amazingly, they manage to strip down to even less than they were wearing to begin with. It&rsquo;s all very, very naughty.</p> <p>Kim Willis</p> Jennifer Roberts General Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:15:00 GMT 2007-07-16T01:15:00 912846fe-fa0d-4a3b-8ece-a8a506875848 1000000 <p>Clare Pollard was born in 1978, and studied at Cambridge University. She was Poetry Review&rsquo;s New Poet of &rsquo;96, and received an Eric Gregory Award in 2000. Her first poetry collection, The Heavy-Petting Zoo, was published in 2000 and her second, Bedtime, was published in 2002. She has presented two television documentaries, and her first play, The Weather (2004), was staged at the Royal Court. Pollard now lives in London. Her latest collection of poetry is Look, Clare! Look! (2005).</p> <p><strong>Welcome to Latitude Festival - have you performed here before?</strong></p> <p>Yes, I came the first year as well and loved it.</p> <p><strong>What&rsquo;s your experience of the festival?</strong></p> <p>It&rsquo;s such a beautiful place &ndash; the big trees, and river and woodland stages - it really feels like an escape to the country in a way lots of other festivals don&rsquo;t.&nbsp; I&rsquo;ve really enjoyed jumping around to lots of bands, but also being able to sag on cushions and hear someone read to me when I&rsquo;m hung over.&nbsp; Plus, and this is really important, the alcohol is excellent - local cider and beer.&nbsp; I hate those festivals where you have to buy tokens to get a lukewarm beer.</p> <p><strong>What other artists, writers, or bands are you going to see while you&rsquo;re here?</strong></p> <p>Simon Armitage, Dylan Moran, Gruff Rhys and Arcade Fire.</p> <p><strong>What drew you towards writing and performing poetry?</strong></p> <p>I write everything &ndash; stories, plays and journalism as well as poetry.&nbsp; Poetry comes from an oral tradition though, and I&rsquo;ve always particularly loved hearing it read aloud.&nbsp; I like being able to connect with my audiences, and it&rsquo;s fun to put on a show.<br /> &nbsp; <br /> <strong>How does your speaking voice relate to the poetic voice in your poems?</strong></p> <p>I write pretty much as I speak.&nbsp; I don&rsquo;t use words from a thesaurus that I wouldn&rsquo;t use in real life.&nbsp; The difference is that my poetic voice is a bit more musical and angry.</p> <p><strong>Do you see a distinction between performance and page poetry?</strong></p> <p>Yes, but it&rsquo;s getting narrower.&nbsp; More and more of the exciting new poets coming through realise the importance both of getting every single word right on the page, and being able to perform your work to win an audience.</p> <p><strong>How do you feel about baring your soul to an audience of strangers when reading your more personal, autobiographical poems?</strong></p> <p>I &lsquo;fake it up with the truth&rsquo; as Anne Sexton said.&nbsp; My work&rsquo;s very honest, but I&rsquo;m also completely in control of what aspects of myself I&rsquo;m showing, and what effect it will have on the audience.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s art, not a diary entry.</p> <p><strong>Any personal rituals before reading to an audience?</strong></p> <p>Glass of red wine.</p> <p><strong>What&rsquo;s your favourite biscuit?</strong></p> <p>One with cheese on it.</p> <p><strong>What&rsquo;s your favourite poem by another poet?</strong></p> <p>The Good-Morrow, by John Donne</p> <p><strong>What&rsquo;s next for Clare Pollard?</strong></p> <p>I&rsquo;m tentatively working on a novel and a forth collection of poems, and looking forward to performing at Luke Wright&rsquo;s Poetry Party in Edinburgh this summer.</p> <p><br /> <strong>Interview by Ben Wilkinson</strong></p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 23:15:00 GMT 2007-07-16T00:15:00 bb27f4d7-5a45-44c6-8c58-69f6454d75db 1000000 <p>Sunday evening in Henham Park found the Obelisk Arena and the grass and trees surrounding it filled with crowds eagerly anticipating the headlining and closing act of Latitude Festival, Arcade Fire. Widely acknowledged as being one of the best live bands, the Arcade Fire had the crowd clapping and dancing right from the very first introductory bars of &lsquo;Keep The Car Running&rsquo;, their recent hit single released in March this year. With their medley of instruments and the breadth of the stage filled with their seven band members and orchestra, the Arcade Fire provided a performance for the eyes and the ears, with the stage being illuminated by six neon poles and pictures of a neon bible, coinciding with their latest album, &lsquo;Neon Bible&rsquo;.</p> <p>Their atmospheric set alternated between songs from their latest album as well as their first album, &lsquo;Funeral&rsquo; with popular favourites of the crowd from this 2005 release including &lsquo;Neighbourhood # 3 (Power Out)&rsquo;and my personal favourite, &lsquo;Rebellion (Lies)&rsquo;, which ended the first part of their set and had the crowd responding in unison with chants of &lsquo;Lies!Lies!&rsquo; and &lsquo;&hellip;.Underneath The Cover!&rsquo;.</p> <p>In spite of teasing the audience with possible endings for the final Harry Potter book released later this week, Arcade Fire did not disappoint the audience, bursting on stage for the encore with &lsquo;Intervention&rsquo;, with their set ending on &lsquo;Wake Up&rsquo; taken from their first album. Accompanied by a melodic chorus from a swaying crowd, the slight beginnings of rain added to the atmospheric experience. Indeed, Arcade Fire&rsquo;s performance and the reactions of the crowd represented a Neon Bible, a vibrant mix of poetry, stories, emotions, experiences and memories, just like Latitude itself.</p> <p>Kayleigh Rattle</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:45:00 GMT 2007-07-15T23:45:00 f4ea8c85-b572-4062-9f91-fc94ac64dbb0 1000000 <p>Today&rsquo;s Literary and Poetry Arena schedules boast a fine selection of authors with wide-ranging narrative styles and talents. After a short spell of rain, the sun broke through the clouds in time for Lynsey Hanley to read from her excellent semi-autobiographical work, &lsquo;Estates&rsquo;. She delivers the extracts with unflinching feeling: telling of &lsquo;the wall in the head&rsquo; that invisibly divides council estates from the high culture of middle class communities. Her retrospective analyses of teenage years are particularly illuminating: describing a middle-class friend who &lsquo;spoke like Alan Partridge&rsquo;, as well as her coming to terms with the &lsquo;entitlement of expressing you&rsquo;re your opinions&rsquo;.</p> <p>Manager of MC5 and once leader of the revolutionary White Panther Party, John Sinclair follows. With informality and ease he reads pieces collected in his work &lsquo;Guitar Army&rsquo;, reminiscing on his life as a counterculture flag bearer and philosophical musings on the ideal bringers of happiness: &lsquo;rock &lsquo;n&rsquo; roll, dope, and f***ing in the streets&rsquo;. The audience listen intently and ask plenty of questions that Sinclair enthusiastically answers, before he bows off the stage with a kiss to rapturous applause.</p> <p>Over at the Poetry Arena next door, acclaimed poet and novelist Simon Armitage begins a set that sees an ever-growing crowd collect around the tent&rsquo;s borders. One of the most original and imitated voices of modern times, Armitage&rsquo;s distinctive fringe of sweeping black hair and rhythmical Huddersfield accent make him one of the most widely known and recognisable poets on the Latitude bill booked by Curator of the Arts Stages, Tania Harrison. He reads a varied and eclectic mix of old and new material: poetic narratives on drugs, wisdom teeth, tattooed punks and even a prose poem about giving Arsenal footballer Dennis Bergkamp a hitchhiking lift delivered with wit and captivating musicality. He&rsquo;s laidback and chatty with the crowd, too: after applause he smiles: &lsquo;Poetry readings are strange, aren&rsquo;t they? You don&rsquo;t know whether to clap or stay silent. It&rsquo;s like being at church. Without the fun&rsquo;, he quips. The crowd laugh and he launches into another piece; two moving poems about his father follow. &lsquo;I&rsquo;d like to thank the organisers for inviting me along&rsquo;, Armitage says as his reading draws to a close, &lsquo;the festival&rsquo;s been brilliant and I&rsquo;ve really enjoyed it&rsquo;.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Applause in recognition follows, as festival goers leave the tent to pouring sunshine outside, or as Armitage puts it, &lsquo;the footprint of our nearest star, reaching this far&rsquo;. What&rsquo;s more, as a professional rock and pop lyricist himself, Armitage is the perfect Latitude performer: making good on&nbsp; compere Luke Wright&rsquo;s mission to make poetry the new rock &lsquo;n&rsquo; roll, and more importantly, something for everyone to enjoy. And after this weekend&rsquo;s diverse and stunning acts, you can&rsquo;t help but think he&rsquo;s well on his way to doing just that.</p> <p>Ben Wilkinson&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:00:00 GMT 2007-07-15T22:00:00 7ce10422-7953-4a80-b1d7-7659734b5058 1000000 <p>There were a wide variety of treats in store for anyone passing by the Music and Film Arena this afternoon, starting with an incredible live performance from Little Sparta. It was a tad unfortunate that avant-garde filmmaker John Smith couldn&rsquo;t show up for a question and answer session, but the crowd still enjoyed a retrospective of his work, the highlight of which was a strange, obsessive tale of a man whose life is haunted by a mysterious black tower. The narrator, who&rsquo;s never seen, documents his own descent into madness amidst a frightening array of stop-start images. The film bore all the hallmarks of Smith&rsquo;s work, often described as personal, voyeuristic and menacing.</p> <p>Smith showed a funny side, though, with his one minute film &lsquo;Gargantuan&rsquo; about &lsquo;my newt&rsquo; &ndash; the punchline being that the amphibian in question slowly got smaller and smaller as the camera zoomed out. Only a truly great filmmaker could get away with such a terrible pun. &lsquo;I&rsquo;m actually one of the most famous experimental filmmakers in the world,&rsquo; he tells us in &lsquo;Pyramids,&rsquo; an autobiographical piece that sometimes ran the risk of self-indulgence, but the playful irony of the piece was self-evident.</p> <p>Afterwards, Juneau Projects tried to serenade a swelling crowd who&rsquo;d descended on the tent to avoid a brief burst of rain with their own brand of &lsquo;heavy metal woodland music&rsquo; but problems with a sickly laptop shortened their set. The audience didn&rsquo;t seem to mind much, as Juneau Projects turned their act into a part stand-up, part cabaret act. &lsquo;We can&rsquo;t take our sunglasses off, we&rsquo;ll get the fear,&rsquo; the lead singer confessed to a laughing crowd.</p> <p>Taking us into the early evening were Patti Plinko and Her Boy, dressed sartorially in wartime attire &ndash; the boy in question even sporting a gas mask. It seems hard to believe that a wartime themed band could be so sexy, but an enthralling performance from Patti conjured up images of smoke filled rooms and stolen kisses, making the arena feel more like a Parisian dive than a tent at a festival. It just goes to show that at Latitude, you&rsquo;re never quite sure what surprises you&rsquo;ll find until you go and check them out.</p> <p>Al Allday</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:45:00 GMT 2007-07-15T20:45:00 bffb548b-fce3-4876-9b17-c72968fa972e 1000000 <p>Following her late afternoon appearance at the Sunrise Arena on Sunday, Jaymay took some well deserved time out from her busy schedule to discuss her experience of Latitude festival, with it being only her second festival performance to date.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>How have you found this festival? Have you played many festivals recently?</strong><br /> I did Glastonbury, I played on the Q stage on the Thursday, we walked all day in the mud and rain!</p> <p><strong>Have you had the chance to see anyone today?</strong><br /> I just got here from Luxembourg, onto Italy tomorrow.</p> <p><strong>A busy schedule then. What sorts of things will you be up to after this?</strong>I&rsquo;m opening for Bright Eyes in Italy tomorrow.</p> <p><strong>Lots of travelling then! So how have you found performing in a forest?</strong><br /> It feels like home, man, you know, the sound was pretty awesome, it didn&rsquo;t feel like a stage as much as a tent.</p> <p><strong>How did you find the crowd?</strong><br /> Very receptive, a very relaxed setting. I like the intimacy of this because the crowd is right next to you as I wasn&rsquo;t elevated.</p> <p><strong>The proximity is great for the audience too. Do you decide to perform your set differently each time?</strong><br /> Yeah it&rsquo;s mixed up because I&rsquo;m just a solo act so you know I don&rsquo;t have a band or anything.</p> <p><strong>So what have you got coming up, any singles or albums?</strong><br /> I have, my record is coming out this fall, so prior to that there will be some singles, and just a bunch of shows until then, and another EP coming out in the States. I have an EP out already it is called &lsquo;Sea Green, Sea Blue&rsquo; and the next EP I think will be live tracks from The Living Room which is a venue in New York City, I can&rsquo;t wait!</p> <p><strong>Well it all seems to be going really well for you, you&rsquo;re very busy!</strong>Yeah, we&rsquo;ll see! I kinda take it day by day, I don&rsquo;t really know the schedule, I&rsquo;ve never played festivals before so Glastonbury and here in the woods are my first two so it has totally been a unique experience.</p> <p><strong>I think that is the great thing about this festival, it is very relaxed and that is what makes it unique.</strong><br /> Is it only in its second year? It&rsquo;s so cool, lots of big bands and the way that kids can come and everything, it&rsquo;s so nice!</p> <p>Glad you enjoyed it as much as we did Jaymay!</p> <p>Kayleigh Rattle</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:30:00 GMT 2007-07-15T20:30:00 b6fb35bc-c499-46da-ade5-775713edc1fc 1000000 <p>I always fear that girls won&rsquo;t be funny. That they will just bang on about periods and ex-boyfriends with a bitterness that excludes all men. But, despite her subject matter mostly being her divorce, my god, Sarah Millican is funny. Funny women do exist.</p> <p>Sarah doesn&rsquo;t like kids and apologises to the 15-year-old in the front row before explaining different ways to kill a child in the home. The mostly childless audience (she did a survey) loved it. It may not sound like material for laughter, but it most certainly was. How to child proof her house means to Sarah filling enticingly colourful beakers with bleach. Without wanting to give too much away, this girl has some very bright ideas for keeping your friend&rsquo;s children at a safe distance. Sarah has the skill to make both the death of old ladies funny.</p> <p>And then came Russell Kane. I&rsquo;m so sad not to have heard of this man before, and so pleased I now know who he is. He made me laugh at myself for being one of the people he ridiculed: yes, I like sun blushed tomatoes. I am going to YouTube this guy. Over and again I was near to tears as his wit ruled the waves on this, the most glorious of days.</p> <p>The atmosphere at the comedy stage today was nothing short of magic. People lounged in the sun to the soundtrack of comedy gold.</p> <p>The one I&rsquo;d never heard of was the funniest? I need to rethink my comedy headhunting. I&rsquo;m clearly barking up the wrong trees. Not that there was anything wrong with the ones I had heard of &ndash; they were perfect &ndash; I just love this Russell Kane fella. His mocking is spot on. His impressions are uncanny. He makes lying in the sunshine being entertained very, very easy.</p> <p>Kim Willis</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:30:00 GMT 2007-07-15T20:30:00 bb1d50e7-3907-4c90-916e-a9cb1bdfd89c 1000000 <p>Pouring rain took me to the Cabaret tent today, where I happened upon a little bit of magic in the shape of four dapper gentlemen in waistcoats answering to the name of the Penny Dreadfuls.</p> <p>Their skits were really funny, I mean, really funny. Comedy tent funny. And, like I seem to all men this weekend, I took a fancy to the tallest one. Seasick Steve&rsquo;s got competition.</p> <p>They cavort about the stage like Oxford educated monkeys, slapstick swordfights and piggy backs prevail. I like watching people have fun. It&rsquo;s a simple formula: they have fun, we have fun.</p> <p>Kim Willis</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 12:30:00 GMT 2007-07-15T13:30:00 c41ccc0d-8928-4980-a5a2-491f887c6045 1000000 Taking a leave from traditional stand up Phil Jupitus and Friends introduced Latitude to almost an hour of improvisation at its best. In a show which meandered from the history of the whisk to giraffe vets, Phil and Friends thought on their feet as the audience got to decide which position, emotion or even film genre the troupe used to play out sketches of an imaginary sex-changing Spine-a-dectomy in the guise of frustration, guilt and sexy. <p><strong>Phil Jupitus and Friends</strong></p> <p>Taking a leave from traditional stand up Phil Jupitus and Friends introduced Latitude to almost an hour of improvisation at its best. In a show which meandered from the history of the whisk to giraffe vets, Phil and Friends thought on their feet as the audience got to decide which position, emotion or even film genre the troupe used to play out sketches of an imaginary sex-changing Spine-a-dectomy in the guise of frustration, guilt and sexy.</p> <p>Highlights included picking the typical poor soul from the audience and re-creating their worst festival experience in a positive light and other sketches included the first day at a train station as Harry Potter.</p> <p>Before Jupitus heads off to polish up his Edinburgh act, Latitude caught up with the man to ask about his improv antics:</p> <p><strong>Why an improvisation act?</strong></p> <p>Improvisation is new for Latitude, I really fancied coming up but I don't do the stand up anymore, so I suggested one morning doing improv and see how it worked out.</p> <p>It went great so we hope to have it every morning next year. It helps people get into the groove for comedy.</p> <p>Its nice not to have preparation, its different to stand up which I did for twenty years, you have to rely on each other, and you can lean on them -&nbsp;its good, it's a more communal thing that stand-up, which can be a lone gunman kind of gig, and I'm glad it worked well as it's such a great festival.</p> <p>Glastonbury is great but its huge. It's like going to New York and trying to see everything where at Latitude you can see everything you can walk across the festival site in a few minutes, it's nicely compact.</p> <p><strong>Who have you seen?</strong></p> <p>The Hold Steady, CSS, when I came and of course Guilty Pleasures, the Laundretta's&nbsp;and some seventies clad ladies who fed me coca-cola bottles and wagon wheels while I danced to Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold.</p> <p><strong>As for audience participation, how easy is it to get an audience involved?</strong></p> <p>It's kind of weird at a festival because they are typically loud and this was the first time I have tried to run the act, so that was fun. As for dragging someone out of the crowd, we like happy endings, turn someone's misery into something more positive.&nbsp; But the great thing with improv is, is that&nbsp;you can throw something out and see if it sticks, and if it doesn't then you've still have a fucking good laugh.</p> <p>You always find that you will fuck up too, and it makes it a laugh to watch. You watch it for the fuck up's and not the perfection of it.</p> <p><strong>Is imperfection a necessity for comedy?</strong></p> <p>Yes, I always used to like the first ten minutes more than the last ten minutes because you get to know a crowd, especially if something doesn't work and this audience has been great. Mucking about is a great way to start the day.</p> <p>The difference with Impro is that you're having fun together as a team and with the audience. Even shit gigs can be a laugh because you look at each other and wonder what the hell you are doing, like today.<br /> <br /> <strong>Interview by Tim Clark</strong></p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 11:00:00 GMT 2007-07-15T12:00:00 95a27493-e9a6-4c17-92b3-ea1314b17108 1000000 <p>Have you ever had that feeling when you witness a gig so great you worry you might not be able to return to normal music ever again? That no gig will ever compare? If you haven&rsquo;t, seek out the fabulous Bikini Beach Band and get ready for one hell of a night of romping, stomping musical wizardry.</p> <p>The Bikini Beach Band are a band of half brothers who met at their father&rsquo;s funeral. There they decided to form a band to keep alive their father&rsquo;s unique style of Mexican surf guitar music. And I thank the music lords that they did.</p> <p>They take to the stage in flamboyant shirts, gold rimmed aviators, Tommy Cooper hats and straight faces. Their expressions do not change throughout the entire night. Not a smile shared between them. Now that may sound rather off-putting, but somehow it made them all the more intriguing and entertaining. I knew I had to stay to the end just to see if they would crack a small smile or mutter a single word. They didn&rsquo;t. You don&rsquo;t need words when style oozes from your every chord.</p> <p>They don&rsquo;t sing either. It is guitar led rock: renditions of all your favourite songs, to an audience content to chant the lines themselves. The audience, perhaps fuelled by more than just Lucozade, pounded the grass with infectious dance. There wasn&rsquo;t a still body in the house and people clambered on stage just to be near them. Two scantily clad Hawaiian dancers came on stage sporadically throughout the set, providing eye candy for those not satisfied by the trio of brothers at the front. They added a dash of sexiness sauciness to the show.</p> <p>From Nirvana&rsquo;s &lsquo;Come As You Are&rsquo; to the brilliant &lsquo;Tequila&rsquo; song, and every legendary song in between, the boys gave those of us luckily enough to be there one hell of a cracking end to the festival.</p> <p>Kim Willis</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 01:30:00 GMT 2007-07-15T02:30:00 783b0093-0ef0-4d03-a0e7-70d0649eefd1 1000000 In the Cabaret Arena, the weaker sex is not the weaker sex. <p><strong>She's Got&nbsp;Hooks Under Her Skin</strong></p> <p>Sunday, 11am. I'm having breakfast (fresh fruit, yoghurt) in the backstage area with a fellow Cabaret Arena artist, Vicky Butterfly.<br /> <br /> Though those emerging from the miles of tents around us are looking as rough as they feel, Ms Butterly looks suitable impeccable and stylish at this comparatively early hour: black stilettos, porcelain skin, 40s red hairdo, vintage retro blouse. It can be done.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;Last night, her job was to be picked up from the ground by Miss Luci Fire, who in turn was flying about suspended by various hooks and pulleys from the large tree in front of the Cabaret Arena. All very well, except that the hooks in question were attached to Miss Fire - through her skin. Apparently the pain threshold of women (as opposed to men)rather helps for such grisly stunts, as does the number of hooks, dividing the force able to be sustained without injury. Oh, and having a circus skills background since your teens definitely helps.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;Even so, it's definitely not something to be tried at home. Of those looking on, it seems it was the woman were impressed, thinking it rather cool. Those who winced tended to be men. One thinks of that footage of male circus performers pulling trucks with hooks attached to their nether regions, and no one bats an eyelid. Perhaps it's something to do with seeing a serenely pretty lady doing painful and unpretty things to herself. Examine and discuss.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> In the Cabaret Arena, the weaker sex is not the weaker sex.</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 01:15:00 GMT 2007-07-15T02:15:00 2161abb6-4418-4d48-b6fa-506ee2c9e46e 1000000 <p>Dragonfly Dancing</p> <p>Saturday seems to be Insect Day at Latitude. My DJ colleague, Miss Red, has had her legs bitten during the night by the local mosquitoes.<br /> The inflammation is so severe that when she goes to the Welfare Tent to have the bites treated, they give her a small medicine cabinet's<br /> worth of creams and antibiotics to take away. Thankfully, her legs are more or less back to normal by the time she has to take to the Cabaret<br /> Arena stage that evening.</p> <p>I'm lucky enough to escape such flying fiends, though I do have an insect encounter of another kind. During my half of the DJ set at<br /> 10pm, a few large moths invade the stage, attracted by the lights. They bounce clumsily off my face and hands: the pigeons of the insect<br /> world. But there's also a dragonfly buzzing about by the decks, and I'm fairly sure it's the first time I've seen one since I moved out of<br /> Suffolk during my teens (I suppose I'm local talent, if childhood counts). Dragonflies are the most remarkable of insects: like miniature glinting spaceships, with long thin bejewelled Art Deco bodies. They are flying diamante brooches. I like to think the one on<br /> stage with me is attracted by the like-minded music and general stylish goings on in the Cabaret Arena.</p> <p>As I dance around behind the DJ decks, it flits around with me. So I adapt my movements to match. Though it looks like I'm just flinging<br /> myself around manically as usual, I am in fact dancing with a dragonfly. It's a very Latitude moment. Next year: I sing a duet with<br /> the coloured sheep.</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sun, 15 Jul 2007 00:45:00 GMT 2007-07-15T01:45:00 1aa01686-d723-4656-add3-dfd5351a1f9c 1000000 <p>As close to &lsquo;story-time&rsquo; as grown-ups are ever really going to get, WordTheatre is an initiative that sees actors reading a selection of short stories to an audience obediently perched on their cushions.&nbsp; The most Radio 4-ish of the events taking place in the literary arena this weekend (possibly with the exception of last night&rsquo;s UK vs. US culture debate), this was also my favourite to date. Having recently hosted two sold-out events in London, the company have over three hours of programming at Latitude including celebrities such as James Franco, Lucy Brown, Ian Hart, and I urge you to have a look in. According to the blurb on their website, WordTheatre are a non-profit organization dedicated to &lsquo;keeping the love of language and literature alive through the ancient tradition of oral storytelling&rsquo;.&nbsp; And I can safely confirm that this story corner approach certainly works.&nbsp;</p> <p>First up was Lucy Brown, better known for her roles in Sharpe and Primeval, reading &quot;21st Century Juliet&quot; by Rose Tremain.&nbsp; Brown enacts the traumas facing a 30-something Fulhamite working in PR as she faces the impossible task of deciding which marriage proposal to accept; that of her Maldivian immigrant lover, or the man who is 29th on the Rich List.&nbsp; Not as predictable a tale as it initially sounds Tremain&rsquo;s becomes surprisingly grave and increasingly compulsive.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Next up was Julian Gough, The National Short Story Prize winning author of 2007, reading the first chapter from his new book &quot;The Orphan and the Mob&quot;. Gough&rsquo;s book gives a surreal view of Tipperary through the eyes of an orphan.&nbsp; A mixture of Nationalist rhetoric and comedy for kids, with a healthy splattering of Brothers beating small orphans &lsquo;in a desultory manner&rsquo;, this reading really was a piece of theatre in itself.&nbsp; I for one may have to wait until &quot;The Orphan and the Mob&quot; comes out as an audio book, and keep my fingers crossed that Gough is still reading his own material.&nbsp;</p> <p>WordTheatre&rsquo;s self professed goal is to &lsquo;ignite a new generation of literature fans&rsquo;, and I have no doubt that they have had plenty of success this weekend. Don&rsquo;t worry if you missed out on today&rsquo;s acts, the literary tent will be hosting two more WordTheatre sessions tomorrow so head down at 1pm and again at 5pm, and save yourself an enviable cushion space.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Hen Clancy</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T23:15:00 1689dbdc-0532-4aad-a3e3-85fd69645f5b 1000000 <p>When it comes to festival pedigree the Good the Bad and the Queen have basically been cherry picked from the very best. There&rsquo;s hugely respected Tony Allen behind the kit, former Verve guitarist Simon Tong, former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, who at his age should not look nearly this good, and finally Damon Albarn, of Blur, Gorillaz and now, to the faithful assembled before the main stage, Latitude too.&nbsp;</p> <p>They open with a brooding &ldquo;History Song&rdquo;, Simonon grooving along with the chugging riff, still unable to keep still, Albarn and Allen are all smiles and gee the crowd on with some frenzied playing. &ldquo;Herculean&rdquo; sounds magnificent, &ldquo;Green Fields&rdquo; a wistful reminder to the crowd that not all festival surrounding are this beautiful, only anti &ndash; war ballad &ldquo;Soldier&rsquo;s Tale&rdquo; has a trace of aggression to it. There&rsquo;s no onstage banter, no bravado and by the time initial set closer &ldquo;The Good, the Bad and the Queen&rdquo; comes round it feels like no time has passed at all.</p> <p>They bring MC Eslam Jawaad out for the encore, before dedicating the whole set to the A12 road and then they&rsquo;re gone. Quietly, without much fanfare, just letting the music do the talking. This is just fine, because the music, especially tonight, is more than enough.</p> <p>Tom Goodwyn</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:45:00 GMT 2007-07-14T22:45:00 58f17adf-40e4-4e0a-b28d-4178b4b227ce 1000000 <p>Vying for a decent spot to catch the afternoon&rsquo;s offerings on Latitude&rsquo;s main stage and I overhear a guy describing Bat for Lashes&rsquo; singer songwriter Natasha Khan as a &lsquo;female version of Bjork&rsquo;. Genius or nutcase, the guy had a point in that Bat for Lashes&rsquo; sound bears comparison to a plethora of influences, but to my mind her brand of prophetic and gloomy art-rock is closest to Friday night&rsquo;s Uncut Stage headliner, Patrick Wolf.</p> <p>The similarities aren&rsquo;t just in the music, either, though the brooding bassline and glittering percussion of Lashes opener &lsquo;Horse and I&rsquo; sits comfortably alongside the likes of the Wolf&rsquo;s &lsquo;Magpie&rsquo; or &lsquo;The Libertine&rsquo;. No, stylistically the pair are equally flamboyant, Patrick&rsquo;s blur of fire red hair and mirrorball sequined jacked a match for Khan&rsquo;s gold Abba-esque headband coupled with a belted fancy dress skeleton costume. Her set is tight, songs lifted from the brilliant &lsquo;Fur and Gold&rsquo; album that gives the afternoon&rsquo;s crowd pause for thought; a contrast to Khan&rsquo;s bubbly polite persona in the banter in between times. Single &lsquo;Priscilla&rsquo; is the highlight, hand claps and desert guitars that bloom and spiral against Khan&rsquo;s absorbing, storyteller vocals. Small wonder Radiohead&rsquo;s Thom Yorke is a big fan.</p> <p>Early evening sees the main stage crowd swelling as CSS bring their addictive and synthesised dance-rock to Latitude. Lead singer Lovefoxxx throws herself about the stage like a small child high on sugar, as the band deliver the crowd heavy, grungier and growingly infectious numbers from their first eponymous album. The helium balloons on stage add to the event, too: by the end of playing an hour including every song off their record from &lsquo;Art B****&rsquo; to &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s Make Love (And Listen to Death from Above)&rsquo;, band members start inhaling and squeaking &lsquo;we love you&rsquo; and &lsquo;God save the queen&rsquo; to the cacophonous whine of fading amplifiers and the laughter of everyone. It&rsquo;s a high note to end on (I know, I know), but with sparking costume changes thrown into the mix, CSS are clearly onto a crowd-pleasing winner.</p> <p>Headliners on the main Obelisk Arena for Saturday are Damon Albarn fronted The Good, the Bad and the Queen, but on a recommendation, I chose to check out Dublin-based Rodrigo Y Gabriela. I&rsquo;m glad I did, as the fast-fingered pair are two of the most creatively talented and technically accomplished guitarists I&rsquo;ve seen in hell knows when. And the crowd inside the Uncut Arena aren&rsquo;t disappointed either: the group&rsquo;s incredible virtuoso guitar playing encouraging the audience into a third musical element of furious handclaps. The metal influences on the band are clearly evident, too: acoustic guitar that is fast-paced, monumental and thundering, every available surface of their instruments utilised to some ingenious musical purpose. And as lead Rodrigo Sanchez finger picks the opening chords to Led Zeppelin classic &lsquo;Stairway to Heaven&rsquo;, festival goers couldn&rsquo;t ask for a better end to the evening: Gabriela layering the sound until both break into a breathtaking classical rendition of Jimmy Page&rsquo;s solo. Once the stage is empty, still echoing with their feverish rhythms, the crowd remain and shout for more. But in all honesty, what Rodrigo Y Gabriela deliver isn&rsquo;t made for encores: theirs are songs that amaze and blow the mind, before vanishing with the same flair and imaginative abruptness. In a word, what Rodrigo Y Gabriela do is <em>epic</em>.</p> <p>Ben Wilkinson</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T22:15:00 966b55cc-f621-49c8-a874-571761d38037 1000000 <p>Little Sparta provided a gloomy, brooding soundtrack to &lsquo;The Adventures of Prince Achmed,&rsquo; the oldest surviving animated feature film. &lsquo;Prince Achmed&rsquo; was made using a similar technique to Chinese shadow puppet theatre to create a series of moving silhouettes set against a glowing background. A tale of a prince&rsquo;s desire to win the love of a beautiful princess, Little Sparta used sombre strings and a slow, insistent drum beat to provide an excellent backing track to the eerie, mesmerising display of dancing, pirouetting silhouettes.</p> <p>The performance drew comparisons with Zan Lyons&rsquo; intense solo set the previous day, but rather than being a virtuoso solo piece, Little Sparta&rsquo;s set felt more complete, a perfect marriage of music and film. Rather than trying to distract the crowd with complicated, changing music Little Sparta instead worked with simple motifs, building up these threads into a rising crescendo during key scenes in the film. The effect was a little like watching the tide rise and fall, a slow, subtle feeling that held the audience&rsquo;s attention. Indeed many more people arrived throughout the screening.</p> <p>There have been so many excellent performances during the festival that it&rsquo;s hard to choose a standout performance of music set to film, but Little Sparta&rsquo;s set definitely raised the standard. They describe what they do as &lsquo;musical entelechy,&rsquo; suggesting that they consider music to be an end in itself, to be enjoyed rather than questioned, and their soundtrack to &lsquo;The Adventures of Prince Achmed&rsquo; certainly seemed to demonstrate this. Their music complemented the silent film perfectly and when the film was over they played on for a minute, leaving the audience wanting more.</p> <p>A new group, their first album, &lsquo;The Ragged Garden&rsquo; comes out in September and from their performance at Latitude, it&rsquo;s definitely going to be worth a listen.</p> <p>Al Allday</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T22:00:00 2cd5fa4c-5e26-4742-ba5c-a79f74ae2760 1000000 <p>Following their name, &lsquo;Cansei de ser sexy&rsquo;, (tired of being sexy) CSS combined energy and electronic rock on the Obelisk Stage on Saturday evening, bringing Brazilian rhythms to the Suffolk coast. The stage was a set of vibrant colour, adorned with coloured helium balloons that were later inhaled by the band themselves, to a comic effect. The energy of their music was accompanied by Lovefoxxx, the lead vocalist&rsquo;s changing of clothes, with an initial poncho later revealing a multicoloured and then neon pink body suit as well as her blowing bubbles and confetti into the crowd and throwing herself into the audience.</p> <p>The crowd&rsquo;s reaction to their music and performance was, as Lovefoxx claimed, &lsquo;beautiful.&rsquo; The main screen regularly depicted the audience of Henham Park, a mixture of different ages, with children on parents&rsquo; shoulders dancing, smiling, following the dance routines of Lovefoxxx to songs such as &lsquo;Alala&rsquo;. CSS finished their one hour set with their hit single &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above&rsquo; and faced chants of disappointment from the audience at it being their last song of the evening. CSS&rsquo; performance portrayed an enjoyment of both music and popular culture, the essence of Latitude itself and left the crowd wanting more.</p> <p>Tired of being sexy?<br /> After spending two days without a hairbrush or mirror I could not possibly comment.</p> <p>Kayleigh Rattle</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:45:00 GMT 2007-07-14T21:45:00 a4978789-f97d-4d64-8482-39d0e4d85598 1000000 <p>Saturday evening in the Uncut arena found a wide audience sitting both inside and outside of the tent with Scott Matthews himself claiming that the audience was &lsquo;too big&rsquo; compared to what he was used to. I had previously seen him at the University of Warwick&rsquo;s student union in March &ndash; playing to a crowd of about two hundred people &ndash; so it was brilliant to see him performing here at Latitude to a much greater crowd, and coping with it. Luckily, the ground of the Uncut Arena slopes in the direction of the stage, which meant that even I, somewhat vertically challenged, could see the stage.</p> <p>Matthews began his set with an instrumental, with Matthews on guitar and vocals accompanied by a cellist, bass guitarist and a Texan drummer, bringing the sounds of Texas to Latitude. Scott provided a variety of music with a changing of guitars and a voice organ, created a relaxed atmosphere amidst the tent with a combination of laid back music and, as claimed by Scott himself, something a &lsquo;bit different.&rsquo;</p> <p>Matthews has recently experienced a rapid rise to success following the release of his debut album &lsquo;Passing stranger&rsquo; in March 2006. Following this, he recently won an Ivor Novello award in May this year for &lsquo;Elusive&rsquo;, judged as the best song musically and lyrically. Yet, in spite of chants from the crowd, Matthews proved that he too could be elusive, refraining from performing &lsquo;Elusive&rsquo; and, in turn, highlighting in a very promising manner that he did not need to perform his biggest hit so far to be a big hit at Henham park.</p> <p>Kayleigh Rattle</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T21:15:00 73c3488b-4ca6-47ac-b901-f0f039c9e9ab 1000000 Headliner in the increasingly popular and overflowing confines of the Poetry Arena today is Lemn Sissay, a multi-talented man who’s the author of four poetry collections, three stage plays, and a jazz series for the BBC to boot. <p>Headliner in the increasingly popular and overflowing confines of the Poetry Arena today is Lemn Sissay, a multitalented man who&rsquo;s the author of four poetry collection, three stage plays, and a jazz series for the BBC to boot.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> He&rsquo;s an animated character brimming with confidence, and the conviction he reads his poetry with captivates the audience. This is writing lifted from the street: teenagers, social workers, council estates, poems that imbue the everyday with hard-hitting relevance and significance, from short pieces that pack punches to epic ones that invite the listener on a journey into the unknown. Ultimately, Sissay&rsquo;s an engrossing reader, and his rhythm and reason win the battle against the tempting sunshine pouring across the glowing Latitude Arena, leaving his words lingering in the corners of the mind as his set leads into the first open mic session of the weekend.</p> <p>Stocky Stoke Newington poet Tim Wells is Saturday&rsquo;s other main highlight. Clad in suit and shirt, you&rsquo;d be forgiven for thinking him a second-hand car salesman, at least until he begins a brilliant set of poems drawn from his Forward Prize shortlisted collection &lsquo;Boys&rsquo; Night Out in the Afternoon&rsquo;. No wonder this geezer (and he is) has supported The Libertines with his &lsquo;Cockney Hell&rsquo; poetry show: poems that span pubs, clubs, greasy spoon cafes, and memories of the 80s getting laughs one minute and deadly serious nods of recognition the next. In fact, Wells gives the impression of a writer both blessed and cursed: you sense he&rsquo;s seen enough to act as poetic authority on the chosen subject matter, but then as he captures the frequent emptiness of urban progression with sheer sincerity, you feel the weight of his words in the tent&rsquo;s humid air. Depressing? More illuminating and eye-opening, but either way, the sweets that Wells chucks into the audience see a good few in the front row more than ready for more from the lyrically gifted cockney.</p> <p>Ben Wilkinson</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T21:15:00 fafc0203-fcfc-4ff5-a89d-b5b764465a2e 1000000 <p>Saturday starts in a far more gentile way on the Lake Stage with the lilting country sounds of <strong>The Two Toms</strong>. Their moniker derives from the fact both are called Tom and its this kind of simplicity that marks their sound, no vocals, just good ol&rsquo;bangorific country, which after the excesses of the previous night, is something that goes down very well with the punters indeed.</p> <p>But the gentle approach only works for so long when it comes to hangovers so it&rsquo;s left to Birmingham&rsquo;s <strong>Sunset Cinema Club</strong> hair of the dog solution to really kick the day off. The three piece, who only have a couple of split 7 inches by way of a back catalogue, with by scorched in the memories of Latitude goers for a long time to come. The band&rsquo;s sound is a Molotov cocktail of punk rock aggression and charming self deprecation that has to be seen live to be believed.</p> <p>With music so mystical it puts a spell on all who hear it, <strong>Bat For Lashes</strong> really belong on the Sunrise Arena, but they do go down very well indeed on the main stage. A few technical hitches unfortunately shorten the set, but after a bewitching &quot;Trophy&quot; and triumphant &quot;What&rsquo;s A Girl To Do&quot; all hitches are forgotten. Promising to come back and play next year to please the overly enthusiastic crowd, Bat is in her element, especially on closing &quot;Prescilla.&quot; A headline set in the Sunrise Arena next year please.</p> <p>Here and now on the Lake Stage we have Massachusetts indie survivors <strong>Wheat, </strong>now in their eleventh year and on their first real trip round the UK festivals the four piece look assured throughout their half hour set. &quot;Don&rsquo;t I Hold You&quot; has everyone present reaching for the partner&rsquo;s hands and those without wishing they had one to hold. Could it get any lovelier?</p> <p>Before we get too mushy though we&rsquo;re given a good natured slap round the chops by <strong>Remi Nicole. </strong>The singer songwriter has been wowing punters at festivals all summer long and today is certainly no exception. Whether it&rsquo;s the nostalgia driven &quot;New Old Days&quot; or the sun kissed &quot;Go Mr Sunshine&quot; Remi is in fine form, playing crowd pleaser and ice queen all at the same time. If you&rsquo;ve yet to catch her yet, you&rsquo;ve only yourself to blame.</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T21:00:00 0d15ffe8-86b0-4c8b-9d59-6e290f17bb8c 1000000 The literary arena is packed as soon as Latitude kicks off this morning: Marcus Brigstocke and Andre Vincent’s Early Edition of topical satire and newspaper dissection drawing a crowd hungry for critical comedy that puts Daily Mail columnists and similar tabloid villains through the grinder. <p>The literary arena is packed as soon as Latitude kicks off this morning: Marcus Brigstocke and Andre Vincent&rsquo;s Early Edition of topical satire and newspaper dissection drawing a crowd hungry for critical comedy that puts Daily Mail columnists and similar tabloid villains through the grinder. <br /> <br /> Ranging from contemporary issues like tax and global warming to the price of chip shop scraps in Leeds and a shipment of rubber ducks lost in the Atlantic, the crowd aren&rsquo;t disappointed. Come midday, the tent&rsquo;s buzz continues to thrive with short story writer Julian Gough&rsquo;s reading of extracts from his recently published work &lsquo;Jude&rsquo;, exalting and critiquing Irish pride and nationalism in all its guises and amusing contradictions with wit and good humour. A regular feature across the festival weekend, and Robin Ince&rsquo;s infamous Book Club follows, Australian comic Asher Treleaven and Ince himself sampling the finer and hysterically weirder aspects of trash fiction.</p> <p>The crowd is treated to Hell&rsquo;s Angels biker novel extracts, as well as the ill-conceived thriller &lsquo;Crabs on the Rampage&rsquo; and horror page-turner &lsquo;Spiders: Man&rsquo;s Oldest Nightmare&rsquo;. Who says that collections from obscure public libraries are boring? Stewart Lee&rsquo;s laughing, and the veteran of the comedy circuit soon steps on stage to deliver a set of his staple dry and extremely witty humour, cunning and perfectly delivered gags about Jim Davidson&rsquo;s misogyny and Joe Pasquale&rsquo;s comical ineptitude and &lsquo;joke stealing&rsquo; winning the biggest laughs. But the highlight is in Ince&rsquo;s return to the stage, reading another trash novel in perfect mimicry of Lee himself. Only Treleaven&rsquo;s reading of the &lsquo;Evangelical Guide to Manhood&rsquo; can top it, a Dalek-esque vocal distortion on the mic warning all &lsquo;sexual deviants&rsquo; and &lsquo;victims of homosexuality&rsquo; of their supposed &lsquo;fate&rsquo;. As Lee points out, it may only be reading things in a sarcastic voice from old books, but damn me if it isn&rsquo;t stand-up literary gold dust and top-notch comedy.</p> <p>In a change of tone and focus, Chortle&rsquo;s Best Newcomer-nominated Pappy&rsquo;s Fun Club lead a series of sketches into one of the highlights of the Literary Arena&rsquo;s Saturday line up: Dan Crowe&rsquo;s &lsquo;How I Write&rsquo; interviews with acclaimed novelists William Fiennes and Matt Thorne. It&rsquo;s an insightful and interesting break from the literary comedy, Fiennes and Thorne explaining the chance encounters, moments of the everyday that lead to epiphany, and the utopian workspace of the writer&rsquo;s desk that leads to inspiration and informs their work. Both authors offer valuable advice for budding writers, but more importantly, demonstrate a love for the mechanisms of language: &lsquo;its metaphors, similes and musicality&rsquo;, as Fiennes puts it. And while both authors discuss their favourite writers and the pitfalls of influence &ndash; from Nabokov to Amis through Kafka &ndash; both agree on writing being a process of growth and development, Samuel Beckett&rsquo;s instruction to &lsquo;fail better&rsquo;. A sense of humour is more than present, too: Thorne apparently knows he&rsquo;s onto a good literary brainchild when he shows it to his wife and she replies, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s terrible. If you write that I&rsquo;ll leave you.&rsquo; Was it Simon Armitage who said that writing&rsquo;s like a lover or mistress? Either way, the last word is from Fiennes, who&rsquo;s revelling in &lsquo;writers rubbing shoulders with rock &lsquo;n&rsquo; roll&rsquo; and proclaims Latitude to be &lsquo;excellent&rsquo;. You can&rsquo;t argue with the man.</p> <p>Ben Wilkinson&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T21:00:00 5d0f88c0-7842-4da9-b695-d7dacd71ff1b 1000000 ....one of her lyrics in particular was extremely poignant; ‘This could be something beautiful, I know’ – as seen on the smiles on the faces of the audience and Terra Naomi herself. <p>Late afternoon, after a day of heat and a distinct lack of the need to wear wellies, Terra Naomi played her set amidst the trees of Henham Park at the Sunrise Arena, noting that she had &lsquo;never played music in a forest before.&rsquo; Hailing from New York, and having wrote her songs in California, Terra has recently been embracing stages across England, with her forthcoming debut album &lsquo;Not Sorry&rsquo; being released in September.</p> <p>In spite of usually performing with a band, Terra performed alone, in front of a background of trees and under the green, blue and yellow drapes of the Sunrise Arena tent, creating a welcoming atmosphere due to the enclosed setting, divided from the rest of the arena by a lake. Terra played seven songs, alternating between her acoustic guitar and piano, with her soft, oscillating voice and the late afternoon breeze causing a shiver for many listeners. Terra maintained a constant smile and faultlessness in her voice throughout her performance, in spite of briefly losing her pedal from under her foot during one of her songs.</p> <p>Her final song, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m happy&rsquo; ended her intimate set perfectly, reflecting the atmosphere of Latitude festival on this sunny Saturday afternoon. For me, one of her lyrics in particular was extremely poignant; &lsquo;This could be something beautiful, I know&rsquo; &ndash; as seen on the smiles on the faces of the audience and Terra Naomi herself.</p> <p>Kayleigh Rattle</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T21:00:00 20a241c3-baee-4acf-87a1-aec77efcf76e 1000000 <p>For the final day of Latitude have another lovely gentle start to the day. Twee, shy and very poetic indeed, Malvern&rsquo;s <strong>Sam Isaac</strong> is the perfect start to Sunday. Playing with only a drummer for company his lovelorn tales and wistful odes are all beautifully formed and after every song the crowd&rsquo;s applause and wolf whistles grow louder. A star in the making? Most definitely!</p> <p>Keeping with acoustic types, but this time with a slightly fuller band we have Welsh popstrel <strong>Cate Le Bon</strong>. Just as twee as Sam Isaac, but more powerful at the same time Le Bon. Her sound is that of a more optimistic Joni Mitchell and on the likes of &quot;Disappear&quot; she really excels. She switches to Welsh only lyrics half way through her set and although we don&rsquo;t know what they mean, we&rsquo;re sure they&rsquo;re just a lovely as her other songs.</p> <p>None of the tweeness remains however when it comes to New Yorkers <strong>Ra Ra Riot </strong>over in the Uncut Arena, squealing guitars, thundering percussion and a string section being violated, all for the sake of good music. At the start of their half hour set there&rsquo;s only a handful people outside the arena, by the end it&rsquo;s grow to a full house and deservedly so. &quot;Each Year&quot; sees singer Wes leaping around while the musicians behind him propel a whirlwind of string infused indie rock. Feedback wails, cellist Alex snaps one of her strings and no one notices. By the time the set&rsquo;s over the whole place is shaking and we&rsquo;re all not ready for them to leave.</p> <p>Unfortunately it&rsquo;s now starting raining, which means that the crowd that was steadily building for <strong>Au Revoir Simone</strong> is slowly receding, some go under the nearby trees and some suddenly develop a passionate interest in comedy. But after ten minutes of downpour the rain tails off and the set starts with a decent crowd. The all girl trio are down a drum machine so are playing their first gig with a live drummer. You wouldn&rsquo;t know it though as it all fits seamlessly in with the trio&rsquo;s fairy like beats and delicate harmonies. Both &quot;Fallen Snow&quot; and &quot;Through The Backyards&quot; have the by now, pretty decent size crowd, bowled over. They&rsquo;ve been a few people&rsquo;s favourite band for a long while, scenesters beware, a few more performances like this and they&rsquo;ll be everyone&rsquo;s favourite band.</p> <p>Tom Goodwyn</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 18:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T19:00:00 346c9ecd-72d0-4505-820d-31df2e2640bb 1000000 <p>I&nbsp;once had a friend who had to be forcibly ejected from a Herbie Hancock concert for repeatedly insisting during the encore that he &lsquo;go bananas&rsquo;. Similarly, I remember the way I&rsquo;d break out into fits of laughter every time the unfortunately named BBC Correspondent Chris Morris introduced the news. It can&rsquo;t be easy having a famous name. &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not the Phil Collins,&rsquo; Phil Collins says, as he introduces his film, &lsquo;Just a Phil Collins&rsquo;. Perhaps becoming as famous as your namesake is the only way to go: with a Turner Prize nomination under his belt, Latitude&rsquo;s Phil Collins has already embarked on the well trodden path to fame.</p> <p>Collins&rsquo; film &lsquo;The World Won&rsquo;t Listen&rsquo; was the result of a four year project to create a Smiths cover album. A sequence of karaoke videos performed by volunteers from Istanbul, Jakarta and Indonesia, Collins claims that he&rsquo;s created &lsquo;a straightforward, simple video,&rsquo; but one that is also &lsquo;joyful&rsquo; in its simplicity, something that became immediately obvious as the curtain went up over the first performance. Perhaps with a little self awareness, the film began with a cover of &lsquo;Panic&rsquo; &ndash; the famous Smiths song that implores the listener to &lsquo;hang the DJ&rsquo; over and over again. How would the audience react to an hour of recorded karaoke? In fact, they coped surprisingly well.</p> <p>Some of the performances were, as you might expect, spectacularly awful, but Collins manages to capture the raw emotion of his subjects incredibly well and it&rsquo;s quite amazing to watch as the performers lose their inhibitions when the camera is turned towards them. Collins seems obsessed with putting ordinary life under the microscope &ndash; last year he created an installation consisting of a fully functional office, complete with workers. Perhaps in his latest film Collins is suggesting that music is a universal language which people of all cultures can relate to, or maybe he&rsquo;s trying to make us question our sense of cultural relativity by juxtaposing the quintessentially English sounding music of The Smiths with diverse cultures&hellip; yet Collins himself is silent, letting the camera tell the story.</p> <p>At an hour long, the film was perhaps pushing the boundaries of the audience&rsquo;s endurance. After all, there&rsquo;s only so much karaoke the human soul can take. But Collins uses the film to capture the complete range of human feeling and it&rsquo;s genuinely fascinating to watch these raw emotions unfolding on the screen. It&rsquo;s only slightly unfortunate that karaoke is the vehicle for them. An engrossed crowd managed to stay the distance, though &ndash; and nobody even asked for an encore of &lsquo;Invisible Touch&rsquo;.</p> <p>Al Allday</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 17:30:00 GMT 2007-07-14T18:30:00 8a8166f1-f57d-466a-b8ea-04ba77c8f67e 1000000 If anyone is going to make their mark on Latitude this year then Russell Kane can take credit for best newcomer. <p>If anyone is going to make their mark on Latitude this year then Russell Kane can take credit for best newcomer. After being bumped up the bill by a few hours Kane fires his first shot at the pretension of festival toffs on the commuter train from London, or as Kane would put it 'Guardian reading hummus freaks' before an improvised sketch about Latitude itself.<br /> <br /> Kane's search for a class distinction was ended when he realised he wanted to be pelted with quails eggs and admits just as much as he rips through a set which alludes to invasions of Troy and right wing parental advice before returning to poncy toff bashing for a round of applause by the very audience he is parodying.<br /> <br /> Proving that he is an excellent improviser, Kane took particular time to take the audience back to the lost story of 2006, Jade Goody and her PR journey from the shaming of the Big Brother house for spewing racist bile to the world to an international stunt to take time with those she hurt, a ploy expertly dismantled by Kane's sarcasm:<br /> <br /> &quot;What's next, send Gary Glitter into schools to play hopscotch?<br /> <br /> Taking time to explain that he was not some 'wishy washy lefty liberal', Kane gives an insight into the growing pains of Bethnal Green as a teenager, parents who don't understand reading and his first gig in New York.<br /> <br /> Kane entertained, tickled and poked holes in an audience which was kept involved in a charismatic act from the start and a bigger tent will be needed next year to contain what is destined to be a rising comedy talent.<br /> <br /> Tim Clark</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 17:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T18:00:00 83590d03-51f5-474c-b6c6-90e9c35344b6 1000000 <strong> <p>What kind of music are you listening to at the moment?</p> </strong> <p>I&rsquo;ve been listening to a band called Of Montreal. And loads of Harry Nillson singles&hellip;</p> <strong> <p>For those readers who haven&rsquo;t heard of Harry Nillson, what&rsquo;s he like?</p> </strong> <p>He&rsquo;s emotionally over the top.. histrionic. He wrote &lsquo;Without You&rsquo;, Mariah Carey covered it. He wrote that song about the lime in the coconut. I&rsquo;ve probably made him sound terrible! Apart from that.. Talking Heads live album.. Dylan.</p> <strong> <p>What&rsquo;s your favourite magazine?</p> </strong> <p>The Week or New Scientist. The Week has excerpts from all across the media. It&rsquo;s like trying to get the most colourful explanation as possible when everything&rsquo;s black and white.</p> <strong> <p>Which country do you prefer- Australia or Japan?</p> </strong> <p>I&rsquo;ve been to Australia, I&rsquo;ve never been to Japan..<strong>It&rsquo;s more exotic isn&rsquo;t it?</strong></p> <p><strong>Yeah&hellip; I&rsquo;ve got friends who live in Japan, people just stare at you, everywhere you go, in the streets..What are your views on Goths nowadays?</strong></p> <p>They&rsquo;re a dying breed! They should make reservations for them. Cages they could hide in. In many ways Johnny Cash was the first Goth. People don&rsquo;t realise that.Goths can be cool.</p> <p><br /> Jeremy Warmsley is playing the Summer Sundae festival on the 11&nbsp;August. His debul album is available on Transgressive Records. Check out myspace.com/jeremywarmsley.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Interview by Barnaby Tidman</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:45:00 GMT 2007-07-14T17:45:00 b9cad6ef-7551-47d2-b09a-4001180b6dc0 1000000 <p>Seasick Steve has a deep southern drawl, to which I am strangely attracted. To his voice and to his forearms. I was standing quite far away and I know he is a hillbilly twice my age, but when he took his shirt off the whooping from the female contingency told me I was not alone.</p> <p>Tattooed, toned and tanned. Yup, he&rsquo;s older than my dad and I have a crush on him. (A running theme it would seem.) The applause at the end was the loudest I&rsquo;d yet heard here. Eat your heart out, Damien Rice. The crowd booed the idea that he would have to play his last song.</p> <p>A three string guitar doesn&rsquo;t hinder him in the slightest, which is a fine example of his musical prowess. He saves the Dog House Blues until the finale and everyone claps along.</p> <p>A friendly, reasonable man, when the audience boo the man who gave him his three stringed guitar, he defends him. He seems honest, genuine and not an inch affected by his new found fame. I know we were already standing, but it was an ovation none the less. There&rsquo;s no one to whom I&rsquo;d rather clap my hands and say yeah.</p> <p>Kim Willis</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T17:15:00 e2a21aaa-ecff-464c-b9ba-f12a4e3c8cd6 1000000 <strong> <p align="center">&nbsp;</p> <p>Is this the first festival you&rsquo;ve played this summer?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </strong> <p>No, we&rsquo;ve done Glastonbury before this, but we&rsquo;re not doing too many. We&rsquo;re doing Bestival and Connect later in the summer, but we didn&rsquo;t want to do too many.</p> <strong> <p>How are you adjusting to playing bigger stages then?</p> </strong> <p>Yeah I&rsquo;m really enjoying it actually, Glastonbury was really fun because we all got to wear big head dresses and just have fun with it. With more people you get a bigger tidal wave of energy coming back from the audience, which is difficult to harness unless you&rsquo;re in the mood, but I usually am.</p> <strong> <p>It must be difficult adjusting to festival surroundings sonically, you use some quite delicate instruments?</p> </strong> <p>Yeah, we have this amazing sound engineer called Dixie who really helps us, wherever we are, so I trust his judgement. He always talks beforehand about the atmosphere I want to create onstage. We&rsquo;re doing quite an upbeat set today.</p> <strong> <p>What are you up to next?</p> </strong> <p>We&rsquo;re going to New York at the end of the week to do the coasts in America, then a few festivals; I&rsquo;m also starting to think about the next album now, so I&rsquo;m really excited about that.</p> <strong> <p>This must be the fifth single off the album now?</p> </strong> <p>Yeah, I mean initially I was on a really little label and we only did 100 copies, which was partly because I really liked doing artwork. Only &quot;Prescilla&quot; and now &quot;What&rsquo;s A Girl To Do&quot; have the conventional cd, 7 inch and video structure so for me it only really feels like the second single.</p> <strong> <p>Are the players who&rsquo;ve been on tour with you, with you forever now?</p> </strong> <p>I don&rsquo;t know, I mean when I wrote the songs on my own and they&rsquo;re just my friends from Brighton rather than a carefully hand picked musicians. They all play in their own projects and they may well have other plans so I really don&rsquo;t know what the line up will be in the future. I think each album sonically will have a really different feel and palate of instruments anyway.</p> <strong> <p>Have you had a walk around the site yet?</p> </strong> <p>I have, it&rsquo;s beautiful isn&rsquo;t it?</p> <strong> <p>I thought you&rsquo;d have been perfect playing in the woods.</p> </strong> <p>I know! I had no idea there even was a woodland stage, but it&rsquo;d been perfect in there, I&rsquo;m really jealous now. The whole site is just completely wonderful, it&rsquo;s so naturally and great to be in.</p> <strong> <p>Finally who else are you going to see?</p> </strong> <p>I&rsquo;d like to see Scroobius Pip because I&rsquo;ve heard so much about him, I&rsquo;d also quite like to see Au Revoir Simone because David Lynch told me it&rsquo;s his favourite band, I know they&rsquo;re quite light and sweet, but I hope they&rsquo;ll be dark enough for me. I&rsquo;d like to check out Arcade Fire too tomorrow night.</p> <strong> <p>Bat For Lashes new single &quot;What&rsquo;s A Girl To Do&quot; is out now.</p> </strong><strong> <p>Interview by Tom Goodwyn</p> </strong> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T16:00:00 5c658547-f9a1-4f8b-a2db-d24937d52495 1000000 <font size="2"> <p><strong>Sarcasm Will Eat Itself</strong><br /> <br /> Robin Ince's Book Club takes over the Literary Tent once more at 1pm, and someone with me comments that the goings-on under Ince's grumpy command aren't 'literary' enough. 'It's more like a<br /> series of comedy turns,' they say. Which is certainly true of acts<br /> like Pappy's Fun Club; four ruddy-cheeked young men dressed like<br /> they've just been picked out of the audience at the Obelisk Arena and<br /> thrown onstage: all shorts, t-shirts and trainers. Thankfully, they<br /> have a routine which could be called 'Marty, Mim and Julius's Reunion<br /> Gig', a gorgeous slice of inspired silliness, and they ultimately win<br /> the audience over.<br /> <br /> Books still feature, though, when Mr Ince and Aussie Rik Mayall<br /> look-alike Asher Treleaven take turns in reading passages from bad<br /> pulp fiction in increasingly silly voices. Today it's horror fiction:<br /> a giant crab invasion versus a giant spiders invasion. Then the stage<br /> is handed over to Stewart Lee for a brief spot away from his proper<br /> gig at the Comedy Arena. Mr Lee immediately thanks host Robin Ince by calling him 'a man who gets paid lots of money purely for reading out<br /> other people's books in a sarcastic voice', before airing material<br /> from his recent stand-up shows, about the connection between his<br /> endoscopy treatment for a bowel disorder and the source of Joe<br /> Pasquale's comedy material.<br /> <br /> So within minutes, Stewart Lee has already been unkind to two<br /> comedians: Mr Ince and Mr Pasquale. And for a hat-trick, when a baby<br /> in the audiience cries at the point where he's talking about the way<br /> hospital gowns needlessly expose his genitals, he relates this to the<br /> current troubles of Chris Langham. It's pure comic-on-comic action.<br /> By way of retort, Robin Ince follows by, yes, reading passages from a<br /> bad book in a sarcastic voice. Except this time - deliciously - he's<br /> doing a deliberate Stewart Lee impersonation to get back at him,<br /> uncannily mimicking his detractor's lugubrious, drawn-out Midlands<br /> tones to a tee.<br /> <br /> Later, I bump into one of the Book Club team (who shall remain<br /> nameless) and posit that the next step would be for Stewart Lee to do<br /> a Robin Ince impersonation. But does Robin Ince have a inimitable<br /> voice, I ask? Immediately, my friend goes into a perfect Robin Ince<br /> impression - all waspish bad temper and snapping at people. Moral:<br /> sarcastic spoofing is no sanctuary from being sarcastically spoofed<br /> yourself.</p> </font> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T13:00:00 c6a01b0c-e980-4c1c-92a6-13faf2422922 1000000 He will be huge. He will become the king of comedy, the ruler of funny, the god of making people’s stomachs hurt with laughter. He is destined for stardom and will usurp all the greats. You’ll see. <p>Michael McIntyre, I love you. Will you marry me? I think we are the perfect match because you are hilarious and I love laughing.</p> <p>OK, so Bill Bailey was by far the biggest crowd puller. The audience spewed out for so far that from my pathetic position at the back, I couldn&rsquo;t even see the chandelier, let alone the naked angel.</p> <p>But luckily for me, not as many people have heard of Michael McIntyre. Not yet. He will be huge. He will become the king of comedy, the ruler of funny, the god of making people&rsquo;s stomachs hurt with laughter. He is destined for stardom and will usurp all the greats. You&rsquo;ll see.</p> <p>His performance is so endearing, he takes to the stage with warmth. Charisma oozes from his every joke. He decides to spend the entire set in the pit slightly below the stage: so down with the kids as he is. His stories have the perfect balance of hilarity and recognition: Yes! This has happened to me too! He balances his routine with off-the-cuff banter with the audience. His mind is sharp and quick: he is ready for whatever the audience throw at him.</p> <p>I have seen McIntyre play at smaller gigs so it was a pleasure to see him headlining the Friday line up. And what a line up: nothing short of resplendent. For Bill Bailey, gorgeous sunshine flooded the area, the atmosphere was lively and entertained. Ben Hurley was an excellent crowd pleaser, warming the somewhat diminished crowd with a natural charm. And we&rsquo;ve got Dylan Moran and Stewart Lee to look forward to. I&rsquo;m squealing in anticipation.</p> <p>McIntyre plucks a 13-year-old from the crowd and invites him to partake in a swear word face-off, starting off, as you do, with &lsquo;bum&rsquo;. Swear word top trumps, he called it. McIntyre lost in round three when the teenager jumped ahead to the most offensive word you can think of. McIntyre may not have a swear word to top it, but he won in my book because he&rsquo;s funnier. He was the perfect end to a perfect afternoon. I do so love it when the sun shines over a festival.</p> <p>And Michael, if you&rsquo;re reading this, I&rsquo;m serious about that proposal&hellip;</p> <p>Kim Willis</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T13:00:00 16fa7e90-a1a0-4520-84b1-55985941247c 1000000 <p><strong>Nervousness as Art</strong><br /> SATURDAY: Film and Literary Tents: 11 am - noon.</p> <p>It's a maximum sunblock kind of day. Gentlemen of thinning hairlines are discovering for the first time this year that they must slap on even more Factor 50 than usual. You can hear their rueful sighs all over the festival.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As usual, I have a full black suit and tie on, with the jacket done up. It's what suits me best. It's safe to assume I'm sticking to the shadier tents, in case I turn to dust. There are a number of perfectly cool - even breezy - tents to take refuge in, and the quest to seek them out can be quite fun.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Literary Tent kicks off with Marcus Brigstocke's Early Edition, a satirical panel of comedians discussing the Saturday morning papers. Those familiar with Mr Brigstocke's segments on Radio 4's The Now Show will know just how wonderfully he can work himself into vein-popping rants of umbrage at hypocrisy and humbug in the news. Richard Littlejohn's column may be an easy target for such vitriol, but no one tears into a bete noire with quite the same dazzling mix of intelligent indignation. Am I alone in thinking he slightly resembles Rupert Everett in specs and corduroy?<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Across to the Film Tent for the performance artist Richard Dedomenici, a scruffy, unshaven gentleman who gives a curious show-and-tell lecture on his laptop, including footage of the time he walked around the streets of Chicago with a polythene bag over his head, his hands bound behind his back with plastic cable ties. It was intended as a comment on similar methods used by US armed forces, but Chicago's citizens and police were quickly unnerved, thinking he was some kind of auto-asphyxiating suicide bomber.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr D's mannerisms suggest he either is genuinely nervous and uncertain about what he gets up to, or deliberately affects these traits in order to wrong-foot the audience and get them on his side. If so, it works: he converts a dozen or so into a banner-wielding impromptu Protest Rally (sample banner: 'Equal Rights For Milk Pans') and marches them out of the tent, with curious onlookers following him about, like an angsty Pied Piper.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I meet him afterwards and tell him about his intriguing brand of shyness and mystery, adding that no one will ever really know how much of it is genuine. 'Neither will I' is his reply.</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 11:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T12:00:00 74b7c882-5960-47b6-8d38-70b659c7e743 1000000 Much of my Friday 13th is taken up by unforeseen bouts of bad luck, as the tradition of the date might suggest. <p>Lost in long grass<br /> <br /> FRIDAY Film Tent / Literary Tent</p> <p>Much of my Friday 13th is taken up by unforeseen bouts of bad luck, as the tradition of the date might suggest. I spend hours getting utterly lost, traipsing around back and forth in the long grass of the car parks with heavy luggage, looking for the shuttle minibus to Southwold where I'm staying for the remainder of the weekend. Later, I'm required to hang around at the Cabaret Arena in case an extra DJ slot is required to cover for a missing act. The upshot of all this is that I only manage to catch a few acts in the Literary and Film Tents. But what I do see is memorable enough.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the Film Tent, Lucy &amp; The Caterpillar is a solo lady singer plus acoustic guitar plus Northern accent. Celluloid illustrations to her songs play on the screen behind her, such as footage of tube trains while she sings about King's Cross. But her appearance is filmic too: a striking peroxide bob and lacy 60s doll-like ensemble.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Over at the Literary Tent I watch a couple of lady authors reading their tales under the Vox 'N' Roll umbrella. Rebecca Ray paints compelling portraits of North London's lost souls at dawn, while Rachel Trezise spins memories of rock fandom through the prisms of Wales bedsits. Her words are unashamedly candid and self-deprecating,and frequently very, very funny.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then it's on with Robin Ince and his noted Book Club. Despite the Literary Tent base, it's more of an anarchic, music-hall approach to comedy, satire, song, and anything else that takes the fancy of his small army of performers. Books do feature regularly enough, usually at the sharp end of Mr Ince's lightning sarcasm. The poetry of Danielle Steele and the books of Mills &amp; Boon come in for vicious bouts of public deconstruction, but the Book Club's methods are frequently so off-the-wall and imaginative that the end result is far more creative than the books in question. Passages are acted out by mad dancers in skeleton suits, or interpreted by sulky glockenspiel improvisations.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unkindness to the scribblings of one's youth also features in rare 'this is me' turns from character comedians Waen Shepherd (aka Gary Le Strange) and Joanna Neary. Ms Neary attacks the diary of her fifteen-year-old self, while Mr Shepherd reads stories written when he was eight: sci-fi tales where an exploding Planet Earth is prevented by the use of a 'blow-up stopper', and Florence Nightingale battles the Martians from 'War Of The Worlds'. The element of attacking one's own naive youth brings a kind of poignancy to the comedically cruel proceedings.</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 10:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T11:00:00 fb68de7a-baad-4552-86e7-d5ae9c41913c 1000000 <p><strong>So how was the gig?</strong></p> <p>Yeah, it was a lot of fun</p> <p><strong>How do you think you went down with the crowd?</strong></p> <p>Well I think, after a while, at first they looked a bit taken aback, but that tends to happen with me.</p> <p><strong>Your sound is quite an intimate sound, how do you think that translates to playing in a field?</strong></p> <p>Well I&rsquo;m a big fan of playing in clubs, especially the genuinely subterranean type places, I like the way it reflects my sound. But I enjoyed playing outdoors, it&rsquo;s good for me to be able to see people&rsquo;s reactions and not be distracted by the guitar I&rsquo;m playing. It means I can build up a rapport with the audience more easily.</p> <p><strong>Is this your first festival?</strong></p> <p>No, I&rsquo;ve played Charlbury and Cornbury before, but today was my first real festival experience, I think.</p> <p><strong>Were you nervous?</strong></p> <p>A bit, but we got here with not much time to spare so I didn&rsquo;t have time to think about it too much, I&rsquo;m much more relaxed before gigs now than I used to be anyway.</p> <p><strong>You played today just backed by your iPod. Is that your usual set up?</strong></p> <p>No, I usually have my laptop too, but it&rsquo;s just easier to upload backing tracks on to this and it&rsquo;s less to carry around.</p> <p><strong>Has the equipment gone wrong yet?</strong></p> <p>No, touch wood, it&rsquo;s been fine, let&rsquo;s hope it stays that way, nothing&rsquo;s impossible.</p> <p><strong>Do you have any plans to add live instruments to your sound? Like live drums for example.</strong></p> <p>No I&rsquo;m not a fan of live drums to be honest, I&rsquo;ve had a few bad experiences with drummers in the past and I just think I prefer electronic drums. I think I&rsquo;ll only add them to the song if it feels appropriate, certainly not for any other reason.</p> <p><strong>Writing on your own and not having to take into account the opinions, strengths or weaknesses of other people, do you ever get tempted to do too much with a track?</strong></p> <p>Yeah it does happen and I&rsquo;ve ended up stripping it right down in the end. I think it&rsquo;s important to make sure that the song doesn&rsquo;t lose any of its meaning through over producing it, so I always take that into account. <br /> Finally, who are you looking forward to seeing the rest of the weekend?</p> <p>I&rsquo;d like to catch Metronomy again, I Was A Cub Scout too, I&rsquo;ve seen Patrick Wolf before but I&rsquo;d like to see him again. I&rsquo;m a terrible camper so I doubt I&rsquo;ll last till Sunday, but if I do I&rsquo;d like to see Jarvis Cocker too.</p> <p><strong>George Pringle releases her debut single on Drowned in Sound Recordings in September. In the mean time check out </strong><a href="http://www.myspace.com/georgepringle"><strong>www.myspace.com/georgepringle</strong></a><br /> <br /> <strong>Interview by Tom Goodwyn</strong></p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 05:45:00 GMT 2007-07-14T06:45:00 c88a6477-1b5a-42ce-a0b8-b2668f64f3a4 1000000 Filling the difficult slots before the enigmatic Bill Bailey; Kevin Day and Paul Tonkinson took to a comedy stage twitchy in anticipation of the great man who was still to come. <p>Filling the difficult slots before the enigmatic Bill Bailey; Kevin Day and Paul Tonkinson took to a comedy stage twitchy in anticipation of the great man who was still to come. Day, first on, broke the ice by admitting he is cowardly enough to sit next to a pregnant woman to absorb a bomb blast before overcoming his post Princess Diana gig nerves to launch into his satirical take on current political events. <br /> &nbsp;<br /> As his half hour unfolded, Day held little back before the Latitude watershed to criticise Prince Harry, the Territorial Army and Great Yarmouth before settling on a tribute to breasts and their unrivalled superiority as a female asset. <br /> &nbsp;<br /> Day plays upon some well trodden material to hold up his act and although relying on some fairly over used jokes, he managed to mix them well with his more serious infuriation with George Bush and religion before astutely commenting on how to defy terrorism with wags, take a dig at Chavs, and comment on British ignorance to foreigners and male stereotypes. <br /> &nbsp;<br /> After Day bowed out, Yorkshire born Paul Tonkinson brought his Xfm breakfast show charm to bear with a re-enactment of Wimbledon with Wayne Rooney &ndash; the original scouser &ndash; as the replacement star for a dejected Tim Henman before taking a side track to paint a picture of the Rooney as Gollum, emerging from the Mersey with a fish in his mouth. <br /> &nbsp;<br /> Tonkinson saves his main gripe though for relationships, sharing his obviously painful memories of failed marital bliss to give advice on the dangers of an innocent cheese and ham sandwich before turning sex counsellor for blow jobs, teasing the audience by placing himself firmly in the mindset of men everywhere who are soon to experience post-coital bliss: <br /> &nbsp;<br /> &quot;Next time that happens to you, you'll think of me, my face will just pop up. Honest,&rdquo; he says, or wishes.</p> <p>Tim Clark</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 05:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T06:15:00 8781de22-6b29-4828-843c-3010f741ae89 1000000 Their synth driven leads are capable of whipping any crowd into an excited frenzy, it’s the jerky drum beats of their new album released this weekend, Fantastic Playroom that really gets toes tapping and feet moving. <p>Not so much new rave as new wave, New Young Pony Club always seem to draw comparisons to art-rockers Talking Heads and from this evening&rsquo;s set it&rsquo;s easy to see why. Though their synth driven leads are capable of whipping any crowd into an excited frenzy, it&rsquo;s the jerky drum beats of their new album released this weekend, Fantastic Playroom that really gets toes tapping and feet moving.</p> <p>NYPC are brilliant and, so much so that it feels sometimes that there&rsquo;s nothing more to say. The crowd at Latitude, however, have other ideas: I had to push my way through an overwhelming throng that spilled out of the back of the Sunrise stage just to get a look at them. In fact, the audience welled up so much that the set had to end five minutes early due to overcrowding. Combined with a late start &ndash; drawing jeers that soon turned to cheers as NYPC finally took to the stage &ndash; this was one of the shortest but most anticipated sets of the festival. NYPC lived up to their reputation.</p> <p>Live, their sound is more obviously dance-punk, driven by intense, rhythmic bass guitar and a pounding 4 / 4 beat. Lead vocalist Tahita Bulmer, sporting a notably asymmetric haircut even by new rave standards, sometimes struggled to make her voice known above the incredibly loud bass but it didn&rsquo;t seem to bother the audience: they knew all the words and were singing along. The volley of fast, danceable beats was relentless &ndash; and NYPC seemed to be all about giving the people what they want, and they didn&rsquo;t disappoint.</p> <p>Al Allday</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 05:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T06:15:00 d65471b9-4044-4212-bc7e-2ada3defc108 1000000 <p>Novelist Richard Milward cuts a slight and noticeably younger character compared with many of the performers in Saturday&rsquo;s Literary Arena. On stage, he&rsquo;s at once comfortable and jokey, telling a friendly and receptive audience that he&rsquo;s &lsquo;a bit drunk already&rsquo;, but also slightly nervous. Then again, having your first novel published by the prestigious Faber at the tender age of twenty-one must take some getting used to.</p> <p>He reads from Apples, his acclaimed novel that charts the lives of two adolescents, Adam and Eve, a tale of the consequences of &lsquo;getting f***ed as quick as you can&rsquo; that is by turns funny, tragic, original, and for a writer of any age, breathtakingly impressive. Backstage, I tell him I enjoyed reading it. &lsquo;Really?&rsquo; he smiles, looking both shocked and pleased. His broad Middlesbrough accent gives him a down-to-earth familiarity: Milward&rsquo;s a likeable character who&rsquo;s open to talking about the gritty inspiration behind his writing. &lsquo;I started when I was about eleven or twelve, you know, reading Trainspotting and that kind of thing. My mam says &ldquo;you can&rsquo;t read that sort of stuff&rdquo;. But I was interested in experimental writing &ndash; I listened to experimental music, Sonic Youth and things, and I wanted to write in experimental ways.&rsquo; Apples testifies to this: the first person narration shifting from the depressed and dreamy Adam to the fun-loving and promiscuous Eve. I barely need to ask where the inspiration for the novel came from: growing up in &rsquo;Boro, Milward&rsquo;s work draws from his own experiences and the friends and people around him; a tension between &lsquo;living the lifestyle and documenting it&rsquo;, as he puts it. &lsquo;I think the North East has this sort of ingrained drinking culture&rsquo;, he muses, &lsquo;in small towns life can be pretty boring.&rsquo; He hits the epiphany.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> &lsquo;That&rsquo;s what Apples is: a combination of creativity and the desire to get wrecked.&rsquo; He grins, drinking from a paper cup half full with lager. Considering I cobbled the interview on the spot after grabbing him backstage, he&rsquo;s also gushingly thankful: willing to talk for his passion and love of writing and literature rather than for some promotion or soundbyte. Well here&rsquo;s one anyway: Richard Milward is an original writer of auspicious promise, and one with his finger as firmly on the pulse of contemporary society as Welsh and McEwan before him.</p> <p>Apples is published by Faber. Milward&rsquo;s second novel, &lsquo;Ten Storey Love Song&rsquo;, is forthcoming.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Ben Wilkinson</p> Jennifer Roberts General Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T01:15:00 20b3c31b-1396-47c0-ac62-2644ce16925b 1000000 Have you ever been so in love with someone that you’re afraid to look them in the eye? <p>Have you ever been so in love with someone that you&rsquo;re afraid to look them in the eye? Perhaps. But have you ever dosed the family pet with cocaine after realising that the pet&rsquo;s just a substitute for a family? Perhaps not. Either way, &lsquo;F**ked Up Love&rsquo; &ndash; billed as a selection of films &lsquo;for the most unromantic of you out there&rsquo; &ndash; turned out to be anything but. A thought-provoking selection of films taken from London&rsquo;s Halloween Film Festival, the shorts were in fact deeply romantic at heart, making us ask why we fall in love in the first place, yet ultimately concluding that we have to make the effort to make life worthwhile.</p> <p>Jack Herbert&rsquo;s &lsquo;Dogflap&rsquo;, in which the aforementioned pooch gets poisoned, started out as a seemingly ordinary suburban comedy-drama involving the construction of a dogflap, but slowly emerged as a poignant sketch of the lives of a married, childless couple. Gemma Lord&rsquo;s &lsquo;Valentine&rsquo; animation provided a brief intermezzo before Richard Fenwick&rsquo;s &lsquo;Love Letter&rsquo; took the audience&rsquo;s breath away with a swift re-telling of the old &lsquo;I&rsquo;m too shy to speak to her&rsquo; story. Set against the mundane backdrop of a Tesco supermarket, everyone in the arena was willing the boy to finally pluck up enough courage to tell the girl how he feels. But, of course, this is fucked up love, and the girl never finds out.</p> <p>The quality of the short films was enough to draw a decent crowd away from the lure of the main stages where the sun was finally shining, though perhaps the comfortable chairs and intimate round tables were also a draw. Is romance dead? Despite protestations, both the audience and the films didn&rsquo;t seem to think so. &lsquo;Even your shoulder is sexy,&rsquo; said one character in Rob Munday&rsquo;s &lsquo;I Lead&rsquo;. Quite.</p> <p>Al Allday</p> Jennifer Roberts General Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T00:15:00 6b1df910-52be-4b9f-a479-3a9d37965ad8 1000000 The first real surprise package of the weekend is reserved for The Whip’s set in the Uncut Arena. <p>The Whip, Midlake, T.A.N.A.O.U, I Was A Cub Scout</p> <p>The first real surprise package of the weekend is reserved for The Whip&rsquo;s set in the Uncut Arena. A band who&rsquo;s grimy, electro clash is usually best reserved for dingy clubs where pills are dished out like water, are a complete revelation, getting easily the best reaction of the day. And this is at half past four in the middle of a scorching hot afternoon. &ldquo;Frustration&rdquo;, &ldquo;Muzzle #1&rdquo; and set closer &ldquo;Trash&rdquo; all turn Henham Park into something more resembling Ibiza at its ecstasy fuelled heights, but it&rsquo;s stand out track &ldquo;Divebomb&rdquo; that will have every punter dancing for the rest of the weekend.</p> <p>After that most of us needed a lie down, but were soon brought round by the soothing americana of Midlake over on the main stage. The Texan five piece, fresh from cleaning up at the Mojo Awards and playing their biggest UK dates yet are in fine form. The only let down is technical hitches at the set&rsquo;s start force them to lose fifteen minutes, they soon make it up for though with a storming &ldquo;Roscoe&rdquo;, which is complemented by a cameo by Romeo Stodart from the Magic Numbers, a head turning &ldquo;Springtime&rdquo; and the superb closer &ldquo;Head Home.&rdquo; If you&rsquo;ve been away in the Cook Islands or on Big Brother for the last few months, get yourself acquainted, you won&rsquo;t regret it.</p> <p>Back to the Lake Stage for a band who when they&rsquo;re shuffling about pre-gig look disorganised and nervous as hell, but who go on to blow the rest of the congregation out of the water and deliver the set of the day. Northampton&rsquo;s The All New Adventures Of Us play an uplifting, life affirming brand of indie rock that draws few comparisons. Sunday&rsquo;s headliners come close, but there&rsquo;s a lyrical self awareness and sense of fun that Arcade Fire just don&rsquo;t have. That&rsquo;s demonstrated on songs like &ldquo;Medicine&rdquo;, but they can do huge anthems too, like opener &ldquo;St Crispins&rdquo; and show stopping &ldquo;45 Forever.&rdquo; If this band aren&rsquo;t big news in the not too distant future, this writer will eat a hat the size of the Latitude campsite.</p> <p>I Was A Cub Scout can&rsquo;t quite follow that, but they come pretty close. Having supported Editors on their comeback tour two weeks previous the band are clearly growing accustomed to bigger venues. This shows on songs like &ldquo;I Hate Nightclubs&rdquo; and &ldquo;Recommendations.&rdquo; Old fans needn&rsquo;t worry though, they&rsquo;ve lost none of the fiery spirit that marked their early shows, debut single &ldquo;Teenage Skin&rdquo; especially causing the duo to really let loose. Outstanding!</p> <p>Follow that Saturday!!!</p> <p>Tom Goodwyn</p> Jennifer Roberts General Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T00:15:00 d9cde30b-6f2f-4752-a6c5-a74763368877 1000000 <p>I&rsquo;m not going to lie to you; I didn&rsquo;t actually see Bill Bailey, I only heard him. Arriving to the Comedy tent at 3.30 (one hour prior to Bailey&rsquo;s appearance) was obviously not sufficient time to bag oneself a spot in the actual tent. By the time I arrived at the venue it resembled a dance tent at Glastonbury.&nbsp; But I battled on through, past large rucksacks and all, until finally I made it to within touching distance of a guy rope.&nbsp;</p> <p>Then, filled with hope, I courageously pushed in through until I was leaning on an actual pole (right back), with one cheek in the blazing sun.&nbsp; From said pole my view was varied; I was afforded the opportunity to dissect a Glastonbury 2004 t-shirt at length (I know the line-up by heart. Test me), and I saw some close-up arm pits. Yet despite the irritating fan base, I can safely say that it was all worth it; Bailey finally made an appearance, singing the Killers lyrics &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got soul, but I&rsquo;m not a soldier&rsquo;. Except that he wasn&rsquo;t really singing that, he was singing, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got ham, but I&rsquo;m not a hamster&rsquo;. Various song lyrics came under scrutiny within the act, as did National Anthems, and there was a beautifully executed Bjork impression to round things off.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>With one side of my face burnt, badly, I can conclude that Bill Bailey is definitely worth undergoing some camping hardships for.&nbsp;</p> <p>Hen Clancy</p> Jennifer Roberts General Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:15:00 GMT 2007-07-14T00:15:00 8e966005-3b4c-4c1d-82b8-c9e5bcf3576b 1000000 Andy Craven Griffiths doesn’t so much storm the wallpapered attic conversion of the stage of the Poetry Arena as lend it the interstellar weight of some serious gravity. <p><strong>Getting Gritty</strong></p> <p>Andy Craven Griffiths doesn&rsquo;t so much storm the wallpapered attic conversion of the stage of the Poetry Arena as lend it the interstellar weight of some serious gravity. Straight away, his rhythmical retort to those who would question the value of his atheism captured the crowd&rsquo;s attention before giving way to Ben Mellor&rsquo;s waxing lyrical over the grooves of jazz funk rhythms. Joe Dunthorpe&rsquo;s &lsquo;Poetic Lessons&rsquo; brought some subtle comedy to the mix, too: you&rsquo;ll need to mention birds, get &lsquo;gritty&rsquo;, and combine love, death and the sea to be a real visionary, or so he reckons.</p> <p>Elsewhere, the bearded and brilliant Scroobius Pip switched from troubled adolescent to enraged brother in a dark cabaret piece on the nature of suicide. &lsquo;I&rsquo;m making everyone depressed!&rsquo; he frets, but his style is absorbing that the audience to forgive him - so much so that when Bloodaxe poet Clare Pollard starts her set, the crowd is ready for her sparkling yet cynical poems on the trials and anxieties of all that makes up modern life today. Opener &lsquo;Still Life&rsquo; captured the stagnant desires and frustrations of a relationship through the extended metaphor of painting &lsquo;fruitbowls, spit pips, and rotten bananas&rsquo;, while the overwhelming consumerism of New York was weighed up and evened out, the poet concluding that &lsquo;it tastes good, being a part of it.&rsquo; But Pollard&rsquo;s set peaked with a fantastical poem in which the poet throws a dinner party for the great writers of the century, something which goes disastrously wrong until the guests leave, and the poet&rsquo;s boyfriend &lsquo;does the washing up&rsquo;. A sort of metaphor for the Poetry Arena itself: bringing the potential and possibility of the experimental to a wider and open-minded audience looking for something different.</p> <p>Ben Wilkinson</p> Jennifer Roberts General Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-07-14T00:00:00 67c951c1-2941-4952-8820-2308b51ff9f6 1000000 Friday afternoon was stolen by a group of princes, initially Tinariwen, who played like he was a modern day Jimi Hendrix on an inter-continental car chase, slowed down by desert opiates. <p><strong>Desert Disco</strong><br /> <br /> Friday afternoon was stolen by a group of princes, initially Tinariwen, who played like he was a modern day Jimi Hendrix on an inter-continental car chase, slowed down by desert opiates.<br /> <br /> Slung with guitars and drums, Tinariwen coolly thrummed the blues way out over the eastern counties. Their dancing was wonderful and mysterious. The movement of their hands alone was enough to be engaging and transcendentally natural. They danced like shadow puppets. Everybody&rsquo;s sunglasses rotated. The crowd was issuing war cries for these peaceful rebels, and they took it with a smile, undeflected, still cool, still with the blues. The crowd was a young princess falling in love with the bandit that kidnapped her. Although most of the crowd wouldn&rsquo;t have understood what they were saying (they sing in French and Tamashek), they all loved it when the desert kicked in.</p> <p>The sky sagged and faded like heavily bruised fruit. If Tinawiren set fire to the afternoon, then Patrick Wolf turned the stars on. Two girls in the woods came and told me they were worried about the bold, extravagant style of his new music (I didn&rsquo;t even ask them, they just really wanted to tell me). But in his performance his old stuff and new stuff bounced off each other, fitted perfectly. Patrick Wolf has always had the magical edge. His outfits have always shined and his performances have always left bass shuddering through your bones and glitter falling over your head.</p> <p>Earlier this year Patrick released a third album. While the girls in the woods had a point that his first albums had a desperate glamour, a lean and vital urgency, his new stuff is by no means over-indulgent or flabby. Those albums were the sound of hunger- now he is eating sunlight.</p> <p>His performance tonight mixed a dark pulse with the afterburn of clashing fireworks; invigorating colours that showed he has not lost the wild heart that got his fans hooked. He moved every which way round the stage and ripped open his shirt, buttons whizzing out into the audience, baring his heart to us all.<br /> <br /> Barnaby Tidman</p> Jennifer Roberts General Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:15:00 GMT 2007-07-13T22:15:00 c7c058a3-521e-40ba-8f41-7b9d13f96512 1000000 Jennifer Roberts General Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:00:00 GMT 2007-07-13T21:00:00 0a0c5764-5bf4-4dff-b639-ccb7d85b2044 1000000 <p><strong>A Decadent Disco In The Film Tent</strong><br /> <br /> My first rock festival would have been Reading 1990, a bill that included the Pixies, The Wedding Present, and the Inspiral Carpets. Of the entire weekend, my abiding memory is of being crushed in the so-called 'moshpit' crowd down the front by the main stage, and thinking that there must be more to festivals than worrying about broken ribs and being drenched in the sweat of strangers. It all seemed such an unnecessarily uncouth and neanderthal way to enjoy music, and very non-me. Since then, I've tended to avoid rock festivals as much as possible, at least as an audience member.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But then came Latitude. A refreshingly edifying approach to the festival set-up, for those who don't think they're a festival sort of person. I was intrigued by it enough last year to attend as a loafing punter, and loved every minute of it.</p> <p>This year, I'm delighted to be employed by the festival in two capacities. Firstly as a dandy DJ, part of 'The Beautiful And Damned' team (Cabaret Arena 9pm Sat &amp; Sun, if you're reading this in time). And secondly, as a reviewer for the official website.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I thought the best approach for the latter would be to submit my reviews as entries in a blog or online diary, given my so-called reputation as one of the UK's longest-running bloggers. In fact, the first thing anyone from the Latitude staff said to me when I arrived on site was 'Saw you on that TV programme about blogging'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Since Thursday night, though, the most common utteration I've had from strangers has been 'You were great last night'. They mean the DJ-ing, before you ask.</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Last year, the Film Tent was a fairly simple if anonymous mini-arena: a stage with a screen in a hangar-like shack. This time, the place has undergone something of a makeover into a kind of plush cinematic nightclub. There's a carpet, little tables with dinner lamps, butterfly drapes, and projected animated shapes dancing about the walls. It was the perfect place for a spot of divine DJ-ing, and on Thursday evening The Beautiful &amp; Damned DJs - myself and Miss Red - christened this new Film Tent with our unique selection of easy listening, 1920s dance numbers, and selections from musicals such as Bugsy Malone, Cabaret and Chicago.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Oh, and we danced about behind the decks, firstly to provide a bit of visual illustration when the silent movie wouldn't play (Thursday night was The Phantom Of The Opera). But mostly because we think DJ's should always make the effort to dress up and dance about. When our arms are in the air, we don't do it like Fatboy Slim. We do it like Liza Minelli.</p> Jennifer Roberts General Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:15:00 GMT 2007-07-13T19:15:00 f080bd82-5479-4b7c-8a00-2a01678d5f76 1000000 Despite the fact that the six foot book marking the entrance of the literary tent has been covered with a large blue waterproof sheet, bookish types were unperturbed by the weather and have been snuggled up on big red cushions since 11am this morning. <p>Friday 13th July ~ Literary Arena</p> <p>Despite the fact that the six foot book marking the entrance of the literary tent has been covered with a large blue waterproof sheet, bookish types were unperturbed by the weather and have been snuggled up on big red cushions since 11am this morning.&nbsp;</p> <p>Robin Ince kicked off the fun with his book club; a strangely successful act that involves asking guests to raid their bookshelves for the classic and the bizarre and formulate an ad hoc piece of stand-up around their findings.&nbsp; Asherton Leron began with &lsquo;How to get rid of your double chin in six weeks&rsquo; and followed it with &lsquo;Yoga for Men&rsquo;. A hilarious and somewhat strange performance that ended with the entire audience adopting the foetal position. Literally.&nbsp; (He&rsquo;s back tomorrow with &lsquo;The Adventures of Running&rsquo; &ndash; likely so see you actually running, so be prepared.)</p> <p>Kate Evans filled the first Vox N Roll slot of the day with an informative and important lesson on climate change.&nbsp; As she said herself, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s really hard to get any jokes out of climate change&rsquo;, but manage it she did. A science lesson made fun, Mrs Evans even had us, her pupils, following along with a textbook (in the form of a comic).&nbsp;</p> <p>Next up was novelist Rebecca Ray, reading from her new work &lsquo;The Answer&rsquo;. A memoir of losing a loved one to throat cancer, Ray&rsquo;s excerpt is an assessment of reality in the face of death; a blend of the mundane and the momentous with an almost Orwellian observance of the normalcy of the world that surrounds us.</p> <p>The afternoon promises numerous more acts to stretch the literary title; from Robin Ince&rsquo;s Book Club to Book Slam and plenty more Vox N Roll in between. And with any luck, that big blue waterproof will be coming off soon&hellip;</p> <p>Henrietta Clancy</p> Jennifer Roberts General Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:15:00 GMT 2007-07-13T06:15:00 edbe78f2-4ebf-43e2-8719-22f02b522588 1000000 The lucky ones get a pew, or better, a purple cushion of much needed comfort at the front. I was one of the lucky ones and I wanted to smuggle the cushion back to my tent for some late night hugging but alas it wouldn’t fit up my shirt. <p>While I may not understand everything I see in the Theatre tent, I still find it curiously more-ish. Why anyone chooses to take to the stage for a half hour monologue about girlfriends and summer is beyond me, but the marquee is always full to the brim with a cheering, smiling crowd so it&rsquo;s clearly not beyond us all.</p> <p>The lucky ones get a pew, or better, a purple cushion of much needed comfort at the front. I was one of the lucky ones and I wanted to smuggle the cushion back to my tent for some late night hugging but alas it wouldn&rsquo;t fit up my shirt.</p> <p>Between acts a steward comes to the front of the audience for some entertainment. He reads extracts from a global warming pamphlet to an audience not quite sure why he is there. It&rsquo;s odd, but hugely entertaining.</p> <p>Philippa Fordham had me in giggles with her spot-on character of an 80-year-old avid hiker. Without even leaving the stage she switches to a pumped up fitness instructor. They have distinctly different accents and she switches between the two succinctly and effortlessly. It was over far too quickly.</p> <p>Kim Willis</p> Jennifer Roberts General Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:30:00 GMT 2007-07-13T00:30:00 75fda4cc-7789-46a8-b99f-4d5f4742ec5b 1000000 Local authors kicked off the literary side of the festival in style, giving a taste of the bucolic countryside life to arriving festival goers who were already hungry for culture, although, given the number of plates of food being wolfed down, people were pretty hungry for their dinners, too. <p>Local authors kicked off the literary side of the festival in style, giving a taste of the bucolic countryside life to arriving festival goers who were already hungry for culture, although, given the number of plates of food being wolfed down, people were pretty hungry for their dinners, too.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The Literary tent, with its gigantic red cushions and blue carpet, proved to be a popular spot for an early evening snack. A diverse array of writers provided the entertainment. Though some authors focused on the divide between country and city -- there was one standout reading of two childhood friends who&rsquo;ve drifted apart after one of them had moved to the country and were now locked in a desperate battle of one-upmanship -- there were stories about an aging pop producer and even a dramatised re-telling of the first moon landing from Norfolk author Tom Colts&hellip; proving that country authors aren&rsquo;t all obsessed with sheep, cows and muddy fields. <br /> <br /> Later, after readings from New Puritans Matt Thorne and Nicholas Blincoe, we were treated to a lively cabaret of song, polemic and stand up, including a dance routine to the space invaders theme tune and an overexcited Julius Caesar&rsquo;s attempts to re-form his old folk band. I&rsquo;m not kidding. One thing&rsquo;s for certain: the literary tent is full of surprises, and always worth a look.<br /> <br /> Alastaire Allday</p> Jennifer Roberts General Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:30:00 GMT 2007-07-13T00:30:00 8c50beac-4749-4e63-818e-3cf55c390232 1000000 Scroobius Pip’s fan base has obviously mushroomed since I last saw him in a trendy bar in the distant town on London. Despite arriving early I had to fight for a seat. But he’s worth the fight. Hell, Scroobius Pip is worth waging a war for. <p>Scroobius Pip&rsquo;s fan base has obviously mushroomed since I last saw him in a trendy bar in the distant town on London. Despite arriving early I had to fight for a seat. But&nbsp; he&rsquo;s worth the fight. Hell, Scroobius Pip is worth waging a war for.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> If someone had told me when I was at school, that one day I&rsquo;d think that poetry was cool (oh look! A rhyming couplet! Look out Scroobius, you&rsquo;ve got competition.)<br /> <br /> I never would have believed them. For I was one of the snogging-boys-behind-bike shed types: poetry isn&rsquo;t cool, it&rsquo;s boring and it sucks. <br /> Wrong. Poetry has a new fan. Maybe if I&rsquo;d known Scroobius Pip back then, things would have been different, although I wouldn&rsquo;t have said no to him behind the bikes shed either, even with beard. He is a master of his trade, his delivery is perfect, his messages poignant and his execution hilarious. <br /> In fact, he is so wondrous a wordsmith that I can not do him justice. He is playing tomorrow too so if you weren&rsquo;t lucky enough to catch him today, go forth and seek him out.&nbsp;</p> <p>Kim Willis ~ Friday 13th July</p> Jennifer Roberts General Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:15:00 GMT 2007-07-13T00:15:00 c06473c9-9955-462f-8ff8-8766d3255dcf 1000000 From the showers that greet most people’s arrival into Friday morning, visions of a muddy repeat of that other festival in Somerset suddenly start appearing. But, in a turnaround, that’s nothing short of miraculous; the sun actually fights off the rain <p>Lake Stage ~ Friday</p> <p>Threatmantics, Pop Up, George Pringle and Fields</p> <p>From the showers that greet most people&rsquo;s arrival into Friday morning, visions of a muddy repeat of that other festival in Somerset suddenly start appearing. But, in a turnaround, that&rsquo;s nothing short of miraculous; the sun actually fights off the rain and allows Lake Stage openers Threatmantics to play their set basking in glorious sunshine. Not that it would have mattered if it had pissed it down as the band managed to cheer up even the sorest headed of folks. Blending meat n&rsquo;potatoes indie rock with traditional folk the band echo a younger, far less grizzled Pogues, only with much more coherent singing. Most definitely worth a listen.</p> <p>The Threats (as we will now christen them) are followed by new Glasgow upstarts Pop Up who enjoyed the virtue of having a seriously enlarged crowd. Aside from a bit of an overzealous pouring of dry ice being pumped on to the stage half way through the band&rsquo;s set is flawless. The likes of &ldquo;Lucy, What You Trying To Say?&rdquo; and stand out track &ldquo;What&rsquo;s The Matter Now?&rdquo; fuse the spiky guitars of an early Supergrass with the wit and nouse of a vintage Pulp, in other words, they&rsquo;ve got festival sing &ndash; a &ndash; longs written all over them. Expect to see Pop Up gracing massive stages in years to come, hopefully with the dry ice canisters left at home.</p> <p>The line up for this weekend&rsquo;s Lake Stage has been put together by Radio 1&rsquo;s Huw Stephens and the first sign of his highly eclectic taste in music is on next as George Pringle takes to the stage. The new darling of both the music press and even the broadsheets has something of an intimate sound, usually powered by just a laptop, but today simply by her iPod. Despite this, she plays a blinding set, showcasing her trademark lyrical bite on &ldquo;Fellini For Prime Minister&rdquo; and wooing even the most puritanical of indie fans on &ldquo;One Night In Koko.&rdquo; She&rsquo;s only been gigging for a year, it&rsquo;ll be scary what she can do in 12 months time.</p> <p>The stage couldn&rsquo;t be better set for Fields over in the Uncut Arena; album just out in stores and after some initially scratchy live dates, they&rsquo;ve morphed into the twisted, visceral juggernaut their early EPs promised. &ldquo;Song For The Fields&rdquo;, &ldquo;Feathers&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Death&rdquo; all send the baying crowd into ecstasy and by the time the 30 minute set is over the crowd are either flat or their backs or baying for more!</p> <p>Tom Goodwyn</p> Jennifer Roberts General Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:15:00 GMT 2007-07-13T00:15:00 1a0e3285-dbd7-4f89-82d0-02c8c9d0dab7 1000000 When Luke Wright, compere and organiser for the Poetry Arena, talks about Central Trains, he’s talking about genocide. Or so he quips at a certain poetry journal’s literal and po-faced reading of his work. <p><strong>Chavs and Mandolins ~ Poetry Arena ~ Friday 13th July</strong><br /> When Luke Wright, compere and organiser for the Poetry Arena, talks about Central Trains, he&rsquo;s talking about genocide. Or so he quips at a certain poetry journal&rsquo;s literal and po-faced reading of his work.<br /> <br /> Thursday&rsquo;s line-up made a welcome habit of pitching the Poetry Arena between the literal and the comical: Tom Sutton&rsquo;s story of an email correspondence gone wrong with the feckless bunch at Innocent smoothies; Niall O&rsquo;Sullivan&rsquo;s &lsquo;bladder that soaks up lager quicker than the Poetry Review&rsquo;; self-proclaimed &lsquo;chav poets&rsquo; Yanny Mac and Pikey Paddy musing over a time when &lsquo;Wetherspoons was just a dream&rsquo;, chugging cans of Tetley&rsquo;s as they spit verses grabbed from a baby&rsquo;s pram carried in tow. Headliner and beat poet John Hegley follows with an hour set of classics and brilliant off-the-cuff pieces: from &lsquo;Armadillo&rsquo; and &lsquo;St George&rsquo;s Day Poem&rsquo; to singling out audience members for swift comical dissection. &lsquo;You&rsquo;re a funny little hoppy man&rsquo;, he jibes, mandolin in hand, &lsquo;but the world needs funny little hoppy men like you.&rsquo;&nbsp;<br /> <br /> When the tent sides are eventually removed to make way for the crowd outside vying to see the neon-pink-shirted lyricist, Hegley is in his element. &lsquo;We need more longitude, Latitude&rsquo;, he smarts, before proclaiming contacts lenses to be a &lsquo;betrayal of the self&rsquo;, showing off an impressive mandolin solo, and finishing with a version of &lsquo;Eddie Don&rsquo;t Like Furniture&rsquo; that gets the whole tent singing.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> A standing ovation gives way to a (for once) briefly wordless Luke Wright, who after the success of his Poet Laureate show at last year&rsquo;s Edinburgh Fringe, looks like a bloke who can&rsquo;t quite believe his luck, and is loving every minute of it.</p> <p>Ben Wilkinson</p> Jennifer Roberts General Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:15:00 GMT 2007-07-13T00:15:00 47048ef3-0f31-4aff-8e80-c9ad89a23cec 1000000 If you go down to the woods today.... If you go down to the woods today....<br /> <br /> ....Not only will you be at Latitude but you'll&nbsp;find the arena already alive with activity.<br /> <br /> <strong>The Irrepressibles</strong> <strong>Orchestra</strong> are the opening voice of the festival, descending from&nbsp;the treetops&nbsp;dressed in ethereal white.&nbsp;The wind section&nbsp;whisper in enchanting notes from the surreal setting of the bracken and fern. Then, upon hearing their 'call' we are treated to&nbsp;more&nbsp;instrumentalists strewn about the woods, their bird song floating down through the evening towards the lakeside.&nbsp; Performing each day, they are a sight and sound not to be missed.<br /> <br /> <strong>Barefoot Doctor</strong>'s specially constructed sounds,&nbsp;in his own words 'speed-ambient'&nbsp;are created to heal you from within. Embalming you with his music and magic spells, be sure to check him out<br /> <br /> <p>Look out for artwork <strong>by</strong> <strong>Xenz</strong>, <strong>Inkie</strong>, <strong>James Rueben Stephens</strong>, <strong>Rob Marrison</strong>, <strong>Mode</strong> and <strong>Tom Spencer</strong>.<br /> <br /> And much, much more to come.....</p> <p>&nbsp;<img height="100" alt="" width="100" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/k/w/n/Image/artworkinthewoods-007.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="100" alt="" width="100" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/k/w/n/Image/artworkinthewoods-008100.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="100" width="100" alt="" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/k/w/n/Image/artworkinthewoods-001.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="99" width="100" alt="" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/k/w/n/Image/artworkinthewoods-005100.jpg" /></p> Jennifer Roberts General Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT 2007-07-12T01:00:00 b15b980a-b8a7-477c-abc2-8f2fd76e7671 1000000 The last&nbsp;note before this weekends Latitude Festival to update you on a couple of things.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> The first is a big one for the festival.&nbsp; We have <strong>sold out</strong>!&nbsp; What wonderful news that after just one previous edition of the festival we have sold out all 20,000 tickets and is just one reason to look forward to the weekend with some enthusiasm. <br /> &nbsp;<br /> There have been a few changes this year:<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <strong>The Obelisk Arena</strong>; last year it was in a giant marquee and was this year also, until last Friday, when a huge swirling wind attacked it and ripped it apart. A mad scramble followed to replace like with like but we couldn't find a marquee big enough so it is now an open air stage. It looks beautiful and is a big enough space for everyone to get a great view of all of the acts on stage and while I know a lot of people wanted the tented arena (me included) what we have replaced it with is still wonderful.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <strong>The Sunrise Arena;</strong> has moved to the most beautiful little haven deep in the woods and is a delight. As close to playing in nature's garden as you can get and I am sure you will love it.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <strong>The Theatre Arena</strong>; has also moved, only slightly, but into a fantastic spot just over the stream from where it was.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> In the Woods, Uncut, Cabaret, Comedy as well as Music and Film have stayed put and the Lake Stage is being recorded by BBC Radio1. <br /> &nbsp;<br /> I am not going to go on because there is so much to say and it doesn't need saying because you can experience it. We have a wonderful weekend planned for you and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I am&nbsp; hoping you will. <br /> &nbsp;<br /> Longing for Latitude as we all are,<br /> &nbsp;<br /> See you at the weekend.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <strong>Melvin Benn and the Latitude Team.</strong> Jennifer Roberts General Wed, 11 Jul 2007 05:45:00 GMT 2007-07-11T06:45:00 16e65db7-4097-4705-a7a0-7f4a066924f4 1000000 Latitude is now proud to present the line-up for Thursday Night’s events taking place on the 12th July. <p>In its second year Latitude Festival is fast becoming the most talked about and most anticipated event of the summer and the line-up just keeps getting better. Latitude is now proud to present the line-up for Thursday Night&rsquo;s events taking place on the 12th July.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s so much more than just a music festival&hellip;</p> <p><br /> <strong>THE LAKE STAGE</strong></p> <p>This year Latitude is proud to announce the involvement of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts together with Sony UK Limited. <br /> The Academy exists to support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the viewing public, and bring a series of exciting events to the festival.</p> <p>Kicking off the festival in a truly unique way, BAFTA and Sony will screen Alfred Hitchcock&rsquo;s very first silent black and white thriller <strong>THE LODGER</strong> (1929) at sundown on Thursday evening on the Lake Stage.&nbsp; A live orchestra, conducted by <strong>Robert Ziegler</strong>, will provide spine-tingling accompaniment to the film using a score by critically acclaimed composer, <strong>Joby Talbot</strong> (The Divine Comedy).&nbsp; Celebrated film critic, <strong>Mark Kermode</strong> will introduce Thursday night&rsquo;s activity. BAFTA and Sony then move location to the Music and Film Tent for the remainder of the weekend.&nbsp;</p> <p><br /> <strong>AROUND THE WOODS AND THE LAKE</strong></p> <p>Over the 3 day festival the woods will bear witness to 3 &ldquo;Latitude gathering&rdquo; pieces specially composed and performed by <strong>The Irrepressibles Orchestra</strong>. Each piece will feature a series of musical motifs that will ripple out and through the forest like a chattering of bird song. They will be designed to be performed separately, in disparate groupings, and culminate collectively. <br /> During the course of Thursday evening each of the instrumentalists, donned in costume and makeup, will add sound to the forest with interflowing solo, duet and trio performances. As time passes these musical motifs will begin to gather sequentially, combining until the piece includes all instrumentalists - the forest seemingly erupting into a laughter of musical interplay, an ornamented expression of its spirit.&nbsp; The piece will now affirm a voice, the voice of the woods - an androgynous and poetic manifestation of its essence will come to straddle the activity. <br /> In response to the anticipation of the gathering audience drawn-in by the sounds, The Irrepressibles will perform collectively a set of originally composed madrigals, laments, and energetic refrains adorned by a littering of dancers. Definitely not to be missed&hellip;</p> <p>Also taking place in the woods will be a selection of Lavish artists working and displaying their art around the Woods. <strong>Xenz</strong> has mastered the spray can and successfully married fine art with gritty urban scrawl with his work described as Monet with traffic lights. One of the first and most prolific Street artists in Britain <strong>Inkie</strong> was inspired by the arrival of the film Wild Style as well as the book Subway Art. Since moving to London in the late 90s Inkie has worked as a leading graphic designer in the video game industry as well as continuing to contribute to the UK graffiti scene. Latitude are very excited to present, at just 19 years of age <strong>James Rueben Stephens</strong>. A fascinating mix of art &amp; written word he paints on recycled objects such as old boxes, frames, doors &amp; broken plaster board ; <strong>Rob Marrison</strong> is a contemporary landscape painter currently living and working full-time as an artist in Suffolk. Working exclusively in oils, the paintings attempt to capture atmosphere and mood and evoke a degree of emotional response through a loose and expressive style;&nbsp; <strong>Mode</strong>'s work is immediately refreshing due to its lack of posturing and antagonism, concentrating instead on very different themes (friendship! Love! Dancing! The latter stages of pregnancy!) and is often called the thinking man of the British Graffiti movement.&nbsp; Last but not least we have the work of <strong>Tom Spencer</strong> who is a West London based artist with a career which has taken him from graphic design through to stained glass making, via the music and tattooing industries!</p> <p><br /> <strong>POETRY ARENA &ndash; 6pm &ndash; 11pm</strong></p> <p>Thursday night will see some of the best Poet&rsquo;s Latitude has to offer taking the stage for an evening of brilliant entertainment.</p> <p>Poet &amp; stand-up <strong>John Hegley</strong> showcasing his &ldquo;fabulously funny&rdquo; &ldquo;Uncut Confetti&rdquo; will take you on a journey of emotions with some of his most personal and philosophical work to date. Hegley was the presenter of the television series &lsquo;Word of Mouth&rsquo; and the BBC radio series &lsquo;Hearing with Hegley&rsquo; and not content with only being a performance poet John is also a musician, songwriter and surely an act not to be missed! <br /> <strong>Luke Wright</strong> brings his critically and commercially successful debut solo show, &lsquo;Luke Wright, Poet Laureate&rsquo; to Latitude; his verbal and visual gags colliding with his trademark acerbic verse. Aside from his successful solo career, Wright will perform with his live poetry collective <strong>Aisle16 </strong>who have become one of the most sought after live acts in the country.</p> <p>Also appearing on Thursday night will be: Irish born poet, writer and promoter <strong>Niall O&rsquo;Sullivan</strong> with his original voice, and a keen eye for comic irony; British newcomer and &lsquo;window shopper&rsquo; <strong>John Osborne</strong>; published author and poet and local boy <strong>Joe Dunthorne</strong>; fiction Crew member <strong>Tim Clare </strong>and Norwich's very own chav poets in love <strong>Yanny Mac &amp; Pikey Paddy</strong>, together with <strong>Kat Francois, Tom Sutton</strong> and <strong>Anne Pigalle</strong> all creating an exciting Thursday line-up of familiar faces and fresh new talent.</p> <p>Showcasing the very best in contemporary performance poets, The Poetry Arena was hugely popular last year, changing many people's perceptions as to how poetry readings could be. Comedy sketches alongside Hip Hop, slam poets, raconteurs, spoken word, lyricism, storytelling, rappers and much much more made this tent a roaring success for punters and performers alike.</p> <p><br /> <strong>MUSIC AND FILM ARENA &ndash; 8.15pm &ndash; 2am</strong></p> <p>The Music and Film Arena will be starting on Thursday night with some very special events taking place! <strong>Daft Punk</strong> duo <strong>Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo</strong> and <strong>Thomas Bangalter</strong> will have a screening of their directorial feature film <strong>Electroma</strong>, the psychedelic visual and musical odyssey of the journey of two robots on their quest to become human.&nbsp; <br /> &nbsp;<br /> Electroma is without dialogue and plays host to a brilliant soundtrack put together by music supervisor, Steven Baker, featuring tracks from Todd Rundgren (International Feel), Brian Eno (In Dark Trees), Curtis Mayfair (Billy Jack), Sebastien Tellier (Universe), Chopin, Haydn, Allegri, Linda Perhacs (If You Were My Man) and Jackson Carey Frank (Dialogue).</p> <p>Also on Thursday night will be the acclaimed dress-up night <strong>The Beautiful And Damned</strong> which moves from its usual home in North London&rsquo;s The Boogaloo to the sunshine coast to join in the Latitude extravaganza. Aloof flaneurs Miss Red and Dickon Edwards spin their unique selection of music &ndash; from Sinatra and Doris Day to Gilbert and Sullivan and musicals, while excerpts from silent movies are screened to illuminate your dance moves.</p> <p><br /> <strong>LITERARY ARENA - 7pm &ndash; 10pm</strong></p> <p>In the Literary Arena on Thursday night will be some of the weird and wonderful shorts from the innovative and original project, <strong>Perverted By Language</strong> as part of <strong>Vox &lsquo;N&rsquo; Roll</strong>. The project featured twenty-three writers who all chose one song by The Fall and used it as inspiration for their own short stories. Topics ranged wildly from mechanical ducks, shark women that taste of liquorice, and perverted sexual shenanigans in office spaces. Readings come from <strong>Nicolas Blincoe</strong> who chose &lsquo;Lucifer over Lancashire&rsquo; (1986), <strong>Matt Thorne</strong> who wrote about &lsquo;My Ex-Classmate's Kids&rsquo; (2001), <strong>Stav Sherez</strong> and &lsquo;God Box&rsquo; (1984) and the editor of Perverted By Language <strong>Peter Wild</strong> reading &lsquo;Cruiser&rsquo;s Creek&rsquo;.</p> <p>Also as part of <strong>Vox &lsquo;N&rsquo; Roll</strong>, Suffolk Based <strong>Jon Canter</strong>, a television comedy scriptwriter working with the likes of Lenny Henry and Dawn French, Jon&rsquo;s debut novel about two Jewish boys growing up in North London has been described as a &ldquo;perfect Parody&rdquo; by The Times; Norfolk based writer <strong>Tom Cox</strong> whose latest book &lsquo;Bring Me The Head Of Sergio Garcia&rsquo; deals with his attempts to become a pro golfer; <strong>Andrew Smith,</strong> author of critically acclaimed 2006 book &lsquo;Moondust: In search of the Men who fell to earth&rsquo; and <strong>Barrie Sherwood</strong> whose debut novel, &quot;Escape From Amsterdam&quot;, paints an unsettling of contemporary Japan and introduces a strikingly original and inventive writer.</p> <p>Also joining in Thursdays festivities will be:</p> <p>Legendary musician and bassist to Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jimmy Page, The Smiths, Roxy Music and most notably Pink Floyd and Bryan Ferry, <strong>Guy Pratt</strong> with his revered show <strong>&lsquo;My Bass And Other Animals&rsquo;</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>The Book Club</strong> returns under the tutelage of <strong>Robin Ince</strong> - Winner of Time Out magazine&rsquo;s Outstanding Achievement in Comedy 2006 Award - with even more bizarre and ridiculous comedy, tap dancing, accordion orchestras and dramatized Mills and Boon book readings. A huge hit in London and Edinburgh, Time Out Outstanding Achievement Winner and Chortle Best Compere, Robin Ince&rsquo;s Book Club gathers together the most exciting comedians on the International circuit including <strong>Stewart Lee</strong> (Olivier Award Winner), <strong>Simon Munnery</strong> (Attention Scum), <strong>Josie Long</strong> (if.comedy Best Newcomer, BBC Best Newcomer), <strong>Jo Neary</strong> (Perrier nominee), and many more.</p> Annie Day General Sun, 01 Jul 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-07-02T00:00:00 2b9d9d36-4e7b-472e-822d-12505f78678c 1000000 At Latitude we aim to reduce the environmental impact of the festival and offer you ways of enjoying yourself while also doing your part to reduce your impact. <p><strong>Travelling to the Festival</strong><br /> We have made every effort to encourage festival goers to consider using public transport and car share options in travelling to the festival. Filling every seat in your car, joining the Lift Share program, or catching a bus or train&hellip;are all great ways to reduce your carbon footprint when travelling to the festival.<br /> <br /> <strong>Recycling, Composting &amp; Waste</strong><br /> Our goal is to minimize the amount of waste going to landfill and to maximize recycling and composting<br /> <br /> <strong>Protect The Land - Environmentally Friendly Shower Gel</strong>To minimize the environmental impact of the festival on the land at Henham Park where Latitude is held, we have provided Shower Gel for all festival goers to use onsite. Ecover has kindly provided environmentally friendly, phosphate free and total biodegradable Shower Gel,<br /> <br /> For further information and Handy Tips for Green Campers, go to the <a href="http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/info/greenInitiatives.aspx">Green Initiatives</a> section of the INFO page.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> Annie Day General Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-06-29T00:00:00 fea537a9-c34c-4893-a26b-b6d86c2f17cb 1000000 This quirky little cabaret house entices you in and changes you for life. Well, once you've learnt to be a Burlesque striptease artist there's no going back! <p>This quirky little cabaret house entices you in and changes you for life. Well, once you've learnt to be a Burlesque striptease artist there's no going back! Pure outrageous fun is the emphasis here. Free yourself from inhibitions and satisfy all those urges and fancies you've been harbouring. This surreal bordello of surprises and spectacular stage shows is visually rich, beautiful and bizarre; the shows titillate, torment and amuse in equal measures. <br /> As well as <strong>Moulin Rouge Cabaret, Bollywood dance classes</strong> and <strong>Men&rsquo;s Burlesque workshops</strong> Latitude is pleased to welcome:</p> <p>If slapstick is more your bag, Latitude is proud to be home to <strong>VauxhallVille</strong> for the weekend &ndash; a gem of a cabaret show with highlights including the resurrection of TOTP in &lsquo;<strong>Top of the Vaux&rsquo;</strong>, The Kate Bush Comeback Show, The Smiths The Musical and a Blondie-homage starring Polly Vinyl, as well as Timberlina&rsquo;s Top Pop Quiz. Phew!&nbsp; <br /> And, if you can&rsquo;t get enough of their evening shows, VauxhaullVille will also be running a daytime program including a children&rsquo;s party (for adults only), a Bearwear fashion collection, bargain bingo and two exclusive workshops: &lsquo;Discover your inner drag queen&rsquo; and &lsquo;Burlesque for Boys&rsquo;.</p> <p>The acclaimed dress-up night <strong>The Beautiful And Damned</strong> moves from it&rsquo;s usual home in North London&rsquo;s&nbsp; Boogaloo to the sunshine coast to join in the Latitude craziness. Aloof flaneurs Miss Red and Dickon Edwards spin their unique selection of music &ndash; from Sinatra and Doris Day to Gilbert and Sullivan and musicals, while excerpts from silent movies are screened to illuminate your dance moves.</p> <p>Hand crafted sketch comedy is also on the Latitude Cabaret menu in the shape of <strong>Girl and Dean</strong> - two girls who like knitting &ndash; who present their debut full-length Edinburgh Festival Fringe show. Relying solely on Wikipedia for research, Girl and Dean answer all the big questions...What courses do Learn Direct have to offer the undead? Who is the King of the North? Who would be Jesus&rsquo; favourite member of Girls Aloud?</p> <p>The fabulous <strong>Bikini Beach Band</strong> - A band of half-brothers who first met at their father&rsquo;s funeral. The four Escovido (half) brothers formed Bikini Beach Band in order to preserve the legacy of their father - Jesus C. Escovido&rsquo;s - unique style of Mexican Surf Guitar music. The band&rsquo;s unique approach to instrumental guitar music has been dubbed &lsquo;Surf Noir&rsquo; and has taken them all the way from humble beginnings on the beaches of Mexico to Latitude&rsquo;s cabaret arena this year, picking up accolades from the likes of Pulp, Oasis and comedians The Mighty Boosh on their way!<br /> Now based in London&rsquo;s fashionable East End the boys continue to wow their audiences with their musical audacity and wit. Expect unique covers of Amy Winehouse and The Arctic Monkeys&rsquo; tunes as well as classics from the Osmonds and a smattering of original material..</p> <p>Purveyors of their own unique brand of dramatic, dark and deeply funny Victorian sketch comedy, <strong>The Penny Dreadfuls</strong> are: Jamie Anderson, Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck. They wowed audiences at last summer&rsquo;s Edinburgh Festival with their comic adventures of Aeneas Faversham, which inspired 5 star reviews and comparisons to comedy greats such as Monty Python, The Goons and Ripping Yarns, to name but a few.</p> <p>In a show billed as &lsquo;tintastic&rsquo;, meet <strong>Patti Plinko and her Boy</strong> - brought to you by old tin ukeleles and gramaphones. The beautiful Patti Plinko, a voice like an angel, a heart like a whore, is sure to enchant. Greatly influenced by old European cinema and British music hall, Patti and her boy will take Latitude-goers into their dark seductive world of yester year, where flickering cinematic illusions accompany the rag and tin tunes that Patti whispers and woos.</p> <p>Lock up your liquors, hide the knives, it&rsquo;s&hellip;<strong>The Urban Voodoo Ma</strong>chine. This shadowy collective of ne&rsquo;er-do-wells has been bringing the spirit of the carnie to London, sleazing around the capitols&rsquo; seediest joints, as well as hosting the now legendary parties attended by strippers, fire jugglers and degenerates. <br /> With the lurching sea shanties, debauched murder ballads and whiskey-soaked gypsy stomps, some reckon they&rsquo;re from the stable of stallions such as Tom Waits and Nick Cave; others point out the &lsquo;last gang in town&rsquo; swagger of The Clash and the hellhound blues that JL Hooker first dragged out of the swamp.&nbsp; But comparisons aside, as Paul-Ronney says himself &ndash; &ldquo;we play Bourbon Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop&rsquo;n&rsquo;Stroll and we do it mighty well!&rdquo;<br /> a refreshing blend of fiddle, bullfiddle, haphazard percussion and rockin&rsquo; blues guitar coming to your nearest bordello, bullfight or barroom brawl real soon&hellip;.. -GUITAR <br /> &hellip;.they sound like Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, Nick Cave and Johnny Cash squatting somewhere damp for the night trying to light a fire. <br /> -CRUDMUSIC</p> <p>Also making an appearance is slap-stick pin-up <strong>Ophelia Bitz</strong>, so hang on to your hats (and all other valuables). Bitz is a radio lady, comedienne, writer and cabaret performer specialising in hands-free cocktail shaking and other forms of dubious anatomical bar-tending. She also sings, dances, performs striptease (if you're lucky), sets herself on fire, teaches fan-dancing to old ladies in Blackpool and is generally one of the UKs finest comic performers and party mammals. <br /> <br /> <br /> Anything is possible in the Cabaret Tent.</p> Annie Day General Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-06-26T00:00:00 5fcfa50c-0046-445c-b598-a4a2e0306156 1000000 What exactly was it about the saucy nipple tassled cabaret or the Drag Queen Workshop that made me want to book them for the Latitude audience? What exactly was it about the saucy nipple tassled cabaret&nbsp; or the Drag Queen Workshop that made me want to book them&nbsp; for the Latitude audience? Good questions. But not one's&nbsp; I'm supposed to write about in my blog apparently.&nbsp;<br /> Luckily there are a huge number of acts performing at Latitude that are as exciting and it's so difficult to pin down just a few. It's been a frenzied week of booking and this week we are announcing Richard Curtis and Shane Meadows doing a BAFTA Q&amp;A in the Music and Film Arena,&nbsp; plus James Franco (Tristan &amp; Isolde) , Richard Hawley (Love Actually) and Amanda Seyfried&nbsp; (Mean Girls)&nbsp; reading short stories by Ron Carlson and Nick Hornby in the Literary Arena.&nbsp;<br /> In fact I have to stop on that one because WordTheatre is a great concept;&nbsp; very basically actors bring the short story to a very vibrant life .&nbsp;&nbsp; WordTheatre is huge in L.A. and Al Pacino and Tom Hanks have done it over there and we have to'd and fro'd with some incredibly brilliant actors this week including Meryl Streep ( ha, then I woke up) and have confirmed some great performances to bring to Latitude.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> One low in the rollercoaster ride of confirmations was, I invited the New Statesman to a political debate with The Spectator in the Literary Arena. Surely both would take up the challenge? No, The Spectator declined, apparently they don&rsquo;t &lsquo;do&rsquo; festivals. Shame really. The idea of John Kampfner v Boris Johnson showdown would have been enormous fun. Boris and John in the Guilty Pleasures tent dancing to ELO as and aftershow?&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Anyhow, back to life. Phil Collins (the Turner prize nominee not the drummer from Genesis thankfully) is another personal favourite and I was thrilled that he has agreed to do an art installation at the festival. Am hoping it will be his Korean/Smiths/karaoke show which is brilliant fun. There are so many interesting art collaborations in the M&amp; F Arena that I want to mention them all but if I had to choose just one it would probably be the Chris Shepherd Q&amp;A. Chris Shepherd has worked with the genius of understated and fiercely witty art; David Shrigley and Chris has created dark and edgy animated movies with David and will be talking about those and his own films prior to the screenings. Phew, and not a nipple tassle in sight...<br /> <br /> ~Tania Harrison, Curator of the Arts Stages~ Annie Day General Sun, 24 Jun 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-06-25T00:00:00 77e64be4-123d-4de6-9968-c83d36946401 1000000 New additions across the Music & Film Arena, Literary Arena, Theatre Arena and Cabaret Arena. <p><strong><font color="#000000"><font size="2">MUSIC &amp; FILM ARENA LATEST ADDITIONS:</font></font></strong></p> <p><font color="#000000"><font size="2">This year Latitude is proud to announce the involvement of the <strong>British Academy of Film and Television Arts</strong> together with<strong> Sony UK Limited</strong>. </font></font></p> <p><font color="#000000"><font size="2">The Academy exists to support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the viewing public, and bring a series of exciting events to the festival. </font></font></p> <p><font color="#000000"><font size="2">Kicking off the festival in a truly unique way, BAFTA and Sony will screen <strong>ALFRED HITCHCOCK&rsquo;s</strong> very first silent black and white thriller <strong>THE LODGER</strong> (1929) at sundown on Thursday evening on the <strong>Lake Stage.</strong>A live orchestra, conducted by Robert Ziegler, will provide spine-tingling accompaniment to the film using a score by critically acclaimed composer, Joby Talbot (The Divine Comedy). Celebrated film critic, Mark Kermode will introduce Thursday night&rsquo;s activity. </font></font></p> <p><font color="#000000"><font size="2">BAFTA and Sony then move location to the Music and Film Tent for the remainder of the weekend.<br /> <br /> On Saturday night Richard Curtis will be talking to journalist Tracey Macleod about 20 years of working in film and TV.<br /> This will be followed by a screening of his most recent film,<strong>THE GIRL IN THE CAF&Eacute;</strong>. Set and filmed in London and Iceland (where the fictional G8 Summit of the film takes place), The Girl in the Caf&egrave; follows the journey of Lawrence (Bill Nighy), a lonely bureaucrat working for the UK&rsquo;s Chancellor of the Exchequer, after he meets Gina (Kelly Macdonald) in a caf&egrave;. After a couple of dates, he takes a chance and invites her on a weekend trip to Reykjavik, where he'll be working at the G8 conference. The film is a passionate plea to humankind - wrapped in a love story, a comedy and a unique drama.</font></font></p> <p><font color="#000000"><font size="2">On Sunday night, BAFTA and Sony are joined by award-winning writer and director <strong>SHANE MEADOWS</strong> and producer <strong>MARK HERBERT</strong>, the creative duo who recently brought the critically acclaimed <strong>THIS IS ENGLAND</strong> to our cinema screens. Marking the fifth feature film from Meadows (Dead Man&rsquo;s Shoes, Twentyfourseven), This is England tells the story of Shaun (Thomas Turgoose), an 11 year old kid growing up in the north of England. Set during the summer holidays of 1983, it follows his rites of passage from a shaggy haired ruffian grieving the loss of his father into a shaven headed thug whose anger and pain are embraced by the local skinhead fraternity. Radio One&rsquo;s James King will host the evening.</font></font></p> <p><font color="#000000"><font size="2">Elsewhere in the Music and Film Arena Latitude can also announce a special preview screening of the incredible film <strong>HALLAM FOE</strong>, released in cinemas nationwide from Friday the 31st of August. Starring Jamie Bell (Billy Elliott) and directed by David Mackenzie, HALLAM FOE is a magical story of redemptive love, loss and life on the rooftops of Edinburgh. Young Hallam is almost over the sudden death of his mother when he begins to suspect that his beautiful step-mother may have had a hand in her death. Fleeing his family for Edinburgh, his obsessions take a dangerous (and comic) turn as he falls in love with a girl who happens to look just like his mother. The soundtrack for HALLAM FOE is comprised entirely of music from Domino&rsquo;s catalogue, with the exception of Franz Ferdinand&rsquo;s &lsquo;Hallam Foe Dandelion Blow&rsquo; which was written specifically for the film. The soundtrack, compiled by David Mackenzie with help from Domino&rsquo;s Laurence Bell and Jacqui Rice, was recently awarded the Silver Bear award for Best Music In A Film at the Berlin Film Festival. </font></font></p> Annie Day General Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:15:00 GMT 2007-06-21T15:15:00 708b57d6-0c62-43ec-807e-75adf0c68345 1000000 “The Lake Stage this year is a varied mix of pop, acoustic and hip hop from all across the UK, all brilliant new music that will bring them a lot of new fans! <p>HUW STEPHENS INTRODUCING THE LAKE STAGE<br /> <br /> featuring headliners :<br /> <strong>I WAS A CUB SCOUT<br /> DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIOUS PIP<br /> BLOOD RED SHOES</strong></p> <p><strong>T.A.N.A.O.U -FRIENDLY FIRES -THE HOT PUPPIES<br /> METRONOMY -JO LEAN AND THE JING JANG JONG<br /> BRIGADIER AMBROSE -MIDDLEMAN<br /> VOICE OF THE SEVEN WOODS -THE TEENAGERS -MONKEY SWALLOWS THE UNIVERSE <br /> MR HOPKINSONS COMPUTER - VESSLES<br /> THE DULOKS -BOBBY MCGHEES<br /> SUNSET CINEMA CLUB - LIZ GREEN <br /> THE GENTEL GOOD -GEORGE PRINGLE <br /> JAMES SEVERY -POP UP -MY TWO TOMS <br /> CATE LE BON -THREATMANTICS - SAM ISAAC</strong></p> <p>The Music Arenas at Latitude Festival boast a perfect eclectic mix of genre-spanning music from established bands and artists to the very best in new, up and coming acts. Running throughout the weekend, all bands and performers have been hand-picked with the very essence of Latitude in mind, ensuring that there&rsquo;s the ideal soundtrack for the weekend&rsquo;s festivities. And this year will see the welcomed return of the Lake Stage.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Positioned cosily on the banks of the sumptuously beautiful winding lake at the heart of the festival, Radio 1&rsquo;s champion of the underground and alternative scene Huw Stephens introduces the Lake Stage, showcasing the very best of a vibrant and relentless underground scene.</p> <p>As Huw describes: &ldquo;The Lake Stage this year is a varied mix of pop, acoustic and hip hop from all across the UK, all brilliant new music that will bring them a lot of new fans! I get to play loads of unsigned an emerging talent on the Radio 1 show every week, and I'm pleased the line-up can reflect the diversity of the talent. Radio 1 are recording the live music this year too. I can't wait for the weekend!&rdquo;</p> <p>Confirmed acts are:</p> <p><strong>FRIDAY</strong><br /> Noisy Nottingham duo <strong>I WAS A CUB SCOUT</strong> headline the stage on Friday night with their infectious fervent disco of epic synth-pop tinged with hard punk edges. They are joined by: Northampton's charmingly unpredictable indie messiahs <strong>T.A.N.A.O.U</strong> (or The All-New Adventures Of Us in long-hand) with their pianos and guitars chime, reinforced with violin trills and boy/girl vocals; Joseph Mount aka <strong>METRONOMY</strong> playing his alternative electro pop accompanied by his touring band; Chatham's merging of Pavement and Belle &amp; Sebastian <strong>BRIGADIER AMBROSE</strong>; saviours of French indie, the sardonic Parisian sleazoids with Velvets-ish simple melodies <strong>THE TEENAGERS</strong>; experimental post-rockers <strong>VESSELS</strong> who count Steve Lamacq as an admirer; crazy face paint wearing indie folkers <strong>THE BOBBY MCGHEES</strong> who are guaranteed to add a bit of originality to proceedings; shoegaze-pop, poetry and electronica from the charming <strong>GEORGE PRINGLE</strong>; the indefinable magic of Glasgow&rsquo;s POP UP; Welsh mentalists <strong>THREATMANTICS</strong> headed by a viola-playing frontman backed by a drummer who bangs the skins and plays the keyboard at the same time, who will kick start the Lake Stage with their single &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t Care&rsquo;.</p> <p><strong>SATURDAY</strong><br /> Headlining on Saturday is electronica 2 piece <strong>DAN LE SAC</strong> teaming up with British hip-hop artist <strong>SCROOBIUS PIP</strong> with his sharp wit, emotive vocal delivery and sheer honesty, also performing in the Poetry Arena. Current cult hit &lsquo;Thou Shalt Not&rsquo; is a must see of the festival. They are accompanied by: latest NME favourites <strong>FRIENDLY FIRES</strong> bringing their sun tinged tropical-indie to Suffolk; the super long named indie poppers <strong>JO LEAN AND THE JING JANG JONG</strong>; the vibrant, catchy Leeds 5 piece <strong>MIDDLEMAN</strong>; Sheffield acoustic guitar pop from <strong>MONKEY SWALLOWS THE UNIVERSE</strong>; super fun new wave girl band <strong>THE DULOKS</strong>; the angular Birmingham tinged indie of <strong>SUNSET CINEMA CLUB</strong>; the extraordinary voice of the talented <strong>LIZ GREEN</strong> with her folky acoustic guitar; and the unique stylings of up and coming solo artist <strong>JAMES SEVERY</strong>; and the brilliant melodic folk and bluegrass country from <strong>MY TWO TOMS</strong>,<br /> <br /> <strong>SUNDAY</strong><br /> Heading up Sunday night and closing the stage for this year, Brighton&rsquo;s new grunge duo, aligning, jarring, scuzzy, with the spirit of 90&rsquo;s riot grrrl <strong>BLOOD RED SHOES</strong> They are joined by: <strong>THE HOT PUPPIES</strong> who successfully marry sugary 50&rsquo;s American diner with stomping Yeah Yeah Yeahs post punk, via Aretha-style soul; trippy k-folk-rock from super cool Twisted Nerve stable <strong>VOICE OF THE SEVEN WOODS;</strong> '80s and '90s tunes sung by a computer and played on vintage analog-sounding electronics by Bristol's <strong>MR. HOPKINSON'S COMPUTER</strong>; South Wales&rsquo;s <strong>THE GENTLE GOOD</strong> aka Gareth Bonello a dedicated multi-instrumentalist who sings in Welsh, English and Spanish and plays mystical sounds of Welsh folk music with the syncopated rhythms of ragtime in a guitar style self-described as 'plinky-plonky'; another multi-talented bilingual singer-songwriter <strong>CATE LE BON</strong> from West Wales and brilliant personal guitar-based odes from the mega hard working <strong>SAM ISAAC.</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> Annie Day General Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:00:00 GMT 2007-06-19T20:00:00 4988677f-ca3c-4080-b7f4-4ed7edc8f68b 1000000 There is a wealth of local authors, poets and actors confirmed for Latitude. <p>The LITERARY ARENA on Thursday night boasts three esteemed authors and writers:&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Suffolk based JON CANTER is a television comedy scriptwriter who has worked with Lenny Henry, Dawn French, Ade Edmondson, Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Arabella Weir and Richard E Grant. His debut novel &lsquo;Seeds Of Greatness&rsquo; is a hilarious story of two Jewish boys growing up in North London and has been described by Helen Fielding as &quot;wonderful wise and witty&quot; while The Times thought it was a &quot;perfect parody&quot;.<br /> <br /> Residing in Norfolk TOM COX has written for The Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Observer, Mail On Sunday, Guardian and Golf International. He is the author of three books, &lsquo;Nice Jumper&rsquo;, &lsquo;Educating Peter&rsquo; and &lsquo;The Lost Tribes of Pop&rsquo;, a collection of his pieces for The Observer Music Monthly Magazine. His next book &lsquo;Bring Me The Head Of Sergio Garcia&rsquo; deals with his attempts to become a golf pro.<br /> <br /> BARRIE SHERWOOD who lives in Norwich, born in Hong Kong brings his debut novel &lsquo;Escape From Amsterdam&rsquo; - a rollercoaster ride of a novel set in the bizarre world of a Japanese theme park. It paints an unsettling picture of contemporary Japan and introduces a strikingly original and inventive writer.<br /> <br /> Captain Corelli's Mandolin author (and former Ipswich schoolteacher) LOUIS DE BERNIERES will also be appearing in the Literary Arena. He&rsquo;ll be performing a sparkling and entertaining show of poetry, classical / traditional music and badinage. The well-known writer reads his own and other people&rsquo;s poetry and plays an amazing variety of instruments together with THE ILONIOUS PLAYERS: flautists Ilone Antonius-Jones and Tina Gandy.</p> <p>Over in the POETRY ARENA across the weekend: British newcomer and &lsquo;window shopper&rsquo; JOHN OSBORNE. Newcomer Osborne graduated from the prestigious UEA course in Creative Writing and recently wrote a non-fiction book called &lsquo;The Newsagent&rsquo;s Window&rsquo; where he makes a living from selling or passing on things he&rsquo;s seen advertised in newsagents&rsquo; windows e.g. recently he took a Spanish lesson which had been advertised and then gave exactly the same Spanish lesson to somebody else.</p> <p>Norwich's very own chav poets in love YANNY MAC &amp; PIKEY PADDY dedicated to save the world from middle-class mediocrity and the scourge of commercialism, just by the power of words. Yanny secretly loves Paddy, Paddy has a disability and loves pork-pies. Both suffer prejudice on a daily basis. Performing in the Poetry Tent on Thursday night, and compering on Friday, Saturday &amp; Sunday thereafter.</p> <p>Part of hit poetry group Aisle16, Norwich based JOEL STICKLEY started life with the collective nearly 5 years ago winning the Glastonbury Slam and performing across the airwaves. He has contributed to Aisle 16's book of verse, &lsquo;Live From Hellfire Club&rsquo; which features poems such as &lsquo;The Collected Reports of Benny Ladderfield, Political Correspondent, (aged four and a half)&rsquo;, &lsquo;Casual Friday at Nazi Party Headquarters&rsquo; and &lsquo;Britain's First Paedophile Prime Minister&rsquo;.</p> <p>And from just over the other side of the fence some of the revered poets in the SUNDOWN POETS Collective &ndash; a collective of friends from Essex dedicated to helping new writers and artists to reach an audience interested in what they have to say. Team members include Chris Davison and Doozer for Sound, Stuart Bowditch, Malcolm Blake-Lawson, Raymond, Mikey, LittleNobody and B. Influences from toilet graffiti to playing drums with a slipper, if you can imagine it, chances are it works.&nbsp;</p> <p>Elsewhere, the Suffolk born string-laden troubadour TOM BAXTER brings his brand of Jeff Buckley/David Gray inspired acoustic folk rock to the UNCUT ARENA on Saturday his unique voice and song-writing provides for real emotional intensity.</p> <p>Local theatre group MOUTH TO MOUTH who have been sprinkling Shakespeare on the beautiful Suffolk landscape, in locations such as Framlingham Castle, Leiston Abbey and even Ipswich Town Hall steps (Julius Caesar of course!), this summer park up at Latitude with their Midsummer Night&rsquo;s Dream performance &ldquo;Stunning physical Shakespeare &hellip;If I could award six stars I would.&rdquo; Eastern Daily Press&nbsp;<br /> <br /> And if that wasn't enough, Rock Lobster Recording Studio host a showcase of young local talent with six new bands performing over the weekend.&nbsp; From 7.30pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Kids Area.</p> <p>Friday - <strong>Dustmans Royal Party</strong> and<strong> Razor</strong></p> <p>Saturday - <strong>The Luddites</strong> and <strong>The Friendly Misunderstood Rabbits</strong></p> <p>Sunday - <strong>Indigo Jam</strong> and <strong>Daemos</strong>.</p> Annie Day General Sun, 17 Jun 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-06-18T00:00:00 4622855e-e20b-4cbc-8817-26faa8c98e2c 1000000 Organisers Mean Fiddler are keen to encourage festival goers to respect the local environment and local residents and have put in place public transport options to encourage everyone to leave their cars at home. <p>Organisers Mean Fiddler are keen to encourage festival goers to respect the local environment and local residents and have put in place public transport options to encourage everyone to leave their cars at home.</p> <p>The train services into and out of Halesworth are limited in capacity and therefore festival goers travelling from London are advised to consider using the National Express coach service and festival goers travelling from elsewhere in the UK using the train network are advised to consider picking up the shuttle bus service via Ipswich Station, rather than Halesworth.</p> <p><strong>By Coach direct to the festival site:</strong><br /> NATIONAL EXPRESS</p> <p>National Express is putting on dedicated services direct into the Latitude Festival site from London Victoria Coach Station. So sit back, relax and let the festival atmosphere begin! The coach services depart from London Victoria Coach Station at 12.30pm on Thursday 12th July and 10am on Friday 13th July and depart the festival site on Monday 16th July at 10.30am. For more information and to book tickets visit <a href="http://www.nationalexpress.com">www.nationalexpress.com</a> or call 08705 808080 (please note that a &pound;1 telephone booking fee applies). You can also book at any National Express Outlet.</p> <p>If you are travelling to and from London please consider using the National Express coach service since the capacity of the trains coming into Halesworth is limited.</p> <p><br /> <strong>By Rail to shuttle bus services (Halesworth and Ipswich Railway Station)</strong></p> <p>There are regular shuttle bus services to and from Halesworth Railway Station straight into the festival site. The timetable will run to meet the trains and the service starts early afternoon Thursday 12th July and continues until early afternoon Monday 16th July.</p> <p>Please note that the capacity of Halesworth is limited and therefore festival goers should also consider travelling via Ipswich Railway Station. There is a shuttle bus service from Ipswich Railway Station straight into the festival site during the afternoon on Thursday 12th July, all day on Friday 13th July and returning on Monday 16th July in the morning. For further information and timetables of the shuttle buses, please visit <a href="http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk">www.latitudefestival.co.uk</a> or call 01502 711109</p> <p><br /> For further information on rail services or to book tickets call 08456 007245 (One) or 08457 484950 (National Rail Enquiries) or visit <a href="http://www.onerailway.com">www.onerailway.com</a></p> <p>There is also a shuttle minibus service running to and from Southwold operated by Southwold Taxis. For more information contact John Bowe on 01502 723400 or 07737 139853</p> <p><br /> T<strong>he Lift Share scheme</strong></p> <p>If you have to bring your car, then please consider using the lift share scheme. Lift sharing is a great way to reduce traffic to the festival and to save money, hassle and the planet at the same time. You can ask for a contribution to costs and save some money on your own travel, or maybe don't bring a car at all. It's also another great way to meet new people at the festival and takes a lot of pressure off the local roads. If you have spare spaces in your car, or you don't really have to use your car then please consider lift-sharing. It definitely must be part of the future of private transport. For further information visit <a href="http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk">www.latitudefestival.co.uk</a>.</p> <p><strong>By bike</strong></p> <p>There will be bike racks available onsite for cyclists inside the Green Gate 1A on the A145 and Yellow Gate 1 on the A12. Day ticket holders arriving by bike should use the Green Gate. 1A</p> <p><strong>Day ticket holders:</strong></p> <p>Day ticket holders wishing to travel to site using public transport rather than by lift-sharing or by car are advised to plan their return journey after the main entertainment finishes in advance as there are no train services from Halesworth or Ipswich at that time of night and therefore the shuttle bus will not run at that time. Taxi services have been invited to come to site to pick up at this time however it may be advisable to book in advance. Taxi companies will be sent maps of the site and should be told to enter site via Green Gate 1A on the A145 for pick ups for day ticket holders.</p> <p>On Sunday night at 11.15pm after Arcade Fire finishes, there is a shuttle bus service from site to London run by Anglian Bus. For further information please visit <a href="http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk">www.latitudefestival.co.uk</a> or call 01502 711109</p> <p>There is also a day ticket holder campsite onsite for day ticket holders that cannot travel home that night and wish to stay overnight instead and travel home the following morning. Facilities are limited and there is no charge for the use of this campsite.</p> <p>For further Traffic details for those travelling by car, please see the following pages:</p> <p><br /> ROAD DIRECTIONS TO THE FESTIVAL<br /> <br /> The A12 and A145 are likely to be busy as drivers head to Latitude Festival.</p> <p>The festival is taking place at Henham Park which is east of Southwold and south of Beccles, adjacent to the A12 and A145.</p> <p>Drivers are being advised to allow extra time for their journeys.</p> <p>Peak traffic flows are likely on the afternoon of Thursday 12th July and on the morning of Friday 13th July as festival goers arrive on site. Most traffic is expected to depart the site late in the evening on Sunday 15th July and before noon on Monday 16th July.</p> <p>The organisers have been working closely with Suffolk Constabulary to develop traffic management plans which aim to ease congestion around the site, minimise disruption to the road network and ensure regular road users are affected as little as possible.</p> <p><strong>TRAVELLING TO THE FESTIVAL</strong>&nbsp;<br /> -&nbsp;The routes to the festival will be well signposted and have been publicised by the organisers via promotional literature, the internet and in written information sent out with all tickets to the event.</p> <p>-&nbsp;Those travelling from the south on the A12 will be directed straight into site from the A12.</p> <p>-&nbsp;Those travelling from the Lowestoft direction on the A12 and day ticket holders will be directed straight into site from the A145 via Middle Barn Lane which connects the A12 and the A145</p> <p>-&nbsp;Those travelling south on the A145 from the Beccles direction will be directed straight into site from the A145.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> Annie Day General Sun, 17 Jun 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-06-18T00:00:00 8ac9a437-355f-450b-b313-bbceb2f95fe9 1000000 Jon Dunn is the Latitude Festival Music Promoter. This is the first of his weekly blogs..... ''My first festival was Reading 89, music was a passion, but football was everything...I can remember spending the whole day at the front of the stage,refusing to leave (I dont know how I went that long without wanting to go to toilet) my spot, taking in My Bloody Valentine, Spaceman 3, House of Love, Sugarcubes and New Order - To say it changed my life is an overstatement, but it definitely set me on a different course. I'd been in bands but realised that I was a talentless clown who couldn't sing and had zero presence on stage...<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Within months of Reading I started to promote bands at my local club in Chelmsford,and have been promoting acts ever since.&nbsp; in 2005 I started promoting Antony &amp; Johnsons and Arcade Fire along with others, both acts had stunning albums out,and through this I was asked to book a new event named Latitude by Melvin Benn at Mean Fiddler..<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Last year's event was a great success, some great performances by Antony, Guillemots, Lavender Diamond, Mogwai and 1990's alongside new acts at that time Scott Matthews, Pigeon Detectives, Paolo Nutini and Peter Bjorn and John..<br /> &nbsp;<br /> I'm really pretty excited about this years event, there have been acts that I haven't been able to get due to touring committments, and will be talking to regarding next year's event come July 16th..&nbsp; But back to this year, it's impossible to know where to start and I don't want to miss anyone out, and intend to see a tune by every act (I'll be the guy on the sheep drawn chariot hurtling across the woods). The heavy highlighter pen will fall on Patrick Wolf, Tinawaren, Bonde do Role, Pete and Pirates, CSS, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Herman Dune, Seasick Steve, Satin Peaches, Remi Nicole,&nbsp;Cold War Kids, The National, The Strange Death Of Liberal England, Wild Beasts, SonicFlyer, Arcade Fire...<br /> &nbsp;<br /> I hope you have a top time, be inspired, take some great memories away and come away with a new favourite band' Annie Day General Sun, 10 Jun 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-06-11T00:00:00 39739e1b-bcab-458e-b451-8e80008f9d99 1000000 Saturday and Sunday day tickets have now sold out! There are still some Weekend & Friday tickets left. Saturday and Sunday day tickets have now sold out! There are still some Weekend &amp; Friday tickets left.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <strong><a href="http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/tickets/">Click here for the remaining few</a></strong>. http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/tickets/ Jennifer Roberts General Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:30:00 GMT 2007-06-06T01:30:00 123f57e7-9b52-4cea-821d-c3150f3d207c 1000000 Returning to Latitude this year is Dialogue Artist <strong>Karl James</strong> and his Listening Shed deep in the woods, <p><strong>INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS - THE DIALOGUE PROJECT</strong><br /> <br /> Returning to Latitude this year is Dialogue Artist <strong>Karl James</strong> and his Listening Shed deep in the woods, where you can sit quietly and listen to a series of private conversations made public; tenderly edited and often set to music.<br /> The conversations themselves are moving and disarmingly honest, on topics most people find too hard to talk about openly, like fear, pain and conflict. <br /> <br /> The voices you hear belong to people with first hand experience of these issues: a self-harming girl, a dominatrix, a priest, a philosopher, 5 year olds and a young man called Anjelo who (on listening back to his dialogue with Karl) said:<br /> <em>&ldquo;You captured my words in a way that almost allows people to feel what I felt.&rdquo; </em><br /> (Anjelo was the victim of a fire-bomb attack in London and talks about what it&rsquo;s like to see yourself on fire.)<br /> <br /> <strong>Barefoot Doctor's Travelling Medicine Show</strong>A spoken word and beats, shamanistic style musical healing trip creating a consciousness-raising happening that will make you smile from deep in the hips - with Barefoot Doctor, Terry Neal and Gary McEwan Beaty</p> <p><strong>6 Music's Justin Spear</strong><br /> Justin brings his Freak Zone show to Latitude, playing folk, psyche, soundtracks &amp; funky wierd stuff for people who like it eclectic.</p> <p><strong>Beef Warehouse</strong><br /> If you go down to the Woodlands Stage, you're sure of a big surprise. Well, that's if hirsute drunks playing everything from showtunes to Shellac is your thing. Regulars at Reading, anchors at ATP and gladiators at Glastonbury, Beef Warehouse have briskly become the must see ace DJ duo to catch this summer. Expect beards, capes and free crisps.</p> <p><strong>Rob da Bank</strong><br /> Rob da Bank is a world-respected tastemaker through his BBC Radio 1 shows, his Sunday Best empire of record label and events and, of course, a festival called Bestival. Rob is BBC Radio 1's official leftfield DJ - catch him here on Saturday night.</p> <p><strong>Dirt Disco</strong>A regular at Ministry of Sound, Dirt Disco round off the weekend with a blend of electro, electronica, dirty disco and a dash of rock. What Sunday nights were made for...come join us you dirty stopouts!</p> Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 66b21fee-2d71-4f64-b3da-212cd19abc4c 1000000 This year will also see the return of the Lake Stage. Last year the stage featured up and coming acts and emerging artists such as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Euros Childs, M.Craft, Rory McVicor, Richard James, Darren Hayman, Le Voices, Mugstar, George, Nalle, Jakokoyak, Soft Hearted Scientists and Jim Elden. This year will also see the return of the Lake Stage. Last year the stage featured up and coming acts and emerging artists such as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Euros Childs, M.Craft, Rory McVicor, Richard James, Darren Hayman, Le Voices, Mugstar, George, Nalle, Jakokoyak, Soft Hearted Scientists and Jim Elden.<br /> <br /> The stage is exclusively curated by Radio 1&rsquo;s <strong>Huw Stephens </strong>who is thrilled to be part of things again saying:<br /> <br /> <em>&ldquo;I'm chuffed to be part of Latitude again this year, and looking forward to bringing a whole load of ace new, unsigned and emerging artists to the festival again this year through curating the Lake Stage. The line-up is shaping up nicely! And I look forward to being in the luscious Latitude site again&rdquo;</em> Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 b01e1ea2-2c73-4ec5-a314-3351c6fcaf9a 1000000 As if Latitude wasn’t different enough from the other festivals, its facilities for children are second to none. <p>The Latitude kid&rsquo;s area is a happy, colourful and safe corner of the arena, surrounded by trees and with a close up view of the colourful resident sheep.</p> <p>The area reflects the diversity of the festival itself, with books, art, music and theatre, heaps of participation and fun, and the opportunity for children to take something away with them, from circus skills to handmade crafts to an appreciation of the woodland setting and the nature within it.</p> <p>The kid&rsquo;s area also celebrates the wealth of creativity and skills of local children&rsquo;s organisations and community groups, by placing them at the heart of the area.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <img height="180" alt="" width="240" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/lat-kids240.jpg" /><br /> <br /> A selection of activities on offer includes:<br /> <br /> <strong>Suffolk Wildlife Trust</strong> return with a host of activities for budding Wildlife Explorers.&nbsp; Help us hunt for the lost mini beast, dip for pond creatures in the lake and learn about woodland survival.&nbsp; Make dragonflies, wildlife hats and wood fairies..join us on a woodland fairy or spooky owl nature trail, take part in tree games or build a woodland tepee.&nbsp; Plus&nbsp; special after-dark events on Friday &amp; Saturday night; just bring your torch and a sense of adventure! <br /> &nbsp;<br /> Two Scientists, One Suitcase..Infinite Possibilities...<em>'Science In A Suitcase'</em> uses everyday objects plus mime, music &amp; physical comedy to demonstrate eccentric discoveries, including the world's smallest planetarium, quantum hair enlargement&nbsp; &amp; centrifugal force through karaoke! All your wacky science questions answered here on Saturday afternoon.</p> <p><img height="150" alt="" width="150" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/KIDSGIRL150.jpg" /><img height="150" alt="" width="150" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/PIRATES150.jpg" /><br /> <br /> The Sole Bay Team Youth Group host the <strong>Parent &amp; Baby Chillout Zone</strong> again. They provide free water, fruit, sunblock, soft play facilities, an enclosed outdoor area as well as coffee for tired parents, baby changing facilities and a microwave for bottles/baby food. Run by the Anglican Church for young people, they offer both 'spiritual' and 'social' sessions, so stop by for all things baby/toddler related.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <strong>Cambridge Community Circus</strong> (CCC) is a non-profit organisation run by volunteers, who will be performing and teaching Circus Skills. CCC runs workshops in juggling, unicycling, acrobatic balancing and aerial skills in Cambridge and perform and teach all over the local area. <br /> <br /> <img height="150" alt="" width="150" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/JUGGLING150.jpg" /><img height="150" alt="" width="150" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/KIDSFLOWERS150.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <strong>Nutmeg Puppet Company</strong> perform <em>'Heatwave!'</em> on Sunday morning. The sun feels hotter than usual this summer in the marshlands and waterways. Some unusual birds have appeared from the south, and tour-guide Karen is worried by the weather forecast. Billie&rsquo;s too busy messing about in the mud to notice anything&rsquo;s wrong, till&nbsp; he makes an idle wish that marks the start of his adventures, which end with a mighty flood, a helicopter rescue, and water, water, everywhere.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <em>&lsquo;The Peddlar of Swaffham&rsquo;</em> is an enchanting tale of how one man and his dog follow a dream that changes their lives forever&hellip;. This shaggy dog of a traditional Norfolk folk tale has been brushed down, groomed and given a new home by <strong>Bognoggin Theatre Company.</strong> Audience participation is actively encouraged as the tale unfolds through the magic of puppets, storytelling, dance and live music. Catch it Saturday morning.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <strong>Colin Hynson</strong> is a local storyteller specialising in East Anglian tales and stories; he'll be telling tales every day: check schedule for times.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <strong>Suffolk Libraries</strong> return with their childrens library &amp; storytelling sessions. Borrow a book to take away or read with them in their colourful medieval tents.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Local <strong>Greenpeace</strong> volunteers will be running a not-for-profit refreshments stall, offering nibbles and drinks to keep energy levels up!<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Sid is being bullied at his new school.&nbsp; He tries to overcome the bullies by using the wishes from his magic hankie but he doesn't get the results he expects.&nbsp; What will Sid do to stop the bullying?&nbsp; Find out in <strong>Laughing Lizard's</strong> latest production <em>'Bully for You'</em> on Sunday afternoon.<br /> <br /> <strong>Rock Lobster Recording Studio</strong> host a showcase of young local talent with six new bands performing over the weekend.&nbsp; From 7.30pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Kids Area.</p> <p><strong>Friday</strong> - Dustmans Royal Party and Razor<br /> <strong>Saturday</strong> - The Luddites and The Friendly Misunderstood Rabbits<br /> <strong>Sunday</strong> - Indigo Jam and Daemos.</p> Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 d4e1817c-579c-4925-8e72-e4626004e4d3 1000000 The main arena boasts three main stages; The Obelisk, The Uncut and Sunrise Stage, all showcasing an eclectic range of alternative, leftfield music spread over the three days. <p>The main arena boasts three main stages; <strong>The Obelisk, The Uncut</strong> and <strong>Sunrise Stage</strong>, all showcasing an eclectic range of alternative, leftfield music spread over the three days.<br /> <br /> The music is specifically hand-picked for the festival; bands and artists chosen with the essence of Latitude in mind. Older, more established bands playing in harmony alongside Britain&rsquo;s freshest new acts.<br /> <br /> Headlining this year&rsquo;s event on the main Obelisk Stage, Latitude are pleased to announce Dublin born global phenomenon, <strong>Damien Rice</strong>&nbsp;(Friday) who has sold out almost every UK show he has played since the release of his debut masterpiece <em>&lsquo;O&rsquo;</em>. He is presently touring the world in support of his critically acclaimed second album <em>&lsquo;9&rsquo; </em>and will bring his moving, powerful and sometimes heart-wrenching odes to the Friday night.<br /> <br /> The <strong>Damon Albarn</strong> fronted and super-cool <strong>The Good, The Bad And The Queen</strong>&nbsp;(Saturday)&nbsp;with The Clash&rsquo;s <strong>Paul Simonon </strong>on bass head up the Saturday night playing tracks from their self-titled gold-selling debut. And with the epic, euphoric and undisputed genii <strong>Arcade Fire </strong>closing the festival on Sunday night, once again, Latitude offers an exciting, varied and spell-bounding musical experience that will soundcheck the perfect holiday weekend.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/Damien-Rice120.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/TGTBATQ120.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/Arcade-Fire120.jpg" /><br /> <br /> The following are also confirmed performers for Latitude:<br /> <br /> Laid back Chicago boys <strong>Wilco</strong> (Friday) performing some new tracks as well as hits from their&nbsp;Grammy award winning <em>&lsquo;A Ghost is Born&rsquo; </em>album.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Already causing a stir this year after performing on the NME Indie Rave tour,<br /> Brazilian 6-piece <strong>CSS</strong>&nbsp; (Saturday)<strong> </strong>will be bringing their synth driven indie pop to Latitude and they will be in good company with American indie rockers <strong>Clap Your Hands Say Yeah</strong> (Saturday)<strong> </strong>who will make you do just that.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Pulp frontman and now successful solo artist, <strong>Jarvis Cocker</strong> (Sunday)&nbsp;is one of this country&rsquo;s most celebrated characters and will no doubt bring his unique brand of great showmanship and entertainment to Latitude Festival.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/r/j/n/Image/jarvis120.jpg" /><img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/Wilco120.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/css120.jpg" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <br /> Other confirmed acts just announced are:&nbsp;<br /> <br /> South London&rsquo;s eccentric, flamboyant, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter <strong>Patrick Wolf</strong> also joins the Latitude Festival line-up performing tracks off his brand new third album The Magic Position.<br /> <br /> <strong>The Magic Numbers</strong> (Friday) sold out the Kentish Town Forum on the back of one single back in 2005.&nbsp;Two Top 20 albums later and with a new album on the horizon the family 4-piece consisting of&nbsp;two pairs of brother and sister will be performing their folk indie at Latitude 2007.<br /> <br /> Legendary Parisian-based <strong>Gotan Project</strong> headline the Uncut Stage with their ground breaking tango fused electronica. Using samples, breaks and beats the inspired and much admired Gotan Project have brought the joy of tango to a whole new generation. Get your dancing shoes on!<br /> <br /> Texan five-piece <strong>Midlake</strong>, whose 70's tinged American rock gained them their famous fan, actor Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl, Mallrats) join the Obelisk Stage playing songs off their critically acclaimed album 'The Trials of Van Occupanther'.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Joining the abundance of talent is dapper Strokes guitarist <strong>Albert Hammond Jr</strong> who is enjoying a stint of solo success with the release of his debut album &lsquo;Yours To Keep&rsquo;. Released through Rough Trade, his music is under-stated yet sentimental and heartfelt. His beautiful melodies and a sweet voice make Albert Hammond Jr a welcomed addition to the Uncut Stage at Latitude.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/r/j/n/Image/patrickwolf120.jpg" /><img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/r/j/n/Image/albert120.jpg" /><img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/r/j/n/Image/rodygab120.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <br /> Headlining the Uncut Stage on Saturday night are the fast-fingered, Dublin-based Mexicans <strong>Rodrigo Y Gabriela</strong>. Their music is difficult to define, straddling both world and rock, and often imbued with Hispanic, classical influences. But their life-long passion for metal and classic rock make them mind-blowing acoustic guitarists who really sound quite like no other. <br /> <br /> Expanding the breadth of genres that the festival encompasses, Latitude is please to announce that the BBC Award for World Music winners <strong>Tinariwen </strong>are confirmed to play. Their unique fusion of Toureg folk songs with electric guitars, has earned them the description &lsquo;The Rolling Stones of the desert&rsquo; and has made them a part of a musical heritage that includes early US bluesmen and generations of desert singers and musicians.<br /> <br /> Last year&rsquo;s Latitude festival showcased some of the very best in up and coming acts and this year is no different with bright new artists and bands playing alongside more established names. Confirmed so far are 23 year old Irish born folk/rock/jazz singer <strong>Wallis Bird</strong> and Manchester-based sultry singer songwriter <strong>Karima Francis</strong>.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> New York City based <strong>The Rapture</strong> mix influences from many genres including post-punk, new rave, dance-punk, acid house, disco, electronica and rock.&nbsp;<strong>The National</strong>&nbsp;are an indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York . Influences range from Tom Waits to U2.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/Magic-Numbers-120.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/midlake120.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/Clap-your-hands120.jpg" />&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <strong>Other bands just confirmed:</strong>&nbsp;<br /> Cake, Two Gallants, Hot Club De Paris, The Kissaway Trail, The Hold Steady, bat For Lashes, Herman Dune, Annuals, The Rushes, Cold War Kids, Andrew Bird, Au Revoir Simone, The Hoosiers, Aqualung, Air Traffic, Maps, Cherryghost, Sonic Hearts, Grace, Turin Brakes, Rickie Lee Jones, Scott Matthews, Joan As Policewoman, Seasick Steve, Tom Baxter, Elvis Perkins, Juian Velard, Satin Peaches,Soulsavers, Gruff Rhys, The Dears, Camera Obscura, Ra Ra Riot, Silversun Pickups, The Strange Death Of Liberal England, New Young Pony Club, Alberta Cross, Emmy The Great, Ruarri Joseph, Pete and The Pirates, the Lionheart Brothers, Stephanie Dosen, Bobby Crook, Simple Kid, Terra Naomi, Jermy Warmsley, Make Model, Passengers, Get Well Soon, Andy Gower, Howling Bells, Final Fantasy, Euros Childs, The Lea Shores, How I Became The Bomb, Hello Saferide, Wild Beasts, SonicFlyer, Peter adn The Wolf, Paris Motel.<br /> <br /> Jon Dunn who is curating the music stages says: <br /> <br /> <em>&ldquo;'The festival last year was inspiring, from the brilliance of Antony &amp; The Johnsons, the unique Camille, the fervour of Larrikin Love, and the legend that is Patti Smith, not to mention great new artists such as Scott Matthews, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly and Paolo Nutini..</em><em><br /> The success of the first year has led to a combination of confidence and trust from artists, agents and public that this year will strive to be even better, I&rsquo;m very pleased with our headliners, and I&rsquo;m looking forward to curating a mix of genuinely talented artists across many musical genres over the three stages.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/rapture120.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/thenational120.jpg" />&nbsp;<img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/Image/explosions120.jpg" />&nbsp;&nbsp;</em></p> Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 f541d9ad-e66f-4dcf-88ed-075b9219a230 1000000 The award-winning and ground-breaking Latitude Festival is returning to the sunrise coast of Suffolk for it’s amazing second year. Hosted once again in the breathtaking grounds of Henham Park Estate, Southwold, organisers Mean Fiddler are promising an even more spectacular event. The award-winning and ground-breaking Latitude Festival is returning to the sunrise coast of Suffolk for its amazing second year. <br /> <br /> Hosted once again in the breathtaking grounds of Henham Park Estate, Southwold, organisers Mean Fiddler are promising an even more spectacular event.Latitude&rsquo;s arrival last year re-wrote the rulebook on traditional festivals and provided a well-needed breath of fresh air.<br /> <br /> On one of the hottest weekends in history, Latitude shimmered and glittered in the sunshine, providing a relaxing weekend break in the countryside.<br /> <br /> Bursting with weird and wonderful sights and experiences, it embraced and showcased an eclectic array of art, entertainment and attractions for all generations. <br /> <br /> The concept of Latitude is for visitors to sample all the varied aspects of the arts world in one place; to be able to wander from books, to music, to film and theatre, to be able to discover new and exciting things whilst surrounded by beautiful countryside. It&rsquo;s unrivalled in this country. <br /> <br /> The brainchild of Mean Fiddler boss, Melvin Benn, Latitude&rsquo;s huge success last year surpassed expectation and as Melvin explains: <em>&ldquo;&hellip;with Latitude I wanted to re-format festivals and break the mould which I successfully did and provided a fresh angle that the public responded to. Due to the success of last year, artists and performers are now approaching us to be involved. For example; Rob de Bank asked to DJ at this year&rsquo;s festival which is such a great honour as not only is he a great DJ but he runs his own festival (Bestival) which I&rsquo;m very fond of and respect so it&rsquo;s a great feeling to have that appreciation from him. Also the Chief Executive of BAFTA came last year and having seen the Music and Film Tent wanted to participate in some way this year, so we&rsquo;re very pleased to announce their involvement. <br /> Having read comments on the message boards and forums from happy festival goers it&rsquo;s clear that a lot of people found their festival home in Latitude which is fantastic and something really positive that we can keep building on year on year.&rdquo; </em> Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 76f284f6-2b99-4832-a926-7fe12c9a65d0 1000000 Full to the brim with authors, poets, dancers, filmmakers, actors, DJs, and artists perform all day and all night providing brand new and exciting experiences and activities you never thought even existed. Full to the brim with authors, poets, dancers, filmmakers, actors, DJs, and artists perform all day and all night providing brand new and exciting experiences and activities you never thought even existed.<br /> <br /> Or you could just sit back soaking up the fun and atmosphere, laughing at the passer-bys, and relax at the waiter-service bars, sipping a beer or even a glass of champagne. Latitude has everything you may desire. And more&hellip; <br /> <br /> Tania Harrison, at Mean Fiddler in charge of&nbsp; curating the comedy, cabaret, poetry, music and film, literature and theatre arenas at Latitude says:<br /> <br /> <em>&ldquo;Latitude combines so many cultural genres in one incredibly beautiful space. One would have to visit several festivals to see as many performers, authors, and poets as you can see at Latitude over the course of one weekend. The feedback we got was incredible from both audience and performers alike. The artists loved the fact that they could express themselves creatively in several arenas. Patti Smith is a prime example; last year she performed a storming set in the Obelisk Arena then gave a moving and inspirational reading of her poetry in the poetry arena later in the day. The huge choice of exciting things to do at Latitude makes it a fantastic cultural adventure, going from sexy cabaret or charleston dance class to an intense book reading. The poetry tent was hugely popular and we had the best in contemporary performance poets including the witty and acerbic Luke Wright, poet-actor-rapper Saul Williams and the dynamic El Crisis. There are a huge number of interesting and exciting acts lined up for all the arenas this year and there's definitely something for everyone!&rdquo;</em><br /> <br /> Expect the unexpected&hellip; Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 cddc36a5-a29a-4179-af77-744ae5e2a3e1 1000000 Last year The Music and Film Tent successfully fused the alternative world of film and documentaries with live performances and incredible visuals that transported you into a parallel world of sight and sound stimulation. Last year The Music and Film Tent successfully fused the alternative world of film and documentaries with live performances and incredible visuals that transported you into a parallel world of sight and sound stimulation.<br /> <br /> Once again, the tent will open its doors to the <strong>Halloween Music And Film Club </strong>which provide a full schedule of specifically chosen shorts, art and silent films and visuals, accompanied by live music, videos, dancers and DJ&rsquo;s. This year the Music and Film Arena will have a more jazz club feel to it with small tables and lamps with velvet drapes. There will be filmmakers, award winning shorts, directors&rsquo; question and answer sessions, films set to new and original scores and a nostalgic look at the 1950's jazz and blues era.<br /> <br /> Latitude is delighted to announce <strong>BAFTA'</strong>s involvement with the festival this year. <br /> The British Academy of Film and Television Arts exists to support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the viewing public. <br /> <br /> Amanda Berry Chief Executive of BAFTA says of their debut at Latitude:<br /> <em>&quot;BAFTA is very excited to be teaming up with Latitude. Although a very important part of BAFTA's remit is the award ceremonies for which we're so well known, the awards are just the tip of the iceberg. We have an extensive events and screenings programme in the English Regions, and our involvement at Latitude will be an extension of this. BAFTA in the Regions is all about taking the very best film and programme making standards to as wide an audience as possible. I was bowled over by the imagination and thought that went into the events at Latitude last year and believe it is the perfect festival for BAFTA to be involved with. Over the weekend we're planning an ambitious range of thought-provoking events to stimulate, surprise and inspire the festival audience.&quot;</em> Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 5b6bff34-21b0-4dd5-9781-593714e51639 1000000 Side-splitting, belly-aching, outrageously entertaining cutting edge comedians provide the continuous laughs at Latitude Festival. This year we have a stellar line-up and the best surreal, original, chaotic, enthusiastic, and hilariously funny comedy on the current circuit. Side-splitting, belly-aching, outrageously entertaining cutting edge comedians provide the continuous laughs at Latitude Festival. This year we have a stellar line-up and the best surreal, original, chaotic, enthusiastic, and hilariously funny comedy on the current circuit.&nbsp;<br /> * * * * * * * * <br /> <strong>Just added:<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/Dylan120.jpg" /><br /> Dylan Moran </strong>Unpredictable, startling, bizarre, elegiac, but above all brilliant and hilariously funny, Moran is a master of comedy, combining his talents, as an actor, writer and performer to incredible effect.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/leemack120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Lee Mack</strong> Highly regarded in industry circles, Lee's lightening sharp mind for gag writing and joke telling has set him apart as an incomparable comedic performer.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/jeremyhardy120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Jeremy Hardy </strong>Jeremy Hardy is one of Britain&rsquo;s most well-established &lsquo;alternative&rsquo; stand-ups, unafraid to mix his socialist politics into his topical act.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/brendon-burns120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Brendon Burns </strong>Brendon Burns is an Australian comedian who has mostly performed in the UK. Burns' stand-up routine is often in the persona of an angry, possibly violent man.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/jon-richardson120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Jon Richardson </strong>Consistently high levels of performance, a willingness to work whenever and wherever the opportunity arose and a tireless desire to generate new material have been the secrets of Jon's success.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/steve-williams120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Steve Williams </strong>This supremely enjoyable and hugely popular Welsh comedian &amp; writer continues to enchant audiences around the globe with his quirky and imaginative fun packed stand up shows.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/andyrobinson120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Andy Robinson</strong> has been performing comedy for five years and will continue to do so until he marries into royalty.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> * * * * * * * *&nbsp;<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/alancarr120.jpg" /><br /> Since winning the BBC &lsquo;New Comedian Of The Year Award&rsquo; <strong>Alan Carr</strong> (Sunday)has shot to superstardom and now makes regular appearances on <em>&lsquo;FAQ U&rsquo;</em> and <em>&lsquo;8 Out of 10 Cats&rsquo; </em>and hosts the Friday Night Project alongside Justin Lee Collins. Alan will be bringing his unique talent to Latitudes comedy tent and he is not short of good company. <br /> <img height="120" width="120" alt="" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/StewartLee120.jpg" /><br /> Award winning stand-up comedian <strong>Stewart Lee</strong> (Saturday)has written for radio, television, newspapers and magazines and a novel, <em>The Perfect Fool.</em> He has taken his comedy stylings all over the world.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/marksteel120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Mark Steel</strong> (Friday) has performed as a stand-up since 1983 and his work for BBC Radio 4, where he wrote and performed four series of both<em> The Mark Steel Solution </em>and <em>The Mark Steel Lecture</em> have proved very popular. <br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/russellhoward120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Russell Howard</strong> (Sunday) has put a firm stamp on the British comedy circuit making Zoo magazine&rsquo;s top 10 list of &lsquo;Britain&rsquo;s Funniest Comics&rsquo; in 2005 and won Chortle&rsquo;s &lsquo;Best Compare&rsquo; award only last year. Howard has become renowned for his sell-out shows and was nominated for an if.comeddie award in 2006 for his Edinburgh show, <em>Wandering</em>.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/Marcus120.jpg" /><img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/andre-vincent120.jpg" /><br /> The Late Edition boys return to Latitude this year with latest offering The Early Edition once again starring <strong>Marcus Brigstocke</strong> from just about every other TV show and arguably the voice of Radio 4! Brigstocke&rsquo;s recent stand-up includes Planet Corduroy and was in the brilliant BBC2 programme <em>Excuse My French</em>. Staring along side Marcus is <strong>Andre Vincent</strong> from the award-winning <em>Hurrah for Cancer </em>making this a very special guests this performance is not one to miss!<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/jason-manford120.jpg" /><br /> Winner of the prestigious North West Comedian of the Year Award, (previously won by Caroline Aherne, Johnny Vegas and Peter Kay) <strong>Jason Manford</strong> (Friday) brings his naturally funny, and wry observations to the comedy tent.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/russellkane120.jpg" /><br /> It took <strong>Russell Kane</strong> (Friday)ten years to muster the courage (and Imodium supply) to walk out on stage and perform the ego equivalent of a bungee jump. He finally exploded onto the scene in autumn 2003 and has enjoyed a meteoric introduction to the London and national comedy scene. <br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/Michaelmcintyre120.jpg" /><br /> 2003s Perrier Newcomer Nominee, <strong>Michael McIntyre</strong> (Friday) is set to cause a storm in the Comedy Arena. Although unfortunately not a magician, this stand-up comedian is a relative newcomer, McIntyre has quickly acquired the ability to build up an easy rapport with his audience, chatting amiably but confidently to get his material across.<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/mike-wilmot120.jpg" /><br /> The comedy continues with <strong>Mike Wilmot</strong> (Sunday) who became a regular on the UK comedy circuit in 1998. In only a few short years he won Time Out&rsquo;s &lsquo;Comedy Award&rsquo; followed by a Barry award in 2003. <strong><br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/shappi120.jpg" /><br /> Shappi Khorsandi </strong>(also known as Shaparak Khorsandi) (Sunday)was a noted performer at Joe Wilson's &lsquo;<em>Comedy Madhouse&rsquo; </em>and has since gone on to appear in <em>'Quote... Unquote', 'Loose Ends', 'You and Your</em> and <em>The News Quiz'.</em><br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/kevin_day120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Kevin Day</strong> (Friday<strong>) </strong>is one of the few comics who can still call themselves topical, his material covers a variety of subjects including powerful political asides, but also the occasional silly joke... however Kevin would describe this as mature comedy for mature audiences&hellip;.. ,<br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/cole-parker120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>Cole Parker</strong> (Friday) has a certain brash South London charm, and has the cocky stance to steamroller his material through unresponsive, or even slightly hostile, crowds. It&rsquo;s something of a backhanded compliment, but he'll no doubt get everyone rolling with laughter in the grass at Latitude! <br /> <br /> <img height="120" alt="" width="120" src="http://media.livenation.co.uk/fido/publishing/news/g/s/u/Image/guiltypleasureslogo120.jpg" /><br /> <strong>GUILTY PLEASURES</strong><br /> After hours the stage is given away to the ultimate in feel good fun, the internationally famous Guilty Pleasures. Cheerleaders, mascots and G.A.Y-esque dance troupes in silver and purple lycra jump along to such killer tunes as Chicago's If You Leave Me Now, and ELO'S Sweet Talkin' Woman. It&rsquo;s addictive, irresistible fun, fun, fun and somehow at 1am you really don&rsquo;t feel so guilty as you throw yourself into an epic guitar solo on your knees. Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 2e48c83a-6e21-4421-aebd-c2e8e542b0c0 1000000 Showcasing the very best in contemporary performance poets, The Poetry Arena was hugely popular last year, changing many people's perceptions as to how poetry readings could be. Showcasing the very best in contemporary performance poets, The Poetry Arena was hugely popular last year, changing many people's perceptions as to how poetry readings could be.<br /> <br /> Comedy sketches alongside Hip Hop, slam poets, raconteurs, spoken word, lyricism, storytelling, rappers and much much more made this tent a roaring success for punters and performers alike. So much so that some of the funniest, satirical, hard-hitting, absurd, bizarre, and witty poets are returning for this year&rsquo;s event. <br /> <br /> The patron saint of poetry <strong>Roger McGough</strong> C.B.E. (Friday)(who was recently honoured with the Freedom of the City of Liverpool) brings his autobiographical &lsquo;<em>Said &amp; Done&rsquo;</em> to Latitiude in his first appearance at the festival! <br /> <br /> Poet &amp; stand-up <strong>John Hegley</strong> (Thursday only ) showcasing his &ldquo;fabulously funny&rdquo; <em>Uncut Confetti </em>will take you on a journey of emotions with some of his most personal and philosophical work to date. Hegley was the presenter of the television series <em>&lsquo;Word of Mouth&rsquo; </em>and the BBC radio series <em>&lsquo;Hearing with Hegley&rsquo;.</em> In 2000 The University of Luton awarded him an honorary LL.D. Not content with only being a performance poet John is also a musician, songwriter and surely an act not to be missed!<br /> <br /> <strong>Murray Lachlan Young</strong> (Friday &amp; Saturday) is often tagged as the million pound poet after he was the first poet to sign a big money deal with EMI back in 1997. 10 years on Young is still performing after stints in films and a solo album. On the back of an entertaining performance at last years Latitude, Young provides provocative commentary on some bizarre social issues. Funny but thought-provoking his dark satirical verse includes classics like <em>Simply Everyone&rsquo;s Taking Cocaine.</em><br /> <br /> <strong>Luke Wright</strong> (Thursday - Sunday)<strong> </strong>brings his critically and commercially successful debut solo show, <em>Luke Wright, Poet Laureate to Latitude</em>; his verbal and visual gags colliding with his trademark acerbic verse. Aside from his successful solo career, Wright will perform with his live poetry collective<strong> Aisle16 </strong>who have become one of the most sought after live acts in the country. <br /> <br /> We are delighted to welcome <strong>Crisis</strong> with his unique style of poetry and performance, a hypnotic mixture of rap, spoken word, power and chant. Beat-boxing veteran of the spoken word scene and slam poetry champion <strong>John Berkavitch.</strong> Singer. <strong>Inua 'Phaze' Ellams</strong> whose influences range from Shakespeare and John Keats to Doze Green, Saul Williams and Mos. Poet and writer <strong>Clare Pollard </strong>who manages to capture the pain and anxiety of a generation to make her one of the poets of the 21st century. <br /> <br /> Irish born poet, writer and promoter <strong>Niall O&rsquo;Sullivan</strong> with his original voice, with a keen eye for comic irony. Birmingham&rsquo;s excitable slam poet laureate <strong>Polar Bear.</strong> British newcomer and &lsquo;window shopper&rsquo; <strong>John Osborne.</strong> Malaysian born, London-based and international spoken word poet <strong>Francesca Beard.</strong> <br /> <br /> Published author and poet and local boy <strong>Joe Dunthorne</strong>. Fiction Crew member <strong>Tim Clare</strong>. The spoken word/performance poetry cabaret power house of J<strong>enny Lindsay</strong> covering topics such as employment and relationships with vibrant energy and humour. And the performance poetry of Byron Vincent whose subversive brand of barking doggerel has taken the UK slam poetry scene by storm. <br /> <br /> The lively energetic performer poet, comedian and rapper <strong>Steve Larkin</strong>, and Norwich's very own chav poets in love Y<strong>anny Mac &amp; Pikey Paddy </strong>all making their festival debut. <strong>Kat Francois</strong> has a strong reputation as a fearsome performer. The poets talent saw her become the first winner of the BBC 3 'TV Slam Poets' show held in October 2004. You may know Kat from her established monthly shows '<em>WORD4WORD'</em> and <em>'WORD-UP'.</em><br /> With so many more acts to be announced Latitude&rsquo;s Stand-up Poetry Tent is once again looking to be the hot spot of the festival. Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 93ed7ad0-7416-41a0-901c-e5957d26847f 1000000 One of the most talked about and successful aspects of Latitude last year was the Literature Tent. The cosy ‘library’ with its over-sized book by the entrance enticed passers-by into the hub of laughter and discussion inside. Many who popped in for a quick break from the sun found themselves leaving many hours later, lost in the flights of fancy and comic genius of these book readings with a difference. <p>One of the most talked about and successful aspects of Latitude last year was the Literature Tent. The cosy &lsquo;library&rsquo; with its over-sized book by the entrance enticed passers-by into the hub of laughter and discussion inside. Many who popped in for a quick break from the sun found themselves leaving many hours later, lost in the flights of fancy and comic genius of these book readings with a difference.<br /> <br /> <strong>Just added:</strong><br /> <strong>WordTheatre</strong> will feature a star studded cast of actors and a special guest author reading short stories by some of the most respected authors around.</p> <p>Appearing at Latitude of Hollywood fame, actors <strong>James Franco</strong> and <strong>Amanda Seyfried</strong> will be reading short stories by acclaimed author <strong>Ron Carlson</strong>. James Franco is best known for his villainous role as the Green Goblin in the Spiderman trilogy but has also portrayed James Dean in the TNT made-for-television movie of the same name in 2001.Amanda comes to Latitude after finding fame in Mean Girls alongside Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams and has more recently been cast as the lead in the movie version of Mamma Mia! alongside Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. Both will be reading short stories by Ron Carlson who is also appearing at this year&rsquo;s festival.</p> <p>Ron&rsquo;s work has been selected for The Best American Short Stories, The O'Henry Prize Series, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction and dozens of other anthologies. He will be reading an excerpt from his new novel Five Skies. UK TV star&rsquo;s Lucy Brown and Richard Hawley will also be reading from two critically acclaimed authors. Lucy stars in the hit ITV1 science-fiction television series &lsquo;Primeval&rsquo; which has recently been picked up in the United States by ABC. She will be reading 21st Century Juliet by Rose Tremain. Richard starred in the highly acclaimed British police procedural television drama series Prime Suspect on the ITV network in the 1990s and 2000.He also appeared in the successful British romantic comedy Love Actually. Richard will be reading Nipple Jesus by the legendary Nick Hornby.</p> <p>Also performing a reading is established screen actor <strong>Ian Hart,</strong> better known as John Lennon in the film The Hours and Times, and the malevolent Professor Quirrell in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001).<br /> </p> Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 722371da-1a59-4d3d-b72f-9ce7ec9c237f 1000000 Latitude Festival will be home to some of the country’s very best in contemporary, performance, physical, classical and local theatre. Short plays written and commissioned exclusively for the festival and every opportunity for audience participation, the Theatre Tent at Latitude has something for everyone. <p>The Theatre Arena at Latitude Festival 2007 will house some of the biggest names and organisations in the world of contemporary, performance, physical, classical and local theatre. Short plays written and commissioned exclusively for the festival and every opportunity for audience participation, this Arena really has something for everyone, provoking thought, emotions, laughs and entertainment all weekend long.</p> <p>Already confirmed are the <strong>Royal Court Theatre</strong> with details of their contribution revealed below, <strong>Small Change Theatre, Paper Birds, Lizzie Roper in Peccadillo Circus, Colin &amp; Fergus, Midsummer Nights Dream </strong>by local theatre company <strong>Mouth To Mouth</strong>, Edinburgh hit show <strong>Fat Tongue</strong> and many more&hellip;.</p> <p>In the spirit of the Latitude festival, <strong>The Royal Court</strong> will be presenting Shuffle, a compilation of short plays fired and inspired by a piece of music. From Common People to an unusual stay at the Hotel California, six playwrights imagine a drama around their favourite tracks. Playwrights include: established writer Joe Penhall - who has won the Laurence Olivier Award, The Evening Standard Award and the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Blue/Orange, which stared Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Penhall adapted Ian McEwan's novel Enduring Love for a 2004 film; 20 year old Polly Stenham, whose debut play premiered by the Royal Court; up and coming British playwright Bola Agbaje who premiered her play &lsquo;Gone Too Far! at the Royal Court Theatre back in February this year, Scottish newcomer and hotly tipped playwright DC Jackson; Tim Price who has written plays developed for feature films, BBC Radio 4, Radio 3, and BBC Wales, and 22-year-old David Watson, whose play JUST A BLOKE was produced by the Royal Court Theatre, as part of their 2002 Young Writers Festival, and whose next project &ndash; FLIGHT PATH with Out of Joint &ndash; will open at the Bush Theatre in September.</p> <p>Writing new plays exclusively for Latitude as part of <strong>nabokov&rsquo;</strong>s innovative &lsquo;Shorts&rsquo; - a forum where writers have the opportunity to test new work in front of an audience&ndash; are three of the nation&rsquo;s best up and coming talents; the previously announced Mike Bartlett, winner of Old Vic New Voices Award 2006 and writer of the recent hit My Child and Joel Horwood, whose first play Mikey The Pikey won the Cameron Mackintosh Award and whose second play Food won a Fringe First at last year&rsquo;s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Latitude is pleased to announce that joining them as part of the <strong>nabokov&rsquo;</strong>s performance will be Writer-in-Residence at the Royal Exchange Theatre <strong>Duncan Macmillan</strong>. Duncan&rsquo;s plays include Monster (Royal Exchange Studio) and The Most Humane Way to Kill a Lobster (Theatre 503) and he was also the winner of two awards in the inaugural 'Bruntwood Playwriting Competition'.</p> <p><strong>nabokov</strong> is a national touring new writing theatre company dedicated to commissioning, developing and producing backlash theatre - new work that offers an antagonistic response to contemporary agendas, trends and events - so expect to be given a jolt of reality. nabokov&rsquo;s latest production, the World Premiere of Terre Haute by Edmund White, premiered at The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh and recently completed a sell-out West End run and National Tour (&quot;electrifying...holds its audience in an almost mesmeric grip&quot; - Daily Telegraph).</p> <p><strong>Paines Plough</strong> commissions and produces contemporary plays that tour nationally and internationally. Recently their work has been seen late at night in the depths of the West End; over lunch on the South Bank; at the Traverse for the Edinburgh Festival; in Moscow and Leicester, New York and Plymouth; on the Globe Stage and in a cupboard in Brighton. Hits include Long Time Dead by Rona Munro (transferring to the Traverse for this year&rsquo;s Edinburgh Festival Fringe), After The End by Dennis Kelly and Philip Ridley&rsquo;s highly controversial Mercury Fur. (&quot;Now in its 32nd year Paines Plough&rsquo;s nomadic theatre company has racked up so many stars that browsing its press release is a bit like looking into deep space.&quot; - Metro 2007)</p> <p>This year&rsquo;s Latitude sees the premiere of their freshly commissioned mystery Murder at Gobbler&rsquo;s Wood. Co-written by three of the UK&rsquo;s most exciting playwrights, <strong>Robin French, Dennis Kelly</strong> and <strong>Enda Walsh</strong>, their dark and sinister plot is sure to make you feel a little less comfortable in Latitude&rsquo;s lush surroundings! The dark fairytale woodland with the bizarre looking old trees giving off eerie shadows and the eleven acre lake, lit up with sparkling floating lights, provide a menacing backdrop to this performance. And with Henham Park&rsquo;s old folklore of Black Shuck, the spectre that has terrified locals by reportedly appearing headless, or floating on a carpet of mist together with an obelisk marking the point of exactly 100miles to the old gallows of Marble Arch, Latitude&rsquo;s site is the perfect stage for this atmospheric play.</p> <p><strong>The Bush Theatre</strong> is one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world with an international reputation for discovering, nurturing and producing the best new theatre writers. Their brilliant project for Latitude will be a script-in-hand performance entitled &lsquo;Punchlines: Five Short Plays About Jokes&rsquo;.</p> <p>The plays, each eight to ten minutes long and featuring four actors, have all been especially commissioned for Latitude and feature the writing talents of: Jack Thorne, who in 2002 was awarded The Other Prize by the Marlowe Society, in 2004 he was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award, is named by Broadcast Magazine as one of its Hot Shots for 2006 and he has written episodes for the brand new E4 series, SKINS; the funny and moving Lucy Kirkwood who is something of a rising star in Theatreland, winning the PMA Award in 2006; the highly regarded and revered playwright and poet Ian McHugh; Declan Freenan a young Irish writer Declan Feenan, who is on attachment at the National Theatre Studio, and Meyer-Whitworth Award winner for new writing Steve Thompson who recently enjoyed critical and commercial success for his play Whipping it Up.</p> <p>In January 2002 Britain&rsquo;s most important modern dance companies <strong>Random Dance</strong>, Resident Company at Sadler's Wells, celebrated its 10th anniversary year with an ambitious work Nemesis. Five years, and over 20 countries later this Nemesis duet (extracted from the original) returns with its distinctive physical trademarks, futuristic style and remarkable dancers. This is the first time contemporary dance comes to Latitude and is a must see. In the last 14 years Random has become celebrated not only for its dancers and repertory but for its pioneering use of science, new media and technology on stage, and for its extraordinary record in accessing new audiences, receiving glowing plaudits from all over the UK with The Guardian stating &quot;Nothing quite like Nemesis has ever been seen on the dance stage&quot;.</p> <p>Physical theatre is always exciting and you can catch 2005&rsquo;s Stage Award Nominees (Best Ensemble)&nbsp;<strong>Tangled Feet</strong>&nbsp;late night shows, who fuse image, atmosphere, and physicality in their trademark style with their new show game?</p> <p>Life is just a game, and these men and women merely players. But at this party no one is playing by the rules. As dinner is served the guests at the party to end all dinner parties start to play with those 'unwritten' rules. Your life is played out within boundaries, pushed until they break - whether it's behaviour, marriages, countries or childhood pranks. We play games everyday, what happens when we break the rules to taste the dark and dirty side of life?</p> <p>Following UK and European tours of Emily's Kitchen, Lost Property, and Catching Dust, <strong>Tangled Feet</strong> are establishing themselves as one of the most fresh, creative and popular experimental ensembles to emerge in recent years. Always evolving, they present some of their most exciting work to date this year. Tangled Feet have been working as an ensemble for over four years making work that excites, experiments and makes your heart pulse with their unique and very live performances.</p> Annie Day General Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-28T00:00:00 ca745937-5897-4cb5-bc4e-d7b1022c948d 1000000 Nestled in the grounds of the historic Henham Park Estate, the look of <strong>Latitude</strong> is a real sight to behold. The experience of discovering the site for the first time is both exhilarating and exciting. Winding down a country path from the campsite to the main arena you&rsquo;ll see secret pathways leading into the fairytale woods, pastel-coloured sheep grazing lazily, and a wooden &lsquo;floating&rsquo; bridge crossing the lake. During the day this is a perfect place to explore the trees and woodland, take a gondola ride down the lake or soak in the sun while relaxing in deckchairs. At night; see the old oak trees lit up in greens and purples and become mesmerised by the dancing, sparkling lights bobbing in the lake. As night falls the woods become a whole new world; following the sounds and cheers you&rsquo;ll find hidden late night parties, banging DJ sets with happy ravers hanging from tree branches. When most festivals wrap up for the day, Latitude keeps going, offering as much for the early bird as for the night owls.&nbsp;<br /> Nestled in the grounds of the historic Henham Park Estate, the look of <strong>Latitude</strong> is a real sight to behold. The experience of discovering the site for the first time is both exhilarating and exciting. <br /> <br /> Winding down a country path from the campsite to the main arena you&rsquo;ll see secret pathways leading into the fairytale woods, pastel-coloured sheep grazing lazily, and a wooden &lsquo;floating&rsquo; bridge crossing the lake. During the day this is a perfect place to explore the trees and woodland, take a gondola ride down the lake or soak in the sun while relaxing in deckchairs.<br /> <br /> At night; see the old oak trees lit up in greens and purples and become mesmerised by the dancing, sparkling lights bobbing in the lake. As night falls the woods become a whole new world; following the sounds and cheers you&rsquo;ll find hidden late night parties, banging DJ sets with happy ravers hanging from tree branches. When most festivals wrap up for the day, Latitude keeps going, offering as much for the early bird as for the night owls.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> As you cross the bridge and enter the main arena the ground&rsquo;s natural beauty is brought to life with the hustle and bustle of the many boutique clothes stalls, the numerous bars (some of which offer waiter service), tasty food stalls and, of course, the many stages and tents all offering something different, something out of the ordinary and something completely special. Annie Day General Sun, 25 Mar 2007 23:00:00 GMT 2007-03-26T00:00:00 ac11a890-b032-465c-9b60-d0f48d9da3a9 1000000