Photo: WENN/Richard Gray
Latitude is one of the most important festivals on the 2013 summer scene, with one of the year's best and most admirable line-ups. The Suffolk event this year offered a platform for two of the UK's most adored bands get that all-important push to headline status instead of relying on tried and tested names and nostalgia to draw the crowds.
Bloc Party and Foals are those in question, who headlined Latitude on Friday and Sunday respectively, with German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk topping the bill on Saturday night. The festival has a reputation for being one of the UK's most polite summer events, with picnic blankets and cappucinos as common as drunk teens and moshpits, but perhaps after 2013, the festival should be known instead for it's line-up choices as well as its family friendly atmosphere...
Day One
Henham Park is a spectacular setting for a festival. The Suffolk grounds offer a beautiful lake, rolling fields and a forest perfect for late night naughtiness. Arriving on day one in the middle of this relentless heatwave (it didn't last - there was drizzle and all sorts), it was clear from the off that Latitude was a different festival from 2012. The crowds drawn by the likes of Maccabees, Alt-J, Bloc Party, Foals, James Blake making for a slightly younger audience this year. The crowds were pleasingly mixed however, with as many families enjoying the festival as there were teens.
Kicking off the afternoon, Scottish electro trio Chvrches performed on the wooded I Arena, tucked in the hillside forest. The incline doesn't make for great viewing, but the tent and surrounding area was jam-packed as fans struggled to catch a glimpse of the UK's hottest new pop band.
Chvrches performed a number of new tracks from debut album The Bones Of What We Believe - and boy, is that going to be a good album. Mixing pounding techno influences with sweet pop beats, singles including 'Gun' and 'Recover' stood out, but had fierce competition from the new tunes. There was even an unlikely moshpit, with singer Lauren Mayberry warning fans against getting too carried away. "I imagine this is what being in Insane Clown Posse is like," she told the audience. "There's a circle pit happening. It's not safe!"
Orlando Weeks of The Maccabees live at Latitude
Later, on the main Latitude stage, the Obelisk, The Maccabees performed a jaw-droppingly brilliant sunset show, one which could easily have been that of a headline band. With three increasingly brilliant albums under their belt, they weren't short of hits to rattle off. 'Toothpaste Kisses' remains an absolute joy, while 'No Kind Words' and 'Pelican' offered the weekend's first epic, uplifting moments. Bring on album number four and those future headline slots.
But it was Bloc Party who owned the night, (of course) headlining the opening night ahead of their upcoming 'indefinite hiatus'. It seems a strange time to do so, because judging by their Latitude, they're at the top of their game and seemingly with their best years still to come.
The band opened with 'So Here We Are' before dropping one of their biggest hits, 'Hunting For Witches'. Playing an almost greatest hits show, the band moved effortlessly between their hard rock sounds and electro influences, with as many people moving to the club-friendly 'Flux' as they did new track 'Ratchet', which sounded spectacular among their more well known songs.
They saved their biggest for last, closing the show with breakthrough hit 'Helicopter' and fan favourite, 'This Modern Love'. It's only a shame that drummer Matt Tong couldn't be along here tonight to witness this. Here's hoping this hiatus is a short one.
With the bands done for the day, fans flooded to the late night entertainment, flocking to either Guilty Pleasures in the Comedy Tent or heading deep into the woods for a late night rave at the I Arena.
Bloc Party headlined ahead of their 'indefinite hiatus'
Day Two
As the schizophrenic weather shot between drizzle and scorching sunshine, the normally fairly reserved and serene atmosphere was upset by a filthy and brutal blast of noise from Drenge. Only with an audience like that of Latitude might one imagine that a fair amount of audience are there on the recommendation of an MP, but the media whirlwind that surrounded the Tom Watson affair has only created an unwelcome distraction. As today's brilliantly accomplished set shows, the focus should be on the music and that alone. They're ace.
Bo Ningen pick up the noise rock mantle and live life loud over on the Lake Stage before the vibe reaches a sweet level of calm for Jessie Ware. Humbled by the huge crowd she draws to the Obelisk Arena, Ware meets the gradually setting sun with high spirits and boundless energy. She makes for the perfect late afternoon set, with her smooth and sultry soulful R n' B in 'Still Love Me' and 'Wildest Moments' sending soothing waves around these sandy Suffolk fields.
"Aww fanks Lat-eh-tyood," she beams with the pride of a London girl done good. May she work her way ever higher up the bill in years to come.
Speaking of odd bookings, why the hell weren't Yeah Yeah Yeahs headlining? Really. Karen O and co were undoubtedly the true victors of the day. Receiving a heroes' welcome before delivering an utterly mind-blowing set that was well and truly worthy of headliners. More than a little fired-up and clad in yellow leather, New York's finest wildchild Karen O proved herself to be the ultimate stage presence as the chemistry between her and eccentric guitarist Nick Zimmer reached near volatile levels. Opening with 'Zero' before tearing into 'Gold Lion', the band fired through a relentless set of garage rock classics that attacted one of the most rapturous receptions that Latitude has ever seen.
They simply couldn't have given more. Well, besides topping the bill and giving us another half an hour and more early material - but some things can't be helped. Either way, a palpable sense of hyped up hedonism lies heavily in the air as all present stand blissfully dumbstrack at the onlsaught of awesome that they just witnessed.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs were the highlight of Saturday at Latitude - and perhaps the entire weekend
So where do you go from there? Well, we came here to dance - and Hot Chip came with the goods. Far from shying away from the impact that headliners Kraftwerk have had on their sound and approach to music, they pay tribute to the electro-pop pioneers throughout their performance and lead us into the perfect warm up.
On record, Hot Chip can often seem a bit damp and flat. Tonight however, they come laced with intricate tribal beats an all-out odyssey of disco dynamics to enrich and drive their sound to a much fuller level and send Latitude into an all-out rave.
As the anticipation for one of the most talked about festival appearances of the summer reaches fever pitch, the mere testing of Kraftwerk's visuals during soundcheck is enough to raise jubilant cheers. With dazzling special effects, the electro heroes delighted a vast crowd with an epic, career-spanning set. It's only a band of this standing and calibre that can remain perfectly still but still seem extravagant as they roll through seminal cuts like 'The Robots', 'Autobahn', 'Robots', 'Computer Love' and 'Trans Europe Express'.
Thousands stare on silent and transfixed through their 3D glasses as the four-piece pulled out all of the stops in an audio-visual spectacular that will go down in festival history. It'll be hard to shake off the memory of this four iconic silhouettes on the main stage at Latitude - long may it endure, and long live Kraftwerk.
Kraftwerk performed a stunning 3D extravaganza at Latitude festival 2013
Day Three
As the sun beat down on the final day of the festival, the bronzed masses stagger into the dusty, dusty horizon to face the end of what has already been the best Latitude weekender in history. Taking on the task of seeing off Sunday in style is Bobby Womack - the perfect choice for the coveted midday special guest slot. With a stately grace and panache, the soul legend brings a touch of the classic to the main stage as he effortlessly rumbles through the seismic classics of 'Across 110th Street' and 'I Can Understand It' alongside newer cuts like 'The Bravest Man In The Universe'. He more than lived up to the standard set by previous years' specials guests Rufus Wainwright, Tom Jones and Thom Yorke - and he did it all without Damon Albarn showing up.
Laura Mvula kept the soulful mood flowing, drawing a massive crowd into the BBC 6 Music tent for a pleasantly hangover-friendly but numbingly dull performance of MOR smooth daytime radio sounds. Crawling back out to face the heat, an army of beautiful young things found themselves at the I Arena where rising retro-pysch stars Temples lived up to hype and showed why exactly they're ones to watch: they sound good, look great and mean business.
A surprise highlight of the weekend comes from Swedish singer-songwritier, multimedia and all-out mystery IAMAMIWHOAMI (I know, right? Try saying that after three days of festival parting). Pulling in a modest but impressed crowd of cult followers and curiosity-seekers, frontwoman Jonna Lee acts out her own enigma through an arresting set of stunning choreography and ethereally subtle but undeniably danceable electro-pop. She rarely plays on these shores, and does all in her power to make her set feel like a real 'event'.
IAMAMIWHOAMI proved herself a surprising highlight of Latitude festival 2013
Many feared that James Blake may have died a slow death on the main stage in his late afternoon slot in daylight, but his normally dark and moody sound was translated into some pretty blissed out vibes over the sea of bronzed corpses that lay strewn across the field in the scorching setting sun. The chilling effect of 'Limit To Your Love', 'The Wilhelm Scream' and 'Retrograde' sent all of Latitude into an intoxicated and heady swoon as Sunday evening set in.
Lifting the mood over on the BBC 6 Music Stage and acting as an almighty magnet for anyone aged under 30 were Disclosure and Rudimental, who proved a double-header burst of life as they played two guest-rammed sets to send the packed tent into a dance frenzy. Those who aren't raving their tiny minds into oblivion are probably making a vain attempt to catch a glimpse of Eddie Izzard at the obscenely undersized comedy tent. If you were one of the lucky few that got to see him - good for you. If not, then I'm sure you'll join the rest of us in asking Festival Republic to invest in a bigger tent next year. We're sure you've got the money - you must be doing alright for yourselves by now.
The 1975 are the festival whores of 2013, seemingly on the line-up of each and every summer show. Fortunately, this Manchester band are all kinds of amazing live, and we'd happily watch them at every opportunity, so perfect and polished is their live show. The band headlined the festival's Lake Stage on the Sunday night, repeatedly speaking of how 'humbling' it was to do so, and pull such an enormous audience.
Performing tracks from their upcoming debut album, singles 'The City' and 'Chocolate' hit home with the appreciative audience, but the real standouts were closing tracks 'Sex' and 'You' - the latter not scheduled to appear on their debut, but instead a long time live fan favourite. A huge highlight of the weekend.
And now the finale - the apex of the unstoppable rise of Foals. What a year they've had. Following the release of their No.2 album Holy Fire, they pulled off an oustanding set at Glastonbury and even managed to sell out the Royal Albert Hall twice in one day. It's fair to say they're big deal now, and tonight, at their first major UK festival headline set, they're hell-bent in their mission to show us why.
Foals played their first major UK festival headline slot at Latitude
Staring out wild-eyed through the red mist of a flare, you can tell that the sense of occasion is not lost on frontman Yannis Philippakis. He meets the challenge head on, and kicks it square in the face.
Kicking off with the sinister rumble of 'Prelude' into an epic and sky-searing rendition of the aptly-titled 'Total Life Forever', Foals carry themselves with the courage and conviction of a band destined to destroy this stage. Driven by the religious reaction they receive in a performance that only be described as 'career defining', the band tear through an explosive outing of 'My Number' and monolithic performances of 'Spanish Sahara' and 'Inhaler', it's hard to imagine Foals as the overhyped math-rock indie pin-ups that we first met in 2007.
This only made the festival all the more perfect. At Latitude 2013, something truly did change. Not only did the event change from a polite escape for the middle classes and broadsheet readers into a haven of cultural excellence for all ages, but we've seen a transformation in Foals.
The Foals that stand before us today are true headline material, and tonight we saw them come of age. Expect their future to hold much bigger stages, and even louder evenings than tonight.
