Latitude, Day 3

From Latitude 2011

Sunday started somewhat brighter than the previous day, although the mud was still as sticky as ever. We managed to meet up with Jessica and co for the first act of the day, a Belgian choir by the name of Scala. A bit like an evolved version of Rock Choir, performing covers of rock and pop songs, together with some more ethereal numbers - very pleasant indeed. Next up for me was Carl Barât, who performed some crowd pleasing Libertines hits as well as some of his solo material.

Time then for an ice cream break, in the rain, whilst waiting for the Waterboys to come on. This was a very competent set, but it did not really get the crowd dancing around as much as I would have thought, given the Celtic exuberance of their songs.

After a visit to the Literary Arena, it was time to head back to the Word Arena for Lykke Li, followed by a performance from the reformed OMD. This was one of the highlights of the festival, for me at least, and judging by the reception they got as they stormed through 15 of their 'hit singles', this hit the spot for many others in the crowd who wanted to relive their '80s synth-pop youth.

Back in the Obelisk Arena, it was time for Hurts, who I previously knew nothing about. We were treated to some more anthemic synth-pop, delivered with a very sumptuous, but slightly weird, staging. A couple of their songs were familiar from somewhere, and they clearly had their fans in the crowd. Interesting.

Not being too keen on the head-liners, Suede, I decided to watch the Eels for my final musical event of the festival. They put on a great show, running through a selection from their back catalog, and everyone went away happy.

Overall impressions from Latitude this year: an enjoyable three days, in spite of the wet weather. It was good to see live performances from some of the older bands who I had up to then only heard on record, but unlike previous year's festivals, I did not 'discover' any new act that I really wanted to add to my play list. Latitude still fills an important niche in the festival calendar, and continues to provide entertainment that appeals as mush to oldies like me as it does to Jessica's generation. It manages to do all this whilst being on a more manageable scale than, say, Glastonbury.