FRONT ROW CENTRE - LATITUDE 2013 SPECIAL - DAY 3
Welcome back to the last round up of highlights from Latitude Festival 2013 from Day 3. I'll be back next year to immerse myself in another music filled weekend!
Latitude Festival Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk on July 21st 2013
Hooray! The sun was back and it meant business! Sunday was what all Sundays should be, lounging around listening to some chilled out songs in the park whilst flicking through our festival bible at what bands to see next. After my daily baby wipe bath (God bless baby wipes) I was still black from all the dust but by now I had become one with the dirt. The line up was good but it wasn't such a struggle to choose who to see and when. We had more free time to look around the site and what it has to offer. If you wanted to have a break from the music there was comedy, spoken word, literature and poetry reading, live cooking classes and for the people with kiddies there was a petting farm, fun fair and massive climbing area in the woods. We took a walk out towards the stage in the woods and there were groups of people having impromptu jamming sessions amongst the trees! So much to see and do with so little time. As with all good things, it must come to an end so it was time to start packing everything in readiness for a hopefully quick exit in the morning. I was not looking forward to getting up at silly o'clock to fight the crowds and a five hour journey home but I was determined to enjoy it to the last minute.
Junip - 'Always'
I knew a couple of tracks from Junip and Jose Gonzalez and apart from Line Of Fire which will be in my Top 5 tracks of 2013, they hadn't quite hit me yet. I still insisted we see them on the strength of that one song but I was so impressed, they blew me away. It was the right setting and the perfect mood music for siting on the grass in my hat, sunnies and dusty flip flops. I could not get enough of the constant hum and gentle strumming. They had funky little instruments that made shaking sounds and I couldn't take my eyes off them. Real winners like Always, In Every Direction and of course Line Of Fire were stunning. New favourite band of the year for me.
Dan Croll - 'Compliment Your Soul'
He was my one to watch last year so I absolutely had to see him live. We grabbed a spot in front of The Lake Stage and Dan Croll's complete set got me in such a good mood. There seems to be an almost African jolliness to some of his songs and the band just looked like they were really at ease and enjoying themselves. He played one of my favourite tracks of last year, From Nowhere plus more recent singles In/Out and Compliment Your Soul which I couldn't stop singing for the rest of the day! It really just reaffirmed why I love his sound and he is sure to be a success if he keeps going the way he is.
Grizzly Bear - 'Yet Again'
To be honest I didn't know these guys from Adam but whilst flicking through the programme earlier, I read that they are supported by high profile fans such as Fleet Foxes, Jay - Z and Radiohead. Well if its good enough for them, I want a piece of that! I always wondered who my music heroes listened to. I thoroughly enjoyed their gig, they had the right balance of rocky drums and ambient sound. Stand out tracks were from their album released last year Shields: Sleeping Ute, Yet Again and Gun Shy. Well worth checking out the album, a genuinely good listen.
Have a listen to my Best of of Latitude Spotify playlist and relive more great moments!
Comments
Dan Croll. I discovered Dan Croll via your 2012 Tunes of the Year. Still no album? Get with the plan Dan. Another great tune.
Grizzly Bear. I'm a big Daniel Rossen & Grizzly Bear fan, but have yet to experience them in concert. I wasn't even aware that they were playing Latitude. Darn it!
I've really enjoyed your Latitude reviews Shell Hunter. Maybe I'll make it there myself next year.
I agree about Dan Croll, he's easily got enough good material so where is this damn album!