Latitude 2012 - Sunday

So the final day of Latitude arrived and the sun was out and blue skies awaited me as I opened my tent! What a difference a day had made compared to the weather that had met me 24 hours earlier. After the normal morning routine it was time to pack and get the tent down. Paul and I headed with our trolleys across the campsite and out to his car whilst trying to avoid the worst of the muddy patches. We made it in one piece and got all packed away in the car in time to get back to the arena area for shortly after 12.30pm.

As we walked back towards the lake we could hear Lang Lang (more info), the classical concert pianist, playing on the lakeside stage but there was far too many people watching to get anywhere near so we took a detour off round the lake and then up to the food area for some lunch and a last beer of the weekend. Had very nice Chinese special noodles for lunch and finally it was time for the first music of the day.

On the main stage was Alabama Shakes (more info). Never heard anything by them before but they were quite wonderful. The leader singer, a young 20 something lady, seemed to incorporate the spirit of Aretha Franklin, Janice Joplin and Otis Redding. It was a quite fantastic 40 mins of proper soul, blues and R&B music (60's version) not the horrible X Factor/ "Diva" 21st century bland rubbish (sorry I am off on one now!).

Next up on the main stage were Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (more info), a vast eleven-piece American ensemble. Not sure how to describe them as they were a bit country, bit folk, bit gospel and just a bit plain odd! I managed one of my power naps during their set sat in the seats at the back much to Paul's amusement! Also we were a bit distracted during their set as sat in front of us was a woman and two blokes. We were just intrigued as from what we could make out from their conversation it appeared to be the current and ex-husband! It certainly was a very strange dynamic going on!

After this came Simple Minds (more info). Now this wasn't the bloated U2 wannabies of the late 80s but the early art-rock group of their first 5 albums which they mostly played from (11 song set included 3 tracks from Empires & Dance, two tracks from New Gold Dream, one each from Real Life, Sons & Fascination and Sister Feeling Calling plus the inevitable Don't You (Forget About Me) and Alive And Kicking) . A great band and one that certainly knew how to play a festival despite having a late afternoon slot in the sunshine. One of my highlights of the weekend.

Then it was off for a walk around, a rest chilling on the grass before heading into the Word Arena to watch a group called M83 (more info) who were very electronic (but with guitars and drums thrown in) and had a heavy dance vibe. Definitely one for the youngsters in attendance! They were initially very enjoyable but after their big hit (my assumption based on crowd reaction!) they over stayed their welcome by 2 or 3 songs and it did begin to drag for me (and for quite a lot of the crowd who began to depart in large numbers).

The final set in the Word Arena was Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club (more info). Featured in the film Buena Vista Social Club and made up of veteran musicians from Cuba they certainly lived up to the billing as "bringing back to life the exotic flavours and colours of the 1940’s Cubana era" and were a fun way to end our time at the second stage. Paul even pulled a young lady who wanted to salsa with him!

Last up as headliner on the main stage was Paul Weller (more info). Now I was a massive Jam fan in my youth and love most of his solo material as well. It was great to finally get to see him live and his performance was very professional backed by an excellent band but for me there was something a little missing. Compared to Elbow the previous night, who knew how to engage the festival crowd, Weller made no attempt to tailor his performance to the festival and had just went from song to song with a “thank you” thrown in occasionally! Professional but a bit detached from my humble perspective and probably the same set you would see at O2 or Wembley Arena. At least I got to see 3 Jam songs played live!

We left just as he was starting his encore to try and beat the rush for the car park especially as we didn't know how bad or muddy the exits would be. However we made it out fine and it was back to my car (all safe and sound) and then I headed off for the long drive home arriving back at around 3am and bed at 3.40am after a quick bath (to then be woken by my youngest at 5.20am who was very excited to see her daddy!!!).

So now for my awards…

Best performance of the weekend

Now this is a tough one as there were some very good performances. However not even being able to split them with the Olympic photo finish technology I have a tie between Glen Hansard and Richard Hawley.  Both did great sets and really seemed to enjoy playing at the festival.

Best song of the weekend

Clear winner here – it has to be “Come on Eileen” by Dexys that really had the Word Arena jumping.

Legend slot of the weekend

Just pipping LLoyd Cole, Daryl Hall and Dexys it had to be Simple Minds who showed just how to play a classic short festival tailored set.  Paul Weller take note!

New find of the weekend

Honourable mention for Zola Jesus but it has to be Alabama Shakes who were just fantastic!

Purchase of the weekend

It has to be Paul’s festival hat which can be seen in all its glory below!  Cleary why he pulled!

Overall it was a very good weekend (wallet apart) and actually the weather was much better than it had been during the day at last year's festival. It was only because the ground started so wet that the mud was worse this year. I suspect I will be back again next year if permission is given!

(All live Latitude pictures with kind permission of Paul Waring)