Latitude 2019 – Saturday Highlights Part 2

Jason Manford

The sunshine is glistening off the Comedy Arena roof as Stockport’s own Jason Manford, fresh from his Muddle Class tour, takes to the stage to serve up some relatable realness,

He has one of the biggest crowds in the Comedy Arena today howling with laughter straight off the bat as he asks, “Who’s come with their kids today? Who’s regretting it? I’ve been painting spoons for three hours”. Jokes aside, Jason is carrying a whole lot of love for Latitude and we can’t help but blush as he says it’s, “the best festival this country’s got”.

Jason instantly let’s us slip inside his psyche telling us about his battles with weight loss, loathing of lookalikes and his over-inflated sense of self confidence. The audience cry with laughter as he reveals he takes his bins out in his pants to “give his neighbours a treat” and has a waist so big he could “wear Danni Devito as a belt”.

His family life is the backbone of the second part of the set and his Muddle Class tour that he’s just wrapped up. He frets about being working class bringing up middle class kids as they mistake mushy peas for avocado and think going on the bus is a treat. In anyone else’s hands it could come off as superficial, but in Jason’s hands it’s hilarious and relatable.

The biggest laughs as he tells us of the downfall of going too high with punishments when shopping for school shoes and leaving shamed by an entire shop. It’s this realness that makes Jason the every man comic we all need.

Aurora

Aurora takes to the stage in front of a giant shiny tin foil moon/spaceship that sets a rather ethereal tone on the BBC Sounds Stage. For one so polite, Aurora is able to convey herself as a petite powerhouse with ease.

She takes the time between tracks like ‘Warrior’ and ‘Running With The Wolves’ to share a message of love and acceptance which she echoes further by waving a Pride flag bandana enthusiastically.

There’s an innately human feel to Aurora’s set, as she establishes a connection with every pair of eyes and every soul currently in front of her. It’s no mean feat, and it makes for an altogether more vibrant experience.

A Norwegian flag is hoisted proudly aloft as Aurora regales the crowd with short but sweet sentiments of how it feels to belong. It’s a fitting subject matter that she wills everyone to embrace as they return to the ‘real world’ after the festival.

Yesterday Q&A

It feels like only yesterday (sorry) that we swung open our doors in 2018 to Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle to film their latest movie. Secrecy was the order of the day back then, with the project still highly under wraps. It was later to be revealed later as Yesterday, the summer hit movie which imagines a world in which only one man remembers The Beatles. Scenes throughout the movie take place at the festival with the movie set heavily in Suffolk.

So, it’s a real treat to once again welcome back Curtis, alongside star Himesh Patel, for a very special Q&A after an exclusive screening of the movie. They’re in full swing, cracking jokes and regaling stories of a fun-filled shoot. We find out there is indeed a full version of ‘Hey Dude’, the movie’s twisted take on ‘Hey Jude’; Himesh seems pretty happy it’s locked away somewhere with no release in sight.

Curtis revels in discussing his partnership with Boyle on the movie, praising the director’s little flourishes throughout the movie that didn’t appear in the script. He mentions how Boyle strangely compares his directing style to that of Liverpool FC manager, Jurgen Klopp, applying maximum pressure at key moments, which you’ll see in full effect at the quick cuts and multiple angles during the accident scene of the movie.

It’s when Suffolk is brought up that he really begins to beam. ‘Yesterday’ is a love letter to Suffolk as much as it is The Beatles. Locals in the crowd add their own take to scenes that were filmed across the county. Nimesh is still petrified of one scene in which he had to perform to 6428 locals on Gorleston beach in one of the movie’s highlights, but it’s Curtis who has the last word. This film couldn’t have happened anywhere else he says, his pride for the area evident throughout.

Mo

Danish pop superstar MO transforms the BBC Sounds Stage into her very own playground, bouncing through the crowd and never missing a beat on songs, like ‘Kamikaze’.

Never one to bend for convention, she runs through to the very back of the tent and climbs the sound desk to ensure that everyone is tapping into her party spirit.

As she is held aloft by her adoring fans, MO delivers hit after hit as her already epic back catalogue comes to life. ‘Final Song’ meets a rapturous reception, with some seriously impressive dance moves being thrown both by MO and the audience.

Everything Everything

Welcome back, Everything Everything. It’s been a while since the band have played live in the UK, and we can think of no better place to make a triumphant return than heading up the BBC Sounds Stage on a sold out Saturday night. Taking a break from their taking a break, the band has been on pause from touring this year but are long-standing friends of Latitude, so this is a perfect opportunity to remind everyone here why we love them so much.

For over a decade now the band has been rising the ranks, cementing themselves both as a band that create spectacular bodies of work and the chops to put on the most astounding live shows of recent years. Tonight they have  perfect balance needed for a rock band. Pounding drums create a foundation for roaring riffs to bounce off as Higgs’ trademark vocal range soars over the top.

They give fans a welcome onslaught of classics from their past four albums – plus some deep cuts added in for the real fans. ‘Cough Cough’ and ‘Kemosabe’ gain waves of singalongs in particular, but finale ‘No Reptiles’ hits the peak in a set of so many highs. The slow crescendo as the song builds creates layer upon layer of texture, amping up the crowd to take their singing higher and higher. A triumphant end to a remarkable day of music.

Stereophonics

The crowd stretches as far as the eye can see and Welsh flags fly high in the warm evening breeze as our headliners Stereophonics stride out to the Obelisk Arena stage. The chugging chords of the rock n’ roll stomp of ‘C’est La Vie’ kick in and roar erupts as Stereophonics lay claim to Henham Park.

The band quickly strap us into their time machine for a hit packed set that stops off at all the sweet points in their over two decade long career. The sleazy glam of ‘Superman’ is chased down by the rock n’ roll beast, ‘Vegas Two Times’ and toasted by the sleepy country of ‘Step On My Old Size Nines’.

It’s the perfect soundtrack as the sun dips from orange to burnt crimson over the fields of Henham Park. Front man Kelly Jones straps on his acoustic guitar for ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ and, as the crowd sing out with the track on their own, Kelly says it’s “beautiful” and we couldn’t agree more. There’s an iconic Latitude hands-in-the-air moment for their classic cover of ‘Handbags and Gladbags’.

Whether strumming an electric or acoustic guitar or sat at a piano, Kelly Jones is a formidable showman. On ‘Sunny’ he runs down the walkway for a wailing solo to give us serious rock n’ roll moment. Whilst, he holds the audience in the palm of his hand for the iconic refrains of ‘Just Looking.

The set hurtles to a euphoric close with another huge singalong to early classics ‘A Thousand Trees’ and ‘Local Boy In The Photograph’, which both bristle with the same energy as when they were first released 20 years ago.

Before launching into ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ for the encore Kelly says, in a touching moment, , “sending this one out to the boys in Snow Patrol, it’s a shame they couldn’t be here’. The encore is electric, the drummer rises out of the stage for ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ for an epic solo and as the synths kick in for ‘Dakota’ the Obelisk Arena erupts into one last singalong. It’s may be all in one night for Stereophonics, but this evening’s show has made our weekend.

Underworld

The spirit of 90s rave culture has come to Latitude as Underworld transport the entirety of the Obelisk Arena to Ibiza and Berlin all at once. Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are legends of a long forgotten scene, but this incredible resurrection of rave is bringing it back, hundreds of lasers at a time.

The neon lights flash every possible colour there is as, the deliberately blurred visuals, make this collective trip an exploration through the weirdest corners of our minds. The BSL interpreter on one of the viewing platforms throws wild shapes as she signs to iconic tracks like ‘King Of Snakes’ and of course, ‘Born Slippy’.

Underworld have all the fun and excitement of an illicit rave as they career through their first but impeccable Latitude. It’s a rare chance to see the group these days and all generations are in collective awe of just how brilliant Underworld are.

Even outside the confines of a tent, Underworld’s energy simply cannot be contained and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Flip Fabrique

It’s not often we get a weather warning in the Theatre Arena, it’s even rarer that it begins to snow from within. It’s because we’re about to watch Blizzard, the Quebec-based performance group Flip Fabrique’s latest show and snow stopper.

Flip Fabrique is all about circus amplified – every set piece is them pushing the limits of their considerable skills. The trapeze features a pair launching into throw after throw, high up in the rafters. Juggling doesn’t just involve one person juggling six balls, instead a trio each take six, moving round the stage as the balls twist through the air to be caught by another performer. Trampolining has performers jumping off a singular high beam to audible gasps from the audience, with double flips that seem to defy gravity, only to land gracefully onto the beam like nothing had happened.

Even the traditional clowning expected of the circus gets a twist and allows Flip Fabrique are able to flex their comedic muscles. Interspersed between the feats of strength, they prepare their clown for the biting winter, only for him to burst out into an Hawaiian luau. This is so naturally Flip Fabrique as it’s not long until he’s atop a piano, his body swirling in hula hoops that near-cover his entire body.