Latitude 2019 – Friday Highlights Part 2

Viagra Boys

The serene surrounds of The Alcove are about to get a rude awakening as Stockholm’s Viagra Boys have arrived. After ripping straight into the low fug of ‘Amphetanarchy’, front man Sebastian jokes, “We are the Venga Boys, we’re all about making dance music – let’s party” and it’s on.

The mosh pit doesn’t stop for the whole set with the crowd lapping up the rockabilly garage deep cuts of ‘Slower Learner’ and ‘Frogstrap’ from the band’s debut album, ‘Street Worms’. Front man Sebastian is so rock n’ roll you could swear he has the blood of The Cramps’ late Lux Interior racing through is veins. He spits every word of single ‘Just Like You’ with a guttural conviction as the band play the perfect straight guys to his unhinged intensity. Whilst, the weirdo Stooge-esque swagger of ‘Sports’ has him commanding the tent with ease from behind his rarely-out-of-place shades.

Pushing the set to a glorious close with the chaotic disco of ‘Shrimp Shack’, Viagra Boys have made an impression that no one will ever forget.

Freya Ridings

We’ve done a surprise set or two in the past (and even one already this weekend), but the show today is special. You see, it’s not only that Freya Ridings is taking to the stage at Latitude for the second time today, but it’s also the day her debut album is released. And, you can see from her smile, so big it almost fills the entire BBC Introducing Stage, that she’s just a little bit happy about it.

Introduced by Radio 2 DJ and mega fan, Dermot O’Leary, Freya seems astounded at the huge turn-out in this little spot nestled in the woods. She calls everyone “beautiful” before launching into a cherry-picked selection of well-known and brand new tracks.

The performance is beautifully stripped back with Freya on keys, backed-up only by a cello and drumbox – it gives her powerful voice the maximum opportunity to slowly weave its way through the trees. Freya mentions she, “could not think of anywhere she’d want to be more, playing in the woods”. We’re happy we can help, Freya.

Loyle Carner

Loyle Carner may not be headlining festivals just yet, but every second of his performance further asserts the idea that one day he will be.

There’s a grounding humbleness to Loyle’s persona that makes him instantly relatable as he dedicates a handful of his songs to his mum, like ‘Dear Jean’, and individual friends. He’s at one with the crowd throughout the set, sitting at the edge of the Obelisk Stage leading them in claps and bounces. His band are very much a part of this show too, with Loyle welcoming and telling anecdotes about each member to rapturous applause.

Carner’s style is both accomplished and poetic with his most recent release, ‘Not Waving, But Drowning’, showing him as at the top of his game.

Loyle’s tales of falling in love but still wanting to remain loyal to his family paint the picture of a very caring soul. There are young fans holding aloft home-made signs that read ‘Loyle Forever’, cementing the collective adoration that now swells from every corner of the main stage crowd as he closes with the classic, ‘OLD CD’,

Amusical

For those who know their comedy, and we like to think the laughter bursting out of our tents means that’s a whole lot of Latitude goers, Amusical, has fast become an institution over the years.

The premise is simple: Jayde Adams and Kiri Pritchard-McClean love musicals and they can also belt out a tune with the best of them. The duo invite some rather nervous comedians who also love musicals who, perhaps can’t sing quite as well, to have their moment under a completely different spotlight. Mix in co-creator Dave Cribb’s live band – who can drop a ravishing Moulin Rouge medley at a moment’s notice mid-show – and you can see why this has been coming back to Latitude again and again.

It’s the kind of show that sees Maisie Adam sing Grease’s ‘You’re the One that I Want’ – as both Sandy and Danny. Whilst, Marcus Brigstocke ditches his purple Prince suit to instead tackle ‘My Fair Lady’, after admitting he bottled performing it last year.

Sindu Vhee is up next taking on another Grease classic, ‘Look at Me’, and goes into full Olivia Newton-John mode. Meanwhile, Mawaan Rizwan duets with Emily Lloyd-Saini on a Book of Mormon/Game of Thrones mash up with an hilarious retelling of season 8 of the show (no spoilers here).

All in a day’s work for Jayde and Kiri.

Frantic Assembly

In the intimate enclaves of the Theatre Arena we’re in for a very special treat, Frantic Assembly are here to celebrate their 25th birthday with us with a brand new collaboration with writer Phil Porter entitled, Sometimes Thinking, made especially for Latitude.

A couple walk onstage and try to remember where they met, they both have different perceptions: was it a restaurant? Or, perhaps in the street? Or, at work? Another two actors join them to play out their perceived first meeting, through the use of only three mobile doors – the only major props in this expertly choreographed production – to play out the fast changing events

The loss of day dreaming when we become adults is explored with hilarity and disarming honesty. Using a single phrase they act out different made up scenarios from jumping off cliffs to being assassins to even barging in on someone else on the toilet.

As the day dreaming intensifies, you wonder if the couple will ever recall how they first met? You’ll have to watch it to find out.

Primal Scream

You know a band are certified legend status when they have not one, but two greatest hits albums. Primal Scream fit so comfortably into this label you’d have thought it was crafted just for them. So anticipation was immediately at fever pitch when we announced that the Glasgow band were to headline just after the release of their latest compilation ‘Maximum Rock’n’Roll: The Singles’.

From the first blast of ‘Movin’ On Up’, it’s clear that there’s not an inch of the BBC Sounds Stage tent not swept up in Screamadelica. Bobby dressed in the coolest pink suit you’ve ever seen has that unassuming swagger about him that demands, with nothing but a saunter and a growl, that the crowd are with him at every point.

This is a celebration of the singles, the massive hits that made Primal Scream an enduring presence at the pinnacle of any genre they touch. So, it seems almost too easy for the band to daze the frenzied audience with a one-two-three punch of ‘Loaded’, ‘Country Girl’ and ‘Rocks’.

However the band use ‘Come Together’ as both a finale and unifying rally call. Preceded by an impassioned speech from Bobby, the band launch into it to close the stage with everyone belting out “come together as one” out into the night.

George Ezra

The name George Ezra is synonymous with Latitude. For much of his life he’s either been a punter at the festival or played here, but tonight is different as George is headlining!

The familiar voice of Radio 1 DJ’s Greg James introduces George to a Beatlemania level of cheers and applause. George and his band are vibrant and full of life; with every word George sings each is echoed with the strength of thousands of voices much to his glee. The horn section are bop around the stage with buckets of charisma and the crowd are delighting in just how joyous this performance is.

‘Paradise’ and ‘Casio’ are just two heavyweights in a hit filled set, which has even young babies in attendance singing along. Families are having the times of their lives, friends embrace each other and strangers are dancing together in what is turning out to be a hugely unifying experience.

The set comes to a rapturous close with one last singalong to the euphoric sounds of ‘Shotgun. As celebratory fireworks shoot into the sky behind the Obelisk Stage, there’s no doubt tonight that George Ezra, not only stepped up to the plate, he smashed it completely out of the park.

Wiki

New York born rapper Wiki brings the fire to the Sunrise Arena, his lightning fast flow and swagger audible from even the furthest reaches of the forest. There’s a lick of Childish Gambino about Wiki – their razor sharp rhymes burn with the same high level of skill.

Wiki leaps and pounds the stage with every ounce of his might, it may be 1am but there is no let up in the speed with which he delivers his tracks. The impression Wiki makes tonight is a powerful one and his name is definitely one to be remembered in the coming months.