Latitude’s 20th anniversary, and my 13^th Latitude. I went thinking this would be my last – the aches and pains of standing around watching bands for ten hours a day, the lack of sleep even in a decent tent in a quiet area, were beginning to take their toll. And the joy of the music, of discovery wasn’t quite what it was. All that sounds like an old man talking – and it is – but Latitude is relentlessly commercialising and the music, particularly on the main Obelisk stage has become very mainstream. Pulls in the punters, but not so good for us 6 Music Dads.

But guess what, it felt better this year, even though two of the headliners were Teddy Swims and Lewis Capaldi. That was in large measure because of the third headliner, David Byrne. He of Talking Heads as well as an illustrious solo career, and currently touring with a show that has been winning plaudits everywhere. I missed the London shows, so was really looking forward to rectifying that at Latitude. And it merited all those plaudits. Read on…

Thursday 23 July

The day most people travel up to the site and settle in, but with more music and other entertainment in the evening than there used to be. My friend Jon – it was his 14^th Latitude – was unable to drive this year, so he got a lift with another friend, Andy, and Shane and I caught the train from Liverpool to Halesworth via Ipswich and then the shuttle bus to the site. All very efficient: we left London at eleven and I was ensconced in my tent by two-thirty.

Take me back to the bridge!

6 Music Dads – me left, Jon right

We saw a couple of bands in the evening, both at the Sunrise Arena in the woods. My favourite venue, both for its setting and the quality of the music.  First was local singer-songwriter Nadia Kadek. I saw her play the Alcove last year – the upgrade to the Sunrise clearly meant a lot to her. I liked her set a lot: a little understated as it was just her and her guitar, but lovely songs beautifully sung. I was reminded a little of Holly Humberstone in her early days.

Towards the end of the evening we saw the Mystery Jets. They’re a melodic indie band from Twickenham who formed in the early 2000s. I’m not familiar with their music – I should be – but it didn’t matter. It’s easy to appreciate their well-crafted songs and musicianship. They did play Two Doors Down late on, which I do know. It’s about being in love with a girl two doors down. It was a minor hit in 2008, making No24 in the charts. Nadia Kadek came on near the end and sang a song with them. An enjoyable hour.

Nadia and the Jets

The Listening Post – the spoken word tent – hosted a night of poetry compered by incomparable Luke Wright, which was nice to see. Long gone are the days when poetry had its own tent. A few of us spent about an hour there. It was a little disappointing for the most part, partly because it was often hard to hear against the background noise. But John Osborne, who I admire, was good. More of his wistful poems about everyday life. And he was happier than usual – he’s just got married!

Friday 24 July

We got lucky with the weather. The country desperately needs some rain, but it’s not great at festivals. Apart from a brief flurry early Sunday morning, it was dry. And while it was mostly sunny and warm, it was high 20s rather than 30s. That said, I don’t know how the people who bring their chairs, blankets, trolleys, food, children, etc and sit out in the sun all day at the Obelisk – and many do – manage it. The shade of the woods by the Sunrise Arena offered a real respite this year. And most of the place, including the woods, was a dustbowl. You wore white at your clothing’s peril!

We began at the Sunrise with a young band from Brighton called Goodbye. They played an enjoyable set bristling with distorted guitar interweaved with time-shifting melodies – rather like say, My Bloody Valentine. Briefly caught Overpass in the big tent, the second stage. Standard Oasis-style indie. There was quite a lot of that this year. Is it the product of a new generation of bands having heard their parents’ records in the 90s and 2000s? Just a thought.

Goodbye

Back to the Sunrise for Irish singer Ellie O’Neill. A lovely, ethereal folk sound, and rather soporific. Took the chance to lie down on what remained of the grass and let it all meander by. Next Lime Garden on the Second stage. Found it a bit dull, so joined my friend Steve at the Obelisk for Alice Phoebe Lou. Steve and I are always messaging about who we’re going to see or have seen, but don’t often overlap. But we managed half an hour at the Obelisk, with quite a small standing crowd. Alice was pretty good. A few acoustic ballads then some more upbeat indie pop tunes with a band.

Ellie O’Neill

Things then got really interesting down at the Sunrise again. First, rock band Bleech 9:3. I thought they were essentially shoegaze, but no! They came out and absolutely rocked. The first moment of exhilaration. Singer straight into the crowd, guitarist throwing all the best poses. Second song kept up the momentum, but then it settled into a raucous but rather samey groove. Hints of Murder Capital throughout, especially when the last song, Ceiling, erupted. An anthemic finish, with some serious moshing up front. We stayed at the Sunrise for another Irish band, Madra Salach, which meant missing Florence Road (also Irish) on the Second Stage, unfortunately. But it was well worth it. Madra Salach were one of the best of the festival. A fusion of traditional Irish music and a contemporary, often rocking sound.  Easy to draw a comparison with the Pogues, but they were rockier and the singer Paul Banks has a much better voice, very expressive. Good patter in between songs too.  Will have to see them again. By the way, Madra Salach translates as Dirty Dog, according to Google.

The Bleech boys

Madra Salach

Jon and I went back to the tent, had some food from the Co-op, a cup of tea and relaxed for a while. Can’t be rock’n’rollers all the time!

Back to the site for a beer and the main attraction, David Byrne, on the Obelisk. And what a fantastic show it was. He began with a minimalist version of Heaven, from Fear of Music, and you just knew it was going to be brilliant. Everything was good: the staging, the graphics, Byrne’s homilies from time to time – Love and kindness is a form of resistance – and of course, the exemplary music, a mix of his solo work and the Talking Heads back catalogue. The band – there were a lot of them – all wore orange overalls, as did David. The choreographing was clever: quirky but conducted at the speed of the main man. He’s in his seventies, so doesn’t maraud around the stage as he used to. I loved the backdrops: simple but striking. And that music, oh my God! Talking Heads are one of my favourite bands of all time, so it couldn’t fail, really. And without detracting from the solo material, which was very good, here are the Talking Heads songs played, in order: Heaven, And She Was, Houses in Motion, (Nothing but) Flowers, This Must be the Place (Naïve Melody), Slippery People, Air, Psycho Killer, Life During Wartime, Once in a Lifetime and last song, Burning Down the House. Awesome!

Heaven is a place…

I joked to some friends on WhatsApp, it’s all downhill from here. But it wasn’t…

Saturday 25 July

Our first show of the day was Baggio in the Alcove. Must admit we chose this one largely for the name. Football fans will understand the reference. But the music was excellent – essentially Americana, with a nice variety of chugging rockers and tender ballads. They’re from South London, so I guess we could call it modern pub rock. A different kind indie – grander, some electronics, a twist of psychedelia – Temples on the second stage. High register voice. The track on the Latitude playlist, Shelter Song, reminded me of 2000s band Delays. I thought they were good, though my attention flagged in the middle of the set. Jon left, but I stuck it out and was rewarded with a brilliant (and uncharacteristic) guitar thrash for a few minutes at the end. Not a lot of that at Latitude, so something to savour. (*See note at the end of this section).

Baggio – missed a penalty in the 1994 World Cup final

During the guitar wig out

Westside Cowboy followed on the Second Stage. We saw them on the Sunrise last year and really liked them. Likewise at End of the Road. But earlier this year, at the Scala, with a longer set, I began to find it a bit samey. That was the case today too. Likeable, workmanlike indie rock, but no real highs. After half an hour I bailed out and popped into the Alcove to see the last few songs by 1000 Rabbits. They were a lot of fun. A clash of prog, pop and dance. The music was all over the place – in a good way. The singer bounced around wailing. I wished I’d seen more.

1000 Rabbits

Second stage again for Irish band Just Mustard. Their music features swirling guitars and increasingly washes of electronica, with singer Katie Balls’ airy vocals floating over it. Live the two guitars dominated – a wall of sound. I liked that, but the problem was that Katie’s vocals were lost in the mix. The sound in the tent is always a bit murky. If you stand outside the tent you can hear everything. So it was good, but could have been better.

It was time to escape from variants on the indie rock theme, and I went down to the Sunrise for a rare bit of country music. Esther Rose, straight outta Nashville via Santa Fe. Classic stuff, verging on country rock rather than acoustic. No frills, just proper songs about getting drunk, depressed, trapped in a relationship, falling out of love – all the usual. Loved it! I stayed at the Sunrise for Maria Somerville. She played fuzzy electric guitar, accompanied by a bassist. Or was it a drummer? I had a bit of a lie-down for this one so the memory’s also a bit fuzzy.

Esther Rose

Suitably refreshed, I wandered over to the Lavish Lounge/BBC Introducing stage, also in the woods, for a local band called Mama Oh No. I really liked their track on the playlist, Four Leafed Clover. It had a bit of the desert blues about it, with lots of echo and fuzz. Live it was a more traditional blues and soul set, overlaid by the excellent guitar work of Jack Gascoigne, who also sings. His guitar sound reminded me a little of the great Duke Garwood, whom I discovered at Latitude many years ago. The band are from Norwich and have kept it in the family. Jack’s sisters Issy and Tordi play bass and keys respectively. And the drummer is Jack’s wife, Rhi Swift. It was very enjoyable, no-nonsense set. Like a high quality pub gig. Brought a smile to your face and got those toes tapping!

The family Gascoigne

Proper guitarist!

Back over to the Sunrise, a few minutes late, for the intriguingly titled Man/Woman/Chainsaw. With a name like that you’d expect something quite industrial in the sound. There wasn’t, but it was hard-hitting. Post-punk indie, I suppose, with a bit of depth, as violin and synthesisers complement the basic guitar sound. They had a confident swagger too and looked like they were enjoying themselves. All good. Jon later rated it one of his best three shows of the weekend.

No chainsaw in evidence

So it was headliner time. Teddy Swims on the Obelisk: mais non! Wet Leg on the Second Stage, not really. The team consensus was Get Down Services on the Sunrise, so there we  stayed. I was expecting a more beefed up version of Sleaford Mods, maybe something like Yard Act or Adult DVD. Well, it was more a lame comedy act, with two Northern blokes thinking of how many ways they could insult the audience. When they sang, the lyrics were schoolboy stuff; and musically… well, give me Sleaford Mods any day. I gave up after three ditties and suggested a return to the Lavish Lounge for London garage DJ MUCKANIKS. It was nearby, it was worth a go. Shane, Hywel and Rebecca joined me. They all performed an immediate U-turn the moment they heard the music and went off to the Trailer Park! I liked the music well enough and sat down for about twenty minutes and took in the grooves. Tempted by the nice-looking pizzas, but not sure I could eat a whole one, I decided to get a snack down in the main area. Bought some mini-arancini and listened to the last couple of Teddy Swims songs blaring from up the hill. Confirmed it was a wise decision to avoid that one.

Time for the regular post-music gathering for a pint at the Taphouse. Views were split on Get Down Services. Those who stayed, including Jon and Paul, thought they were good, even very good. I reiterated my point of view! I’m not sure what I missed – perhaps it was the trenchant social commentary which they are apparently known for. We disagreed agreeably and moved on.

• (Note: turns out I saw Temples at my second Latitude, in 2013. I said: Billed as a neopsych group from the Midlands. I enjoyed their Byrds-y guitars and early Who sound. Very Brit Pop. The iArena [Sunrise today] was packed and they went down very well, but I felt like I’d heard it all before.

Sunday 26 July

We started in the blazing sunshine at the Obelisk for Everything Everything. Surprising that they were first on, given their stature – they must have had somewhere else to go afterwards. I mistakenly thought we’d seen them at my first Latitude – turns out it was Django Django. I enjoyed the infusion of lilting, African-style guitars in what I think was MY KZ, UR BF, an early hit– rather like Vampire Weekend in that respect. I followed that with Elle Coves on the Sunrise. Another Irish singer, with songs in the mould of Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers and, er, that famous one who just married an American footballer. Pretty good.

Midday sun

Elle Coves

Back to the Obelisk for some prime punk nostalgia – the Undertones! All original members except the man who defined them, Feargal Sharkey. The replacement, Paul McLoone, who’s been with them since 1999, didn’t resemble Feargal in looks, but had the voice. The truth of the matter is that the Undertones had five or six great songs; the rest was standard melodic punk fare. They started with two greats – Jimmy Jimmy and You’ve Got My Number – and we were happy. Then we were merely appreciative. In the middle they strangely inserted Teenage Kicks – surely made for the climax? Back to the mediocre, until a final, magnificent flurry: Get Over You and My Perfect Cousin. Job done, good fun.

Next was Shay O’Dowd at the Alcove. He and his band are from Glasgow. I liked his song on the playlist, which had tones of Sam Fender. He and the band were disconcertingly smart-casual in appearance, but the music was good – warm and powerful. He’s a fine singer. I had to go after a few songs to join up with the others for another nostalgia show: Peter Hook and the Light. Hook was bassist in Joy Division and New Order and he plays a few of their classics. That sounded good. However, the murky second stage sound combined with some rather repetitive beats started to wear me down, and my thoughts turned to seeing American punks Militarie Gun at the Sunrise. Outside the tent, as I left, the band started playing What Do You Want From Me?, a song by New Order offshoot Monaco, and the vocals, hitherto inaudible, sounded crystal clear. Then, as I went to get some water, Blue Monday came on. Again, crystal clear. I felt a tinge of regret at missing that, but headed to the Sunrise.

Shay O’Dowd

Play She’s Lost Control mate!

I’d made my best decision of the festival – Militarie Gun were awesome! They’re from California and this was their last date of a European tour. The venue was initially about half full. The singer Ian Shelton joked, thank you for coming to see us when you could be at Peter Hook – you could and should be at Peter Hook. And they launched into some driving rockers, laced with catchy melodies and harmonies. The musicianship was excellent – I loved some of the buzzing guitar riffs. It was a footstomping joy from start to finish – I even felt the urge to go to the front and get properly involved. I resisted that, though I did go down briefly by the left speakers to get some pictures. It was deafening! I was getting some Turnstile vibes, and fans of Green Day would relate to them. A very American take on punk, in a good way. High energy and very together. I was mightily impressed and energised by them. My discovery of the festival, no competition.

Discovery of the festival. 100% rock’n’roll

We returned to the tent for a while after that and came back to the Sunrise for DEADLETTER. Another high energy, super-talented band. They’re from Yorkshire, and comparisons with the likes of Yard Act are apt, but there’s a bit more to them. More varied instrumentation, more elaborate arrangements. But still pile driving. I thought of Black Country, New Road going post-punk. A good warm up for the final act…

And, oh wow, what a final act! The Flaming Lips on the Second Stage. Mind-boggling brilliant. Totally bonkers. It didn’t matter if the sound was murky, because it was the whole spectacle that took the breath away. You just didn’t know what was going to happen next, but you couldn’t wait to find out. It began with three giant pink inflatable robots and went from there. There were large latex balls bouncing around, colourful lasers, endless ticker tape, giant eyeballs, a rainbow. Singer Wayne Coyne sang the last song inside a large transparent ball. Most of the Flaming Lips classics, like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and Do You Realize? and Race for the Prize got an airing, the lyrics helpfully passing across a screen at the back of the stage. There was a touching rendition of Daniel Johnston’s True Love Will Find You in the End and a sensational version of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs near the end. Never a dull moment in the hour and a half.

Back in the Taphouse afterwards, there were five of us – Jon, Shane, Andy and Paul along with me – still buzzing from the Flaming Lips performance. We each nominated an impromptu best three shows of the weekend. Everyone had Flaming Lips; four had David Byrne. So not much variety (unusually) but hardly surprising – these would both have been standouts in any of my thirteen Latitudes. My other choice was Militarie Gun for what it’s worth.

Credit to Latitude for pulling out the stops for its 20^th anniversary. I’m sure the huge crowd at the Obelisk for Lewis Capaldi were just as enthusiastic about him as we were Flaming Lips. And getting David Byrne was a real coup. We ended on a high, which casts a positive glow on the whole festival. Inevitably this had me thinking, can I really give this up?  Plenty of time to decide…

If this is my last Latitude this is the place that I’ll remember with the most affection