It's Official, Drew Is A Wendy Pt3

. . . and then the rain fell!

It started just after 4 am and continued all day, well at least until 2 pm when we eventually got everything to the car and fucked off up the road.

As someone from the west of Scotland I am quite familiar with rain and it doesn't really bother me that much but the difference is that I don't tend to go out in it when it's lashing down in biblical proportions let alone intend to spend the day standing in a muddy field watching bands and getting soaked to the skin. So I made the executive decision to go home L reluctantly agreed but Max was more than a little pissed off.

I would like to tell you that the reason was because Max was still not 100%, although he wasn't that wasn't why we came home. To be honest I could not face the prospect of spending the next couple of days soaked to the skin and miserable and so I will admit that I am a wendy and like my creature comforts.  Being inexperienced in the festival lark we had not really packed suitable clothes as nobody had told us that Glasgow Fair weekend was also monsoon season in the South East of England. I also had concerns about getting the car out of a field after another couple of days.
 
The real pity is that Friday had been so good and we were all looking forward to the weekend. I think that we will give it another go next year depending on the line up.  When we will be better prepared but I still will not be wearing wellies, especially not those Hunter things that were in abundance not just on the Saturday but also in the glorious sunshine on the Friday, what the fuck is that all about?

Thom Yorke - And It Rained All Night (Burial mix)

No pictures of the rain as by the time I decided to take some the camera had gone on the blink as it had gotten soaked in my pocket.

It's Official, Drew Is A Wendy pt 2

I awoke early on the Friday morning, around 06:00 struggled out of the orange coloured condom described as a sleeping bag and opened the tent to glorious sunshine which immediately put me in a good mood. It was now time to check out the amenities so I went for a wander around our part of the site bought a couple of bacon rolls, a tea and a coffee,  nearly had a heart attack when the guy behind the counter asked for fourteen quid. I know, I have just reinforced another racial stereotype but fourteen quid is fucking steep and no bloody butter on the rolls!

After rallying the rest of the troops it was time to take a gander at the festival site itself, which is really quite impressive once you go down through the woods and across the lake. First stop was the children's area for fun on the helter skelter and carousel,  finding out all about bees and honey and chilling out with Leo in the toddlers chill out area which was magic and then it was time for lunch and a meander up to the Obelisk arena to catch another emotional set by the ever improving Edwyn Collins and a backing band that are absolutely brilliant.

It was decided that we would remain camped where we were for the remainder of the afternoon to witness a great performance by Wanda Jackson who still knows how to have a party, even after finding god. I was not so impressed by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan who I thought gave a rather lacklustre performance which could have had a lot to do with the fact they were on the main stage when their music really needs a more intimate venue. Although some banter with the crowd, well acknowledging that they exist for a start may help. When I went back to where L and Max were, Max said to me "that man (Lanegan) scares me dad"  and I suspect that Max isn't the first person to feel that when in Lanegan's presence.

L and Leo decided to stay where they were to take in KT Tunstall who was attracting quite a crowd. Max and I wandered over to catch Deerhunter at the Word Arena, who were on blistering form I thought and who in Max's opinion were "not bad". However I still don't get the Fall influence which is repeatedly mentioned in the music press.

Then it was time to re-group for some dinner after which L decided to take the boys back to the tent to get changed as by this time Leo was filthy and stripped down to his simmit.

This allowed me to watch Bright Eyes on my own.  Oberst and Co were very good but a good deal heavier than the last time that I caught them live, which granted was a few years ago and I was also surprised at how easily Conor Oberst has taken to rock star posturing. The version of Gillian Welch's Wreaking Ball was particularly note worthy especially with the guest vocals from Jenny & Jonny who were playing the Lake Stage later. By the time Bright Eyes had finished with a rousing version of Road to Joy the family were back and it was time to head over to the Word Arena yet again to see the most anticipated band of the weekend by half of the family at least.

"When are they on?" was the question Max interspersed the last 20 minutes of Lyle Lovett's set with at regular intervals and looking around he wasn't the only one waiting in anticipation as the tent quickly filled up with lots of teenagers and younger children with their parents, so much so that when The Vaccinnes eventually took to the stage they were not greeted with a roar so much as a high pitched scream. The band proceeded to play their whole album pretty much in order. Max had the time of his life.

Are the Vaccines the saviours of indie rock? Not especially. To me they are not that far away from the Pigeon Detectives with the sing along choruses and songs of teenage exploits, the Pigeon Detectives were also very entertaining live. But looking around the tent everybody and I do mean everybody seemed to be loving it. Even an old cynic like me at that moment didn't care how derivative they were or the fact that there are virtually no lyrics to their songs,  it was just life affirming to see so many people having so much fun listening to music with not a posturing scenster in sight or maybe I just had too many over priced pints of Magners.

We had one more stop to make on the way back to the campsite and that was to possibly the coolest stage at Latitude. Tucked away in the trees at the side of the lake was the Sunrise arena which due to the fact that the sun was down and the area was illuminated by over sized fairy lights took on a really intimate and quite magical feel.

We were there to witness for me what was the highlight of the day, Cat's Eyes. I was curious to see them live as I had bought the album on the strength of all the good reviews that it had received but had hardly given it a listen. From the first notes I just knew that they were going to be good, and not being that familiar with the album I cannot tell you what they played but they did cover an old psych song I had on a compilation tape years ago but which I can't remember the name of but has lyrics about black cat's and the like.As I watched the band L sat and relaxed, Max ran about the woods and Leo slept.

Once they had finished it was back up to the campsite passing those on there way back down for the late night revelry and thinking about what Saturday would bring as Friday had been so good.

Cat's Eyes - Over You

It's Official, Drew Is A Wendy pt 1

We went, saw and fucked off kinda sharpish.

Those of you who have been foolish enough to keep up with events at, around, across or miles away from the kitchen table will be well aware of the dramas that revolve around me and my family getting in the car and deciding to go away on anything that could be losely termed as a break.

The journey down to Suffolk was uneventful but on arriving at Latitude it didn't bode well that the road into the field where the cars were parked was deeply rutted and extremely slippery due to the eighteen hours of rain that the area had had up until this point.

After getting some of our gear out of the car it took us about an hour to find the Tangerine Fields where our fully assembled tent awaited us. We had a pizza, a couple of beers and then I went back to the car park to get the rest of our stuff. By this time quite a few (several hundred) other cars had arrived and it was dark.

So . . .

after about an hour's searching I eventually found my car got the rest of our shit and trapsed back the couple of miles to where our tent was to find two children still up to high doe (on cloud nine) and a remarkably chilled wife.

And so to bed and good thoughts of the weekend to come.

Bright Eyes -Nothing Gets Crossed Out

Latitiude, We're On Our Way

By the time you are reading this the car will have been packed, possibly a fair bit of niggling will have gone on and we will eventually be on our way down to deepest Suffolk, an eight hour drive at least, the joys!

We will be out of Lanark for,  at the most twenty minutes before Max first asks "Are We There Yet?" and probably another ten before he states "I'm burstin' you will need to stop so I can do a pee".

And so it will go for the duration. Still some good bands and artists await us over the weekend.

I am not the only person that has been derogatory about festivals in the past, here is Edwyn Collins with his take on festival going. I wonder if this will be on the set list for Friday?

Edwyn Collins - The Campaign For Real Rock

Latitude Is A Goer, Yipee

Max has been given the all clear and we are now definitely heading for Latitude tomorrow.

I am curious to see if the Queen of Rockabilly will be able to scream at the age of 73 as she did when she was 23 when Let's Have a Party was recorded.

Wanda Jackson - Let's Have A Party

Although she still sounds in good voice on this single from last year, however I not sure that Wanda will have a scooby what a Stella is.

Wanda Jackson - You Know I'm No Good

One Day To Go

So we will find out later on if we will be able to go to Latitude or not. I have been looking at the line-up again and there are so many things that I want to see that there is no way I will be able to see everything.

One act I will certainly not be missing is Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, I have had the pleasure of seeing them on quite a few occassion now and i have yet to be disappionted, so fingers crossed I will get to see and hear them again on Friday.

The track featured is from their first collaboration on Campbell's 2004 ep Time Is Just The Same.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Why Does My Head Hurt So?

Two Days To Go

Not long now, although there is a better than 50% chance that we will no longer be able to go to Latitude for reasons I will not go into at the moment, we will find out for sure tomorrow.

A couple of months ago I heard this track on Radio 6 and went out and bought the single. I haven't made any attempt to hear anymore from them as I knew that they were playing Latitude and would catch them there.

The Naked And The Famous - Girls Like You

Three Days To Go

Since watching the Glastonbury coverage on the BBC the other week Max has been getting increasingly excited which has only been curbed slightly by the realisation that Tinie Tempah will not be in attendance.

His other favourite band of the moment, the Vaccines will be playing on the Friday night, so I reckon that he and his mother will be going to the Word arena to see a band that I have conflicting feelings about, I really like the album but the band just look a little bit too perfect for me.

The Vaccines - If You Wanna (Live From London)

Count Down To Latitude

On the drive home from a gig at the tail end of last year Stiff and I were discussing festivals as he has attended Belladrum for the past few years. "you'd hate festivals Drew, short sets people talking all the way through the performances and lack of decent toilet facilities". To which I agreed wholeheartedly as it had been years since I had gone to T In The Park and even then I never camped.

So why in March did I decide that we were all going to Latitude this year? I'm not sure and I have been asking myself this question frequently over the past couple of months. I hate camping but from Thursday to Monday next week I will be living under canvas using communal washing facilities and toilets which most people who know me find rather amusing.

Anyway, Max and L are right up for it and I'm sure the little one who regularly turns our living room and top hall into a scene reminiscent of those pictures you see of the Glastonbury campsite on the Monday after the weekend will have a ball.

I thought that I would feature some of the bands that L, Max and I are looking forward to catching next weekend.

First up is Paulo Nutini who L has been looking forward to ever since we booked the tickets and more so after she saw him on the BBC's coverage of Glastonbury. I have to admit that I hadn't given the 24 year old from Paisley much attention until recently but what I have heard isn't too offensive and the track posted is actually rather good.

Paolo Nutini - Coming Up Easy