QTheMusic.com

Latitude Festival 2009: Day Two, Saturday July 18

For Q, day two of Latitude Festival's abiding memories will be of The Airborne Toxic Event doing endless Christopher Walken impressions. But outside of that inspired goonery, the day was typified by an almost endless stream of excellent and offbeat performances. What else would you expect from a day topped off by the incomparable and incomprehensible Grace Jones?

First spot of the day was ex-Easyworld front man David Ford playing to an enraptured crowd at a random piano beside the lake. A sing along to the bafflingly beautiful Cheer Up You Miserable Fuck was the highpoint of a Dylan-esque acoustic set (with harmonica and all).

Next up, Datarock on the main stage. Their electro-tinged dance rock was good fun but slightly odd that early in the day. A band more suited to darkened clubs than sunny Suffolk fields.

St. Vincent in the Uncut arena worked a lot better with her soaring indie pop songs. Actress Out Of Work from her her latest album, Actress, was fragile and frustrating and...great.

Broken Records, one of Q's ones to watch for 2009, live up to their early promise raining down a glorious cacophony on the main stage. Their violins ring out like an orchestra of angels but that may have been the cider getting to us.

Mika performs in a ridiculously small tent and has the youngest crowd of the weekend. Ver kids love it. A clutch of new songs are sprinkled through the set but opener Grace Kelly is the pop moment. Throwing hundreds of paper butterflies into the audience proves his showman tendencies remain strong.

On the main stage, Los Angeles' indie rockers The Airborne Toxic Event, a former New To Q band, shake the mid-afternoon crowd out of their languor. Afterwards, the band is thronged by converts to their lit-rock anthems. Catch them at Reading, that's my advice.

At the Lake Stage, Pulled Apart By Horses are screamotastic, ripping through the hippy like calm by the river with throat shredding vocals and pounding drums.

White Lies have become a bonafide festival band in double quick time. On the back of an crowd pleasing set at Glastonbury, they deliver once again, managing the amazing alchemy of turning doomy songs into danceable indie rock.

But for festival anthems, the kings of the day are Doves. Every song is greeted with full throated joy and Jimi Goodwin looks thrilled throughout. Pounding is truly epic as the crowd stamp in unison. Spotting Jimi emerging from the ladies loos earlier in the day was still an odd sight though.

Over at the Sunrise stage, Passion Pit have the crowd dancing too. In a tiny tent, the crowd becomes a roiling mass of bodies, more a multi-limbed beast than individuals. Sleepyhead is the feel-good sing-along song the weekend's been waiting for and as people stream back down the hill, it's lyrics echo through the woods.

An alien beamed down from Planet Mental, Grace Jones unsurprisingly takes to the stage late. Opening with Niteklubbing is a genius move, as is dedicating William's Blood to Michael Jackson. "He's in a better place," says Grace. But once the rain starts, the devil-horn clad icon struggles to keep the crowd's attention.

Even her insane stage banter ("Am I on the moon?", "A good conscience will kiss you as it bites you, you Portaloo sunset.") can't quite hold their attention. But Slave To The Rhythm, Pull Up To My Bumper and Demolition Man are solid gold standards.

"I don't know if you know this about me but I like to dress up a bit," she burbles after her fourth costume change. Here's something else you might not know about her: she never starts or finishes on time. As curfew looms, she's still going and almost inevitably the power must too. Cue dramatics from Grace. A familiar site for anyone who caught her at Secret Garden Party last year.

Another eclectic and electric day from the summer's most schizophrenic festival.

- Mic Wright

Latitude Review: Friday - Day 1

Follow Latitude updates live on Q's Twitter and tweet your reviews/thoughts to @QMagazine.

12:42 PM | 19/07/2009