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Latitude Festival 2009: Day Three, Sunday July 19

For your correspondent, the third and final day of Latitude 2009 was about four bands - The Vaselines, Magazine, Thom Yorke and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

The first two because of the rare treat of seeing cult legends in the flesh, Nick Cave because his Glastonbury set was so brutally brilliant. Thom Yorke for the rarity of his solo set. None of them disappointed.

Magazine did not sound like they'd been away for a day, let alone 28 years. In a pink blazer, Howard Devoto looked like Brandon Flowers' well read gay uncle. Later in the day, none other than Adam Buxton offered us another great description: "He looked like Richard O'Brien presenting the Crystal Maze".

Sartorial choices aside, the music was phenomenal with Song From Under The Floorboards, the decidedly not-safe-for-Latitude-kiddies Permafrost ("I want to fuck you on the Permafrost") and opener Light Pours Out Of Me crackling with the energy of men half their age. For some odd reason though, Barry Adamson had come dressed as Vincent Price playing Dracula.

Earlier, The Vaselines were on fine form, again showing no signs of their years in hibernation. The famous troika of songs covered by Nirvana (Jesus Don't Want Me For A Sunbeam, Molly Lips and Son Of A Gun) were best received but The Day I Was A Horse ("a song about taking LSD and thinking you're a horse) was pretty damn fine too.

In the world of mainstream rock, Editors seem to be intent on metamorphosing into Depeche Mode with their new songs typified by a heavy dollop of keyboards. It's a radical rethink but frankly, they're still boring.

More excitingly, Phoenix have moved from being a bunch of French hipsters to become a seriously populist festival band. It's copper bottomed pop songs like Listzomania and Fences that have done it. On the evidence of today's set, they're on fire.

Marina & The Diamonds, playing on the Lake Stage, has the potential to become massive too. Her mix of Kate Bush style songs and Britney moves was a siren call for esoteric indie kids.

Despite struggling to pay attention to their set thanks to a kissing couple blocking our view, The Rumble Strips showed themselves up to the challenge of taming a festival crowd. Facing the start of the day's first downpour, they pulled out the stops with a compelling mix of their first album's Dexy's style hits and their new record's more polished confections. Not The Only Person is an anthem in waiting.

Opening the day on the main stage. Thom Yorke set the bar supremely high for the rest of the performers. Armed with a pair of guitars, a piano and a loop station, he kept the vast crowd captivated. And shock of shocks, he smiled throughout.

Beginning with The Eraser, the title track from his solo album and moving in to Arpeggi/Weird Fishes, it was not a set stuffed with populist hits. There was no Iron Lung or Karma Poilice. However, the sheer power of his voice and musicianship held the neutrals in the crowd in place while the fans marvelled at a selection of rare songs - "ones that got left on the shelf" as Yorke put it.

True Love Waits, only released on a live recording, made an appearance, while a new song - a cyclical acoustic number - made its live debut. Follow Me Around, an anti-war song with a namecheck for Tony Blair also found its way into the set, a good five years after it first emerged.

Harrowdown Hill was emotionally draining while There There in a stripped down acoustic perfomance in the encore was arresting. Radiohead fans, you have nothing to feat if Thom goes solo. The same magic is there, even if you do find yourself pining for the razor edge of Johnny Greenwood's guitar work.

At the other end of the day, Nick Cave sloped on to stage with the Bad Seeds like a pirate band behind him. His set drew on the same selection of songs as his Glastonbury performance but the opener Tupelo, with its talk of a storm brewing took on extra significance for a festival dogged by downpours.

Tracks from Dig Lazarus Dig were urgent and angry with There She Goes My Beautiful World now installed as an audience sing-along. Ending with epic swearathon Stagger Lee once again means you're unlikely to see all the highlights on the Beeb. If you haven't seen yet, you need to. Nick Cave is the devil in the form of a rock band and you will sell him your soul. He's at the height of his powers.

- Mic Wright

Mic's other Latitude reviews:
Latitude Review: Friday - Day 1
Latitude Review: Saturday - Day 2

11:25 AM | 20/07/2009