Pretty much every comedian that I saw perform at the festival took a swipe at the Guardian-reading reputation of the Latitude crowd. Latitude may have a reputation for lacking the attitude of the more established festivals, but those quick to dismiss 'Middle-class fest' are missing out on a quite beautifully crafted experience. Now in it's fourth year, Latitude prides itself on being "more than just a music festival". The dizzying amount of stages - and an £8 festival program the size of a novel -stand as testament to the effort that has gone in to making this a rather wonderful weekend away in Suffolk, irrespective of social class.
With 5 music stages, a giant comedy tent permanently fit to burst, a film tent, a theatre arena, and both a poetry and literary tent ... timetable clashes were frequent. The fire and brimstone of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds vs. the punk disco of The Gossip? The transcendental rock and roll of Spiritualized vs. the bizarre spectacle that is Grace Jones? Up and coming Leeds noiseniks Pulled Apart By Horses vs the comedic delights of Dave Gorman?
The packed lineup made me almost wish that I was one of those horribly organised people who attack festivals with an itinerary. However, I fear that such an approach precludes you from many of the accidental discoveries that make a weekend in a field so memorable. I managed to stumble past candyfloss-pink sheep, a gypsy wedding, and a beatboxing robot from outer space. Similarly, a Saturday morning showing of Kieran Evans' feature documentary Vashti Bunyan: From Here To Before was an intimate and engaging film tracing both Bunyan's retreat from the modern world on a horse and cart, and her retreat from the music industry for over 30 years.
The festival has worked hard to create a family-friendly atmosphere, with the youngest festival attendees having their very own programme to keep them busy in the Children's Arena. However, the experience of watching Nick Cave's expletive-ridden set on Sunday night was made a little uncomfortable by the presence of two freezing cold and unhappily squirming kids in the family in front of me. Yet, this discomfort paled in comparison to watching US actress/stand-up Jeanne Garofalo's set on Saturday, which became one of the most painful moments of the entire weekend. Jokes about cleansing your genitals with hand sanitizer and the TV series CSI fell flat, with the somewhat ungenerous Latitude crowd remaining resolutely silent. After only 6 minutes, Garofalo's conceded defeat, claiming "It’s not you, I blame myself for this". However, the pain continued as compere Carl Donnelly could not be found, so Garofalo was forced to excruciatingly fill for a few minutes more.
The Cabaret arena was immensely popular, with most of London's Burlesque community seemingly uprooted to rural Suffolk. Miss Behave -the latex-clad star of the Olivier Award winning variety show La Clique - had the late-night, post-bands audience eating out the palm of her hand. Behave was Friday night's compare for a series of fast and furious cabaret acts, but stole the show with catty one liners and the ability to swallow a 2ft sword.
The usual festival grumbles apply to Latitude, including rather expensive food, unpleasant toilets and some serious queues. However, Latitude excels in the small details that made the weekend magical: from the giant lilypads floating on the lake to the pole dancing robots in the cabaret tent, the organisers gave us something rather special.