Whereas there are some festivals that are purely about the music, maaaan, Latitude itself is more cultured than a punting trip with Stephen Fry. As he reads The Odyssey. In its original Greek language version.
Along with the ace bands – Suede, Foals, The National, and pretty much everyone else on the bill (save for Paolo Nutini) – there’s tons of brilliant comedy and mad cabaret to see. Here are our tips for Friday…
1. Future Cinema + Guillemots
As you might be able to guess from the title, Future Cinema are all about presenting films in a titillating new way. Tonight (July 15) you’ll be able to see much beloved folkies Guillemots providing part of the soundtrack to Park Chan Wook’s cult classic film, Oldboy.
2. The National
No-one’s calling them “slow-burners” any more – tonight, The National finally do what their beautifully anthemic, melancholy rock has always threatened to by headlining Latitude. Expect an increasingly tipsy frontman making excursions into the crowd, some serious bite-your-fist emoting, and, from what we’ve heard, some ace special guests…
3. Inbetweeners Area
If you’re lucky enough to be between the ages of 12 and 17, then the Inbetweeners Arena has all manner of larks to offer, from learning to build dens and survive in the wild (when ma and pa haven’t come armed with a teepee) to Culture Works East’s free workshops. There you can spend your weekend mastering comic book design, animation and photography, or beatboxing and MCing, or study the hallowed art of music reviewing.
4. The Trip, featuring Richard Curtis, Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan Q&A
Get ready to pretend you’re a “small man trapped in a box” – tonight, Latitude are screening The Trip, complete with a Q&A where fan of the film Richard Curtis interviews its stars, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.
5. Beastie Boys’ Fight For Your Right Revisited
The Beasties came back with a vengeance this year with new album, ‘Hot Sauce Committee Part Two’. However, tonight you can relive one of their most famous songs, ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)’ in this bizarre short film – directed by Beastie Adam Yauch – which concludes the events of the song’s original video and features blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos from actors such as Susan Sarandon, Kirsten Dunst, and proto-hipster Chloe Sevigny.
We will be reporting direct from Latitude and Benicassim this weekend. Head over to NME.COM/festivals and download our NME Festival App – Powered By BlackBerry. Plus, find out more about our messenging service for all the action to your phone.