Excuse us while we go a bit "duuude," on your asses. "This is awesome, the sheep are painted fucking pink. It's so psychedelic, and I haven't even taken a thing," says Reggie Youngblood, singer of Florida's Black Kids, who take the stage in the UNCUT Arena as a spear of late afternoon sunshine pierces the cloud.
So, I'm happy now! I got my first taste of the music at Latitude and I like it. For a gentle start to the day I decided to lurk around the smaller arenas, blinking in the sunlight like a frightened nocturnal animal. Luckily there was plenty of shade in the woodland setting of the Sunrise Arena and I was happy to see Edinburgh band Broken Records and north England's version of The White Stripes (or so my programme informs me), Slow Club.
So, there's Paul Merton -- no less -- smoking a cigarette and eating a baked potato. This, gentle reader, is the first thing I see at this year's Latitude -- and, surely, as celeb/food/fag interfaces go this might well take some beating.
Afternoon all. You join us at Latitude in the company of the entire Alternative Cabaret scene, a giant. flying chunk of the Edinburgh Fringe, some frighteningly coloured sheep and, lest we forget, some excellent bands.
Three exciting bits of news: it's not quite raining; I'm clear this year that we're in Suffolk, not Norfolk: and Michael Nyman is playing while I write at the back of the Music And Film Arena.
