Bringing The Sun Out
Weather reports prior to the festival predicted a sodden Latitude. In the end, the weather held out fairly well. However, on Sunday afternoon at around 3pm, I was lucky enough to be one of around 50 festival goers who ended up huddled under a leaky tarpaulin, hiding from the lashing rain. We were a lucky bunch as after about 15 miserable minutes of being sheltered from the elements, we could suddenly hear a band of musicians approaching. The following 20 minutes would prove to be my favourite moment of Latitude '09...
Orkestra Del Sol are Edinburgh's answer to the wedding bands of Eastern Europe; a riotous and anarchic mix of Balkan beats, Middle Eastern rhythms and New Orleans brass. The group are outside of my usual spectrum, but the joyous reaction of my fellow tarpaulin dwellers was contagious. A small space was made for the 5-piece, and soon the entire crowd was pogoing along, whilst groups who had sheltered elsewhere looked on enviously. Clad in red and black, shouting into a loud hailer and even incorporating the Simpsons theme tune into the impromptu set, they were an energetic joy to behold. And finally, in keeping with the band's name, they wound the set up just as the sun began to shine.