Longitude Festival - Sunday | Review

After an exceedingly overpopulated Marlay Park on the Saturday, Sunday almost felt tranquil, with a host of acoustic and folk acts taking the stage. The sun was beaming, the ground was sandy and the day was set to be far more relaxed than the Saturday with many people returning to work the following day.

Longitude is still very much in its infancy. After last year’s incredible success, Longitude’s debut, could it follow it up with a line-up that didn’t have as many big hitters?

Well it appears the final day of the festival pulled it together for the Saturday with less drunken revelry and more music appreciation as the crowd geared up for the likes of Conor Oberst, James Vincent McMorrow and the incredibly explosive Massive Attack.

Otherkin

Otherkin take to the Whelan’s stage to a relatively small audience and in no time at all have already gathered a considerable crowd who are still streaming into Marlay Park. The bands heavier sound make for a fresh change from Saturday’s more electronically oriented outtakes and show themselves up to be a considerable talent considering their early slot. Mainstage is definitely in their future.

First Aid Kit

First Aid Kit arrived on stage fittingly rigged out in gold – a nod to their record ‘Stay Gold’, upon which much of their set was based, apart from a Miracle Simon and Garfunkel cover. The highlight of the set comes in when Conor Oberst bursts onstage to join the girls momentarily before exiting hastily with the most awkward hugs. Fitting. It feels as if their set is far too early in the day but makes for considerably wonderful background music to the lounging audience in the sunshine. The Söderberg sisters have come along way from their YouTube cover days and thoroughly deserve their crown as the leading lights in folk, and one of Scandinavia’s finest musical exports.

Rudimental

The ever changing Rudimental posse came barreling onto the main stage early on Sunday afternoon. Huge crowds gathered to meet the large crew that assembled on stage – around 9-10 members. From the offset, the set is rammed full of energy with all members bouncing around the stage; you get the instant impression that Rudimental are not just enjoying being on stage but that they belong up there. On the album, guest vocalists include Foxes, John Newman, Emeli Sande and Ella Eyre – massive voices. Luckily enough, Rudimental have a roll call of stunning backing singers to call upon to step in to the limelight out front. Anne-Marie and Bridgette Amofah take turns in taking the big tracks and stun in equal measure. Previous backing singers of Rudimental have broken from the band (see Sinead Harnett), so expect to see Anne-Marie and Bridgette solo releases in the future. The set highlights comes in the form of Feel the Love, Not Giving In and the glorious Waiting All Night. When on form, Rudimental are easily one of the best UK live acts around – simple.

Conor Oberst

Known as Bright Eyes to many, and Conor Oberst to few it would appear, the limited capacity of the Whelan’s stage was surprisingly devoid of the ravenous crowd one would expect. Not only is it surprising to see this veteran musician away from the main stage, but in such an intimate setting is somewhat of a privilege. Taking the opportunity to showcase a setlist made almost entirely of new material, Conor Oberst sets himself apart from a lot of his most well-known past works with a much heavier set to drown out the rhythmic bass pumping from Rudimental in the next field. It works, it’s a solid set, and with Lover I Don’t Have To Love as the only quiet track in the fray the crowd leaves looking satisfied knowing such an act is a rare treat. He retained the intensity of the adolescent artist who insists on attempting to wring all he can out of every note and breath. Although that insistence could have made chaos of the show, Oberst had the mature intelligence to bring along musicians who would do more than simply support him in the form of Dawes.

Gypsy Rebel Rabble

A surprising addition to the unannounced line up that was the Speakeasy Dirty Old Town. The circus-themed tent was noteworthy for the list of surprise acts making an appearance at the festival and Gypsy Rebel Rabble made a point of gathering a crowd and making new fans out of their short set. The bands fast-paced erratic musicianship is nothing short of incredible. Entertaining, full of vitality and a sure hit for anyone who took the time to see their set the whole way through.

James Vincent McMorrow

JVM has been on the road touring his newest album ‘Post Tropical’ as of late. This same tour saw James return home for a number of dates in the National Concert Hall back in February of this year. As JVM eluded to during this set, this is the first Irish festival that he has played in a good numbers of years. It was clear that he was happy to be back – it was written all over his smirk. Breaking Hearts was the first song in the set list and started things off with a nice slow vibe. A worry would be that JVM and his high falsetto might awkwardly stand out on a stage full of big pop acts but by the time of the next track, Red Dust, it’s quite apparent that this set is just fucking glorious.

His squeals and highs on Higher Love sail across the hot tepid air as all in attendance sway, plod and sing along to this emotive rendition of the Steve Winwood classic. We Don’t Eat also shows that James’ older material still stands the test of time as it sounds so fresh on this massive stage. The final song and set highlight comes in the form of Cavalier. Once that click drops in around two minutes in, it’s impossible not to vibe and click along as a mass clicking frenzy erupts around the site. It’s moments like this that makes festivals; everyone vibing away, trying to dance their ‘funkiest’ dance, nodding their head in time, trying not to look a fool. I’m not sure we succeeded in any of it but anyone attending Electric Picnic can count themselves lucky to catch JVM, our own James Vincent McMorrow, on these shores again.

Massive Attack

Massive Attack pulled out all the stops for the third and final day of the festival with a display that made headlines outside the island. It was a performance of epic proportions, one part political statement delivered by the PA system and a wonderfully choreographed backdrop of headlines and imagery of news from around the world. The crowd noticeably cheered, maybe not so ceremoniously, during the bands display of the deaths in Palestine.

It’s made very clear early on why Massive Attack are closing the festival and why the crowd made a point of sticking around for their later than normal set. Punctuated by oldies Teardrop, Angel and Unfinished Sympathy the band cemented their set as the most memorable of the day, if not the weekend. With a new album on the horizon, we can expect the band to return to our shores soon with a likely number of new fans taking their places in the audience after such a set.