How many mid-afternoon stormers have you been in? The sort of tales that you hear echoed out before sold-out arenas and award shows, from the folks who say “I remember seeing them in a tent in the afternoon all those years ago…”. Those are the sort of stories you write down and remember, moments you know will play a vital part in the years coming for an artist. Declan McKenna is special, but here at Latitude it blossoms into something you’ll be hearing stories about when he’s selling out huge halls around the globe.
That feeling roars through opener ‘Isombard’, a call to arms for a generation that bellows and throws its arms in the air on every high. Crowds line up outside the BBC Music tent to grab a sight of a sensation in the flesh, one that can rip through cuts like ‘Bethlehem’ with ease, that can stand on the top of monitors and spin future album favourites like it’s nobody’s business. Dipping through eras and styles has become second nature to him – the glistening Bowie-esqué dreaming of ‘Humongous’ and the digital sheen of ‘Paracetamol’ just two dazzling examples. When ‘The Kids Don’t Want To Go Home’ carves its own mark into Latitude soil, it’s met with a reaction that would greet a band on a victory run – and it’s for that exact reason that Dec is onto something magical. Every ounce of who he is finds a home on stage, with a band behind him that lands an uppercut that sends others flying.
Throwing himself into the front row and falling to his knees in jubilance, Declan McKenna at Latitude is a show-stealing trip for a star on the cusp of greatness. The fact it’s only the beginning makes it nothing short of sensational. Dec’s about to play an important role in many a-life – but you don’t need us to tell you that.
Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett / Dork