Arcade Fire at Hyde Park

If you were lucky enough to attend Glastonbury this year chances are you’re still suffering from ‘Glasto blues’ or festival flu. Arcade Fire however are still on top form after bringing their invigorating headline set from Pilton Farm to London’s Hyde Park on Thursday night.

With warm up acts Future Islands, Wild Beasts and Jake Bugg performing in the early afternoon, the sound problems were still prevalent in the park; either that or Jake Bugg’s drone isn’t suited to gloriously sunny days and excessive cider consumption.

On one of the hottest days of the year, Win Butler, his wife Regine Chassagne and the rest of the Arcade Family (some blood, some water) took to the stage. Their set covered tracks from all their albums including the Mercury Prize winning The Suburbs. With such an array of records to choose from they were somewhat spoilt for choice. They were able to keep the audience mellow with tracks like Rococo, and then boast their impressive showmanship with Joan of Arc. Their versatility meant the crowd were never bored; by the end people were doing handstands on the grass and dancing a conga. At one point the band brought on someone in a paper mache head of the Pope, dancing to Rolling Stones song Sympathy for the Devil which then blended into a White Stripes riff (who were playing at Hammersmith Apollo).

Although we never caught an appearance of the face paint, Win still delivered an entertaining show. Rather bizarrely his opening line was “and here are Arcade Fire, maybe for the last time,” leaving the audience to speculate. This could be in relation to Hyde Park itself, where last week organisers British Summertime ‘accidentally’ leaked a link to £2.50 tickets. A ridiculous fiasco considering a gin and tonic cost £6.50 at the bar.   

Still, it was probably the best £2.50 the crowd had ever spent.

Samantha Waite
Photo: @vlntn_

For more information about Arcade Fire and future events visit here.

Watch Reflecktor performed at Glastonbury here: