Photo: Chris MacDonald
"For maybe the last time, ARCADE FIRE!" proclaims a man under a giant papier-mâché head as he walks on the stage at Hyde Park. But don't be alarmed, things aren't quite as they seem – this is Arcade Fire after all.
The large-headed interlopers are quickly shooed off the stage by the real band, who launch into 'Normal Person' with a zeal that suggests they are in no mood for half-measures tonight. The Canadians have built up such a rich back catalogue that they are able to follow it up with bona fide 'banger' 'Rebellion (Lies)'.
There aren't many who could throw this away so brazenly this early in the set, but then Arcade Fire aren't just any band are they? This being a song where Win's brother Will Butler has precious little to do, he generally makes a fairly entertaining nuisance of himself and performs a bizarre blazer on/blazer off dance for multi-instrumentalist (technically I think they all are) Richard Reed Parry.
It's a sign of how easy playing huge spaces has become for Arcade Fire.The reluctant indie heroes of 2005 are nowhere to be seen, replaced by a band that can fool around on stage while looking every part the best musical show on Earth today.
The set draws heavily from new album Reflektor and seminal debut Funeral. 'Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)' sounds ten times bigger than it did a decade ago, while the Hyde Park air fills 'We Exist' and 'Afterlife' to bursting point with life-affirming vim. The set doesn't often showcase Regine's vocal talents, but when she is called upon for 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)' she injects another level of joy into what feels like a victory parade for the band's remarkable first decade in the industry.
The band, almost inevitably, finish with 'Wake Up', for which every single person in Central London howls themselves hoarse. Then the vast crowd drift into the night, sunburned and satisfied. That's how Arcade Fire would want it – so that's how it shall be.
Arcade Fire played:
Normal Person
Rebellion (Lies)
Joan of Arc
Rococo
The Suburbs
Ready to Start
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Crown of Love
We Exist
Intervention
No Cars Go
Reflektor
Afterlife
It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus)
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Encore:
Sympathy for the Devil
Here Comes the Night Time
Neighborhood #3
Wake Up
Below: Exclusive photos of Arcade Fire stunning at London's Hyde Park
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