Arcade Fire Warm Up a Cool Leeds Festival Crowd with Headline Set

Taylor Hill, FilmMagic

As far as headline sets go, on the opening night of the 2010 Reading and Leeds festivals, you couldn't get a bigger contrast. While Axl Rose and co. pitched up an hour late to a muddy, booing Berkshire crowd, Arcade Fire's impeccable performance proved that they've stepped up their game again, as genuinely thrilling festival headliners.

The trouble was, most of the school-age Leeds festivalgoers were nowhere to be seen, electing to dance themselves silly to Pendulum instead. More fool them, as Arcade Fire delivered a customarily exhilarating set to a crowd much smaller than they deserved.

Speaking to Spinner before they went on stage, the band's Jeremy Gara said they were excited about taking their live show to a bigger UK festival crowd, but admitted the band's memorable Glastonbury sunset slot in 2007 was their favourite.

"If we had our druthers, that would be the set we would play every time we played a festival" he explained, saying the band had consciously beefed up their show for the bigger slot:

"We're mindful that there's more people watching, and we have to bring a different level of show so that we can connect to people further back."

Songs from 'The Suburbs' peppered the set-list with a new, more subtle energy. Regine's Abba-esque 'Sprawl 2' proved a laid back synth delight, while new single 'We Used to Wait' and 'Rococo' built slowly, with swelling orchestration.

"The kids are all standing with their arms folded tight" goes the refrain from punk-flecked 'Month of May' and Win Butler may have been feeling the pertinence of the lyric, urging the crowd two-thirds of the way through the set to "warm up", which they dutifully did, met with a barnstorming finale which included 'Power Out', 'Rebellion (Lies)' and 'Keep the Car Running.'

Time restrictions meant the encore was limited to 'Wake Up.' As Butler said, "I want them to hear this in London, I want them to hear this in the f---ing space station," a warmed-up, if depleted Leeds crowd made their best effort to oblige. Note to headliners Blink-182 and Guns N' Roses, up your game.

Watch out for our full video interview with Arcade Fire, coming soon.