It’s so strange because this set sounds like it was really divisive, but it feels like that’s down to people’s dislike for the singer and the music than anything about the performance. In the field they sounded immense.
It was great to see a British band progress from the tiny, and now departed, William’s Green tent in 2014 on the Thursday night to headlining the Pyramid just 11 years later with pretty much a set full of hits, with the odd exception.
I’m not really one to get into the debates around singers’ views and behaviours, but I really didn’t get the same impression of an arrogant and insincere guy on that stage. He clearly knows how much of an honour it is to be up there, and they obviously put everything into this show.
My only criticism is the pacing of the setlist in the middle, which seemed to bring in a big loud hit then follow it up with an acoustic, lesser-known track, but that is just minor. The start and end were incredible runs of hits that any band should be proud of.
I liked the production, with the words and lyrics appearing on and above the stage, there were some cool props like the car he sat in for one of the songs and some great use of the full spectrum of lights on the Pyramid (for ‘Sex’ and ‘People’ in particular).
I also thought the bit where he was introducing ‘Chocolate’ and proclaiming himself a poet for having written the song to be self-deprecating and very funny. This was further backed up by the lyrics being put onto the screen as absolute nonsense instead of the words. That doesn’t speak to a huge ego to me to be honest.
The crowd were really into it as you’d expect, even if it was a little on the smaller side. That did mean that you had less talkers and more who were properly invested in the set.
The opening run of songs was excellent, with ‘Robbers’ especially getting its customary HUGE headliner-worthy singalong. Lesser-known (to the general public) tracks such as ‘She’s American’ and ‘Paris’ sounded every bit as great as huge hits like ‘If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)’ and ‘Love Me’. ‘Part of the Band’ was a welcome addition for me because it really channels some of the older American music I like.
As mentioned earlier it was a little flat at times after that, with ‘People’ and ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’ being played around other tunes, but it’s only a minor gripe and I’m sure the slower songs were welcomed by the super fans.
The ending was an unbelievable run of tunes though, ‘Love It If We Made It’, ‘Sex’, ‘Give Yourself a Try’, ‘The Sound’ and then a beautiful version of
‘About You’ to end. It was a frantic end and the crowd around us was loving it.
Listening back on BBC Sounds it came across every bit as well as in the field, so I really don’t get the negativity. We had a great time anyway, and that’s all that matters really.
