Riffed

Glastonbury kicked off yesterday and with a bang. Performances from Kaiser Chiefs, War on Drugs Blondie, Jungle, Drenge, Temples, Chvrches, Haim, Foster The People, Spector, Paolo Nutini, Metronomy, Arcade Fire being the highlights on a very wet opening day on Worthy Farm.

Kaiser Chiefs opened the festival performing a not so secret set on the Other Sage to a rather contrasting crowd. There were the 2004 contigent, from the days of 'I Predict a Riot' and the 'Education, Education, Education & War' continget of fans of 'The Voice'. A strange nostalgia. The War on Drugs followed on the Pyramid. The powerful bunch hailing from Phildelphia braved the rain to showcase their careless and spellbounding riffs from their latest album 'Lost In The Dream' to the everpresent Pilton crowd. Blondie and Jungle were up next. Blondie attracting your more veteran Glasto goer whereas Jungle showcased their pyschedelia to much more youthful spectators. Each pleased. The John Peel stage didn't let down on Friday. Following Jungle upcame Drenge and Temples. Sheffield duo Drenge undoubtedly caused a mosh or two. Especially during 'Bloodsports', they went down a storm. Following in the footsteps of Jungle, Temples played out a brilliant pyschedlic fuelled set. Performing tracks from their debut album 'Sun Structures', Temples shined. Next up were Scottish trio Chvrches, the electro pop band never fail to please. 'Recover' being a key highlight. As the day grew older, the acts grew bigger and next up were American triplets the Haim sisters on the Other Stage. Performing their debut album 'Days Are Gone', Haim went down a treat and Este's 'bass face' didn't let down on the big stage. Fellow Yanks Foster The People followed on the Other, becoming a popular band amongst British festival goers, they seem to play everywhere. But play they do, a spotless set. Following this though rain stopped play for an hour or so. A huge electrical storm played it's set over Worthy Farm, lights were out, stages were shut, BBC coverage was powered down and the festival was at a standstill. Rudimental were mid-set when the heavens opened and were forced to finish early. A Glastonbury official soon appeared on site and was qouted as saying 'It's looking iffy'. But an hour later we was all go again! Albeit a bit behind schedule. Spector followed the rain and created a storm of their own on the William's Greens Stage. '#enjoyitwhileitglasts' they tweeted, pre performance of the hits from their debut album 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' and also a couple new ones from their forthcoming second album we are all eagerly anticipating. The night beckoned and Paolo Nutini performed The Other Stage pre-Arcade Fire. Tracks from the Scott's latest album 'Caustic Love' were on show. What a voice that man has on him. A truly brilliant set. Clashing with the headliners next were Metronomy, which some would call Britain's very own Arcade Fire. After playing a secret set the previous night, many chose the option to see the headliners on the Pyramid. But this didn't affect Metronomy's set.

The Pyramid was next. The Arcade Fire of Montreal, Canada was next. Arcade Fire were set to bring their worldwide carnival to Glastonbury and the majority of Worthy Farm's 170,000+ campers crammed infront of the Pyramid to witness the greatest live band in the world.

The setlist: 

1 Reflektor (extended intro)

2 Flashbulb Eyes

3 Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

4 Rebellion (Lies)

5 Joan of Arc

6 The Suburbs

7 Ready to Start

8 Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

9 We Exist

10 Keep the Car Running (w/ 'My Body Is a Cage' acapella intro)

11 No Cars Go

12 Haïti

13 Afterlife

14 It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus)

15 Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) ('Damian Taylor Remix' intro)

- - - Bobbleheads (Common People/Bitter Sweet Symphony/Wonderwall) - - - 

16 Normal Person

17 Here Comes the Night Time

18 Wake Up

Arcade Fire were qouted as saying post performance that Glastonbury was the 'highhest point of our career'. It's no wonder as to why. Each song was perfectly mastered that It's hard to pick a highlight from their set. Although renditions of 'Ready To Start', 'No Cars Go' and inevitably 'Wake Up' stole the show. The whole of Glastonbury was in chorus with Win Butler during Wake Up. "Oooooh Oh Oooooh Oh Oh Oh Oooooh Oh Oooooh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oooooh Oh Oooooh Oh Oh" echoed around Worthy Farm. It was enough to send shivers down your spine. Of course Arcade Fire will have their critics, as they always do. For some reason or another of which we don't quite understand. They're truly the greatest live band in the world and after last night they've done that tag justice. Anyone who dislikes Arcade Fire therefore cannot like music at all. They're a true spectacle. 

Possibly the greatest headlining performances Glastonbury has ever seen? 

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