Unperturbed by having his pre-gig ablutions rudely interrupted by our Ms. Medjber – see The Phantom for the full story – Guy Garvey arrives on stage, pint in hand, and proceeds to demonstrate why pound for pound he’s the finest frontman in the UK at the moment.
Capable of earning a living as a stand-up if Elbow ever return to the toilet circuit from whence they came a decade ago, his pally demeanour and self-deprecating humour are as much a reason for Elbow drawing one of the biggest Picnic crowds of the weekend as their soaring epics.
“Festivals are all about taking things you shouldn’t, falling in love and cheating on them within 20 minutes,” Garvey says by way of an intro to ‘Grounds For Divorce’.
While diehards shout for pre-Leaders Of The Free World tunes, tonight is all about the hits with ‘The Night Will Always Win’, ‘The Birds’, the Irish Youth Chamber Choir-assisted ‘Lippy Kids’ – it was supposed to be a secret but, natch, the news leaked on Twitter – ‘Open Arms’ and ‘One Day Like This’ all being dispatched in quick succession.
They’re never going to get the hipster vote, but in terms of making the world seem a shinier, happier place Elbow have the market cornered.