Elbow inspire joy in a crowd exhausted after the long weekend

Given that Guy Garvey’s only dance moves are waving and outstretching his hand as if to introduce an old pal, while each track contains enough uplifting optimism to make your hairs stand up, their slot towards the end of Sunday seems the only logical choice.

Drawing a crowd of people relaxed, hands swaying and nobody bunched up together tightly, reflecting on a long weekend, the joy of the show is the overwhelming sense of relief.

It is even more apt then that their long-time tour agent, Jeff chose this show as his final one before retirement, prompting the band to honour with a stunning rendition of 'Mirrorball'. Particularly magical on this occasion with a glimmering moon, it was not a stretch to call the experience cinematic. Granted, it is cheesy to say the least. However, that is something Elbow have mastered. When Garvey calls out “build a rocket boys” followed up by a awkward whistle it is extremely innocent, but it also works.

He commands the crowd to respond with “beautiful” as he introduces each member, before addressing the lack of pretension quite well, by joking, “if you think you’re to cool to do it, you’re wrong.”

That’s exactly why Elbow worked tonight. Elbow are not cool. They are unashamedly emotional and they are sincere. And that kind of sincerity is perfect for this occasion as it filled the crowd with honest joy, before they all parted ways, half going home and the other half heading off to have their ears penetrated by some sick beats in the woods.