Mixed reactions to a stellar set
Of all the acts on this line up, Idlewild seemed the most relevant as there's flashes of R.E.M in their work, most notably the more soft melodic tracks. It was a shame that a good number of the crowd, certainly from the middle working backwards, didn't seem too fussed if they were there or not, but then that's the nature of the beast with these kind of shows. That said the afore mentioned melodic offerings did turn some heads with 'I Understand It' from the current record 'Warnings Promises', and 'Live In a Hiding Place' going down well.
Luckily there were a good number of Idlewild fans in Hyde Park, judging by the cheers for tracks such as 'Love Steals Us From Loneliness' and 'You Held the World in Your Arms', unfortunately they were just a bit too scattered to have a missionary type impact on the masses.
The band certainly didn't seem over awed, although Roddy Woomble did at first appear to be fascinated by the size of the crowd and the number of people still entering the arena. By the end of the set those who were going to be won over had been and 'American English' went down a storm.
Given that the event had been postponed for a week due to the bombings in Central London, it seems that The Zutons were unable to make it this week, as although they were listed on the flyer, there was no sign of them. Therefore Idlewild got some extra time to play with, something that was never going to be a problem given the amount of music they've produced in their career, if anything a set less than forty minutes would have been frustratingly short for a band of this stature.