NOS Alive, Lisbon, festival review: 'The best headliners of any festival in Europe this year'

Celebrating 10 years of its annual sun-soaked event, NOS Alive, in Lisbon, offered arguably the best headliners of any festival in Europe this year. Pixies opened the Friday night, but it was Radiohead on the Saturday and Arcade Fire that were the big draw.

At NOS, where temperatures climb to the late 30s by day, the music sensibly begins at 5pm, minimising the risk of heatstroke, with headliners from 10.45pm until 1am, and dance music continuing well into the early hours. Days are spent languishing by the sea or hotel pools, or sightseeing in the city centre a short car journey away from the site.

With tickets costing a mere £46 a day or £99 for the full three days, this is also one of the cheapest festivals, belying the starry attractions on stage. Tickets for Radiohead at the Roundhouse in May by comparison cost £71.

It’s not just the ticket prices and weather that separates European festivals from British ones: an AstroTurfed concrete site takes the place of a field, and food is kept in an entirely separate area, prompting more standing and band revering. In Canny programmers have ensured that when the headliners perform, other stages shut down. Which band would want to compete with Radiohead?

Saturday saw the perfect lead up to Radiohead, and the crowd established their main stage viewing spots early for the long haul. Foals’ customary energetic set and swelling catalogue of rock anthems (Inhaler) and epic numbers (Sahara) showed them poised to take the headline slot themselves in the near future. Tame Impala’s 60s psych-rock washed blissfully over the crowd as the sun set.

In keeping with their recent shows at the Roundhouse and Primavera, Radiohead opened with their run of the five first songs from new album A Moon Shaped Pool, after which they picked songs from across all albums but Amnesiac. With the The Bends’ My Iron Lung came the transition into older material.

The set included such live favourites as Talk Show Host and a mesmerizing Idioteque, in which Thom Yorke writhed rhythmically, eyes closed; songs seemed to inhabit his very core. It was impossible not to be absorbed and spellbound.

While embracing both their rock beginnings and experimental synth-led music, whereas once they would be reticent with their adoring crowds, a second encore afforded a mass singalong in the form of a rare performance of the crowd-pleasing Creep followed by Karma Police. Accompanied by his acoustic guitar, Yorke remained on stage to the reverent fans' delight.

By comparison to the many sombre, introspective moments of Radiohead’s set, Arcade Fire provided an entirely different mood. Sparkly stars provided the backdrop for the Montreal band’s set, Regine Chassagne dressed in celebratory silver. For an energising performance of Reflektor, Chassagne held mirrors up towards the crowd. Their set, filled with crowd favourites – Sprawl II and The Suburbs included – was drawn from across their four albums. Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) with its instrumental crescendo and jangling tambourines, followed by Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out) building up to a joyous cacophony of simultaneous urgent vocals between Chassagne and husband Win Butler, were nothing short of exhilarating. There were plenty such ecstatic moments in their near two-hour set.

Clever snippets of covers were incorporated: Nirvana’s All Apologies provided the intro to We Exist while Intervention added The Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen.

Meanwhile, multi-instrumentalist vocalist Chassagne hopped from keys to drums with ease. Arcade Fire are masters of rousing a crowd with the thrilling energy of their performance. It was a fitting ending to one of the best festivals of the summer.