With the promise of pummelling club anthems built upon chart fodder, the 24-year-old Swedish DJ Tim Bergling — better known as Avicii — was able to draw 17,500 fans to this overwhelming sensory experience.
Fireworks exploded from the stage as Bergling ignited the two-hour set with material from his debut album, including the blaring house remix of Hey Brother and the pounding percussion of You Make Me.
The titles of his own songs often flashed up on the big screen; it was not a courtesy he extended to anyone else’s music, though it was usually familiar female vocalists — Rihanna, Ellie Goulding, Florence and the Machine (twice) — given a ravey makeover.
To complement the tunes, the stage backdrop was alive with hypnotic projections that put Bergling at the eye of a storm or the centre of a galaxy as if he were more deity than DJ.
It wasn’t exactly clear what he was doing behind his console but having clocked up more than 200 shows last year he knew how to keep boredom at bay — except when he played The Killers.
Bergling mouthed the lyrics and flung his free hand around like a cheap magician. Yet for all the hyperactive mixing he did let some songs breathe, including a canny interlude of Arctic Monkeys’ Do I Wanna Know?
His weary-sounding hit Wake Me Up seemed to wind things down but then the words “Make some noise!” appeared and fans roared their appreciation and threw themselves around one last time.
Any discerning DJ might sneer at Avicii’s set list — though as pure spectacle this performance surpassed plenty of arena rock shows.
