Broken keyboards, out-of-tune guitars and a schizophrenic microphone are not working in favour of tonight’s support act Bachelorette, which combined with her shy, awkward chat threatens to relegate her set to mere background music. And yet the charm of Annabel Alpers is undeniable – you can’t help but kindly laugh as she entices us to – œbuy one of my suveen eenches for chrusmas”, and as her confidence grows it’s the beautiful mass of layered loops and clever lyrics that leave the lasting impression this evening.

Before a painted background of a possessed mermaid-child, Animal Collective arrive in all their psychedlic, genre-bending glory and begin what is undoubtedly a journey in perfect form with Graze; it’s ethereal wash of medieval synths are equally calming and suspenseful, before an explosion of effervescent flute samples and rainbow fluorescents place us in some kind of merry-go-round frenzy. A continual progression into the stunning Leaf House sees the mood turn tribal, the driven afro-beat underlying a chanting interplay of Avery Tare and Panda Bear creating a glittering ambience before leading into the Grateful Dead sampled What Would I Want Sky and Here Comes the Indians’ Slippi. Clearly out to impress after their previous visits’ illness both vocalists deliver pitch-perfect, but most impressive are the smooth transitions between songs, showcasing an innate ability to tie together what is already a grand mix of genres.

Taking a moment to watch the trio as they play, we are reminded that this is still very much a jam-band, despite delving into a world of psych-pop with this year’s standout album Merriweather Post Pavillion. With no crowd interaction and continual swaying, pulsing and in the case of Tare, some Thom Yorke fashioned head moves, its well over 30 minutes (and just 4 songs) before there is a break in sound. Already we’ve travelled through atmospheric, carnival, jungle and chaos, and while for some it has been a seamless journey of continual ebbs and flows, for the majority of the static revellers it seems the most notable part of the set so far is the absence of any Merriweather material. Undoubtedly there are a number of unfamiliar tracks – three throughout the night are taken from last months’ digitally released Fall Be Kind EP – but it feels as though everyone is waiting for some grand moment to occur, which simply is not how the Collective work. However, with a spotlight on the dinner-plate eyes of the haunting mermaid the masses are pleased when a thundering drumming crescendo introduces the buzzing Summertime Clothes, the sweetly sung – œI want to walk around with you’ enticing the first sing-a-long from the crowd.

Sadly the interest returns to a minimum throughout Lablackely Dress and another newie Bleed, the unfamiliar textures and distortions perhaps too avant-garde for many with an obvious increase in chatting and trips to the bar. However as the tinkling introduction of My Girls slowly builds the room transforms, the euphoric – œHEYYYY’ impossible to refuse and even instigating some sudden crowd surging. Surprisingly it’s the only song of the evening that actually feels flat from the bands’ end, the rare opportunity for some added stage presence ignored. But the group ploughs through, a stunning choral prelude continuing through Also Frightened bringing us the closest we get all evening to a moment of heavenly transcendence. A marathon first ending comprising of Fireworks and Lion in a Coma can only be described as epic, before the encore of Lady Chocolate and Brothersport bring things to an end; the latter surprisingly percussive live, the jungle drums and jumping harmonies leavings us with the perfect closer.

Walking away from the Tivoli, the lingering thought is simply: what just happened? It’s been a night without many key moments and yet we’re walking away feeling completely exhausted and strangely satisfied. While it’s difficult to find errors on the band’s behalf, the evening was not quite – œWow’. Dogged by hype? Perhaps. Worth the wait? Absolutely.