Re: Arcade Fire - LA 5/29/07

Thank for the review.
Thanks to Craig's List, it looks as though I'll see 'em in Berkeley this
Friday.
I'll look forward to sharing my thoughts.
After living with FUNERAL for a couple of years...and being head over heels
aboun NEON BIBLE, Friday can't get here soon enough!


"HalS007" <HalS007@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1180506636.776759.260060@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Here's one I owe to RMAS. Thanks to Steve and everyone else who
pumped up Arcade Fire a few months back. I had seen them on Letterman
doing Rebellion back when they were promoting Funeral and really liked
it. I also was, of course, aware of Wake Up because of the Vertigo
tour. But a couple of months back, after everyone was touting them
here, I went and bought Neon Bible and thought it was fantastic. So I
then bought the first album, which I also thought was fantastic.
Nothing on those albums, however, could have prepared me for what I
saw tonight.

I am blown away. BLOWN AWAY.

I am going back tomorrow night for the second and final night in LA,
not to mention the many times in the future I am sure I will be seeing
this band.

Absolutely incredible stuff. During a run towards the end of the main
set starting with (Antichrist Television Blues) and finishing up with
Rebellion and Keep The Car Running to end the set, my heart was
pounding with excitement. Rebellion was so powerful, it must have
been like seeing Born To Run in 1977 or 1978.

They had a small GA pit where the first four rows normally are. I was
in Row A right behind the pit, there was a gap between the small pit
and the seats, and I had a perfect view of the band the entire night.
It was really breathtaking, the energy that goes into the
performance. Most of all, I could not get over that not only is Win
Butler a magnetic performer the likes of Bruce, Bono, etc. but his
wife is electrifying. She's all over the stage. During one song, she
played keyboard, zylephone, sang back-up, ran around dancing, playing
with the audience in the pit...and then the next song she's kicking
ass on drums. It was remarkable. On album, I wasn't a huge fan of In
The Backseat and I thought it was fantastic live.

The rest of the band is right up there with Win and Regine. They are
tight as can be.

I went in with high expectations, I figured they would be good,
there's certainly enough hype. I'm sure people thought the same thing
in 1975 when Bruce was on the cover of Time and Newsweek. He proved
that there was no amount of hype that could actually describe the real
thing, they are heading into that kind of territory. I will say this,
they are already one of the best live acts I've ever seen.

They played all of the second album except for Windowsill and Black
Wave/Bad Vibrations. The show opened with Black Mirror and No Cars
Go. From the first album, they played Neighborhoods 1, 2, and 3. All
were great, especially Tunnels. They closed with Wake Up. As you
would expect from any great live act, all of the songs were better
live.

If I had one quibble, 85 minutes was definitely a little short. I
would figure once they have more material, the shows will get longer.
The other thing is that the main set ending tonight with Rebellion and
Keep The Car Running was so off the charts good that the short encore
of My Body is A Cage (one of my favorites off Neon Bible) and Wake Up,
while excellent, felt a little anti-climatic.

The crowd was amazing, especially for an LA crowd. When they did
slower stuff like Ocean of Noise, you could have heard a pin drop. No
beer runs as far as I could tell. People were really into it.

That's my report. A giddy one, I know. :) I will be back tomorrow
with a report on night 2...



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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Arcade Fire - LA 5/29/07
    ... then bought the first album, which I also thought was fantastic. ... Rebellion and Keep The Car Running to end the set, ... and I had a perfect view of the band the entire night. ... During one song, she ...
    (rec.music.artists.springsteen)
  • Arcade Fire - LA 5/29/07
    ... then bought the first album, which I also thought was fantastic. ... Rebellion and Keep The Car Running to end the set, ... During one song, she ... they are already one of the best live acts I've ever seen. ...
    (rec.music.artists.springsteen)