You might have seen this concert too. And you might have watched it on Youtube directed by Terry Gillian. And, if this is you, you’ve probably seen it better than me. But still, I was there.
Arcade Fire were the #1 in my list of “bands I’d kill to see live” and, after losing my spot for the August 4th show, I bought my ticket. Never been happier in spending money before. I do not like arena shows, but, after the impossibility of going to Montreal to see them at the Osheaga Festival, I had no other choice. So here we go with my arena’s complaints.
I was sitting. I had seat with a number, in a numbered row of a numbered section in a numbered gate. And my jealousy for whomever got the pit’s tickets was driving me insane. My friend, who was watching it on Youtube, almost stopped chatting with me after my exhausting complaints. On each seat (which was undoubtedly comfortable, but, hey, is it me or my grandma going to see the Arcade Fire?) a nice "MSG Inside powered by Time Out" copy was left. And not even one word was spent on the supporting bands. Not even for Spoon. Should I be happy that a band like Arcade Fire made it to embrace the big audience? I guess. Should I be worried their originality and independence might get lost on the way? Probably.
The Arcade Fire appears on stage in front of a gigantic scenography depicting an highway and a screen on a billboard. If it wasn’t of massive dimensions, it would seem almost simple. We all stood up and, at least I, tried to awkwardly dancing in my personal 3 squared feet. Owen Pallett - whose opening act was a delight to watch - joined them for their set. Win Butler introduced the band with Ready to Start, new single that has been downloadable for the past few weeks. It was clear that the audience was familiar with the new tune, but it was Neighborhood #2 (Laika) to raise higher pitches. Funeral songs seemed to be still the favorite among the audience, determined also by the fact that only 3 songs from Neon Bible were performed. Their performance was passionate, dramatic, and theatrical. Régine Chassagne switched from singing to the tambourine, from the drums to the piano, with a silvery fairylike dress, as Richard Parry, Jeremy Gara and the unstoppable William Butler did (without the silver dress). Her reedy voice does get partially lost in the live performance but her looks and moves make her one of the most enchanting artists I have ever seen. They played an, at least for me, unexpected Crown of Love, which has never been one of my favorite Funeral’s songs for its exceeding melancholia, but, maybe because it was the perfect break of the set, it sounded beautiful and its lyrics, possibly for the first time, just went through me. We Used to Wait with its loss theme and the final rhythmic climax it’s a perfect Arcade Fire song as you would expect it, but Win Butler’s rock attitude was questionable. Diving into the audience and climbing the fences seemed as much as a lack of originality as a waste of the song. The other Butler instead danced and run on the stage from one side to the other during Rebellion with a tom drum in a musical rapture that just made us all feel a little insane and defeated by the music. Will 1 - Win 0. Month of May was a punkish-surf-rock experience a little different from what the Arcade Fire have made us accustomed to, but sounded more like “hey, we can play hard rock, too!” than anything truly refreshing. And then the encore was on with Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) and the fake snow came down from gigantic cannons. Why they did it? probably for the webcast in order to make everything so theatrical as Gilliam and the Arcade Fire like it. And I could tell you how cheesy and waltdisneish that was, but instead I cried. Because Tunnels tells about a magical place and that is all the Arcade Fire are about, depicting magical and imperfect and mortal fairy tales. And they sung in chorus and their voices broke and I just jumped and chanted. During Sprawl II (Mountains beyond Mountains) Régine and her quavering voice danced over the odd rhythm, until Butler stopped claiming “this is a live show!” because the drum-machine “fucked-up” (as it did in the beginning of the show), and started their song again. And Régine danced and sung and Win went to kiss her on the cheek. As everyone knew, the end came with Wake Up.
Arcade Fire play as if it is their first and their last show, they scream and run and dance and laugh and smile and you just wanna be there with them. I know it’s lame, but it is the best description I could come up with. My doubts about the show are mainly related to the new record, which has not the power nor the drama of Funeral or Neon Bible, while their live act has been a pleasure to watch. You should undoubtedly see the Arcade Fire, because you want to sweat and run, but maybe you can only manage to bump into other sweaty beings while listening to stories about the snow, the tunnels, the people you love and the ones you’ll never see again. I know you do.
What did my friend say?
"Sky is the limit for Arcade Fire. Some people may think that once you hit Madison Square Garden you are at the peak of your career. I feel Arcade Fire will take it even further. Sky  is  the  limit !"