Arcade Fire
I went to see Arcade Fire at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on Saturday night. I expected a great show, I love both of their albums, particularly their debut, "Funeral," and their gigs get doting reviews. Also, my younger brother raved about their Dublin show a few months back. I had high expectations.
The Greek, as it is known locally, is in a magnificent location. A small outdoor amphitheater, perched on the hills above the beautiful U.C. Berkeley campus, it is big enough to lend a sense of occasion, and small enough to have some intimacy. Given the power of the show, the fact that this was the last night of their North American tour, and the wave of success that Arcade Fire are riding, it is probably true that this was the last chance to see them in a small(ish) venue.
It is true that I can sometimes be accused of hyperbole (shock and horror!), especially when it comes to music I like. However, all of the folks that went with me to the concert (including one who had never listened to the band before), agreed that this might have been the best live rock band that they had ever seen. Honestly, I've seen some fantastic gigs, I saw Bruce Springsteen in the Oakland Arena once, and he was spectacular. Although not a huge U2 fan, they are also excellent live. I saw them in Portland a few years back, and I have great respect for Bono's showmanship. However both these artists have pretty choreographed shows. Arcade Fire manage to make you believe that anything can happen during the show. They pull beautiful music out of a cauldron of chaos. There were ten people on stage at all times, changing and swapping instruments between and during songs. It seems everyone in the band sings simultaneously and is a multi-instrumentalist. The effect is graceful and delirious all at once. Anthemic rock music, not created by volume and power chords, but by layering violins, multiple keyboards, and a minimum of three guitars. More than all that, there was the utter commitment of everyone in the band. They played like their lives depended on it. Only Springsteen puts this much into a show, and there were ten of them.
They finished the show with "Wake Up" a song from the "Funeral Album." It starts as a strident rock song, and mutates delightfully into a Motownesque rave-up at the end. The song has a catchy 14 note coda, and as the band left the stage, you could still hear it. At first I thought it was a loop playing through the speakers, then I realised that the entire audience was gently singing the melody. As we walked back through the Berkeley campus, every so often you would hear someone among the happy crowd softly humming it to themselves.
I also discovered that cell phones are the new lighters. We were pretty high up in the theater and every time I looked down, I could see a sea of blue glowing cell phones held aloft.
* They are doing a European tour this summer and will be playing in Ireland, at the Oxegen festival, along with Queens Of The Stone Age (another fave of mine and a great live act).
The Greek, as it is known locally, is in a magnificent location. A small outdoor amphitheater, perched on the hills above the beautiful U.C. Berkeley campus, it is big enough to lend a sense of occasion, and small enough to have some intimacy. Given the power of the show, the fact that this was the last night of their North American tour, and the wave of success that Arcade Fire are riding, it is probably true that this was the last chance to see them in a small(ish) venue.
It is true that I can sometimes be accused of hyperbole (shock and horror!), especially when it comes to music I like. However, all of the folks that went with me to the concert (including one who had never listened to the band before), agreed that this might have been the best live rock band that they had ever seen. Honestly, I've seen some fantastic gigs, I saw Bruce Springsteen in the Oakland Arena once, and he was spectacular. Although not a huge U2 fan, they are also excellent live. I saw them in Portland a few years back, and I have great respect for Bono's showmanship. However both these artists have pretty choreographed shows. Arcade Fire manage to make you believe that anything can happen during the show. They pull beautiful music out of a cauldron of chaos. There were ten people on stage at all times, changing and swapping instruments between and during songs. It seems everyone in the band sings simultaneously and is a multi-instrumentalist. The effect is graceful and delirious all at once. Anthemic rock music, not created by volume and power chords, but by layering violins, multiple keyboards, and a minimum of three guitars. More than all that, there was the utter commitment of everyone in the band. They played like their lives depended on it. Only Springsteen puts this much into a show, and there were ten of them.
They finished the show with "Wake Up" a song from the "Funeral Album." It starts as a strident rock song, and mutates delightfully into a Motownesque rave-up at the end. The song has a catchy 14 note coda, and as the band left the stage, you could still hear it. At first I thought it was a loop playing through the speakers, then I realised that the entire audience was gently singing the melody. As we walked back through the Berkeley campus, every so often you would hear someone among the happy crowd softly humming it to themselves.
I also discovered that cell phones are the new lighters. We were pretty high up in the theater and every time I looked down, I could see a sea of blue glowing cell phones held aloft.
* They are doing a European tour this summer and will be playing in Ireland, at the Oxegen festival, along with Queens Of The Stone Age (another fave of mine and a great live act).
Labels: Arcade Fire, Music
posted by John Mc at 5:18 PM
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