Aracde Fire 5/20

[jc4prez]

Raw emotional energy. Ten human beings giving every ounce of energy in their bodies to create a wave of noise that forces people to one of two reactions; dancing or crying. Seeing the Arcade Fire perform is like riding an emotional roller coaster. A ride that I had the pleasure of experiencing on their last of three nights at the Chicago Theatre.

 

The show began with the "Funeral" track "Wake Up". Like a wave that slowly builds this song starts off slow with powerful lyrics. As it builds to an upbeat jam the wave comes crashing down sweeping up the audience and never letting go for an hour and a half. For the entire show the audience was on its feet entranced by lyric and melody.

 

When describing the Arcade Fire's live performance many have referenced Bruce Springsteen. This comparison is not far off; many of the songs start of with simple instrumentation that crescendo with pulsating beats that one can't help but dance too; much like early Springsteen (think "Keep The Car Running and "Born To Run" or "NIght"). Both also speak from the perspective of the working man. The main difference I would say comes lyrically while Springsteen serves as more of a dreamer Win Butler (lyricist) is more of a realist.

 

The Arcade Fire's songs deal with human emotions in relation to the world around us. While "Funeral" dealt more with relationships and community "Neon Bible" aims itself a the heart of the worlds problems (religion and politics) and the disconnect much of society feels because of them. Because of these passionate lyrics their is a spirit, an unseen energy that you'll never find at a Bruce Springsteen concert.

 

Most of the set came from "Neon Bible"; all but "Black Waves/Bad Vibrations" were played. Being as though the band is only touring off their second album most of "Funeral" was played as well. The renditions were pretty straightforward; which is my only complaint. Knowing that the setlist lays pretty stagnant from night to night is always a disappointing discovery. That said is does provide the ability for bands to get their performance to be perfect. This practice defiantly helped the band pull of the awesome transition between "Neigborhood #3 (Power Out)" and Rebellion (Lies)"(this was the set closer). As the song grew to a close it was broken down to its most primal; drums and bass. The beat slowly picked up as the band filled back in a new key. Although an impressive closer this is something The Grateful Dead could have done on the fly.

 

At the end of the day though the Arcade Fire's performance is really all about their "performance". The energy that entrances the crowd is not just stemming from the music but from the bands actions. Seeing ten human beings working towards a solid sound is surely something to see. Obviously all parts aren't required at the same time so instead of standing around and twiddling their thumbs band members toss their equipment in the air, run around the stage doing a variety of things to pass the time till their "part" comes up.

 

I'll defiantly be going to them next on their next trek to Chicago. The atmosphere that the Arcade Fire create is as close as a rock hall can be to a church. Their performance is all heart and soul; by the end of the show the entire band looked ready to pass out from exhaustion.

[solace]

 

all 3 shows were fantastic

 

my favorite was Friday, followed every so closely by Sunday

[Dreamin']

I saw them under the stars at Deer Lake Park on Thursday. The stage was set up in front of the lake (I regret leaving my camera at home) and it looked like the 10,000 or so people on the lawn stood throughout the performance. Win remarked that he was glad to have a break from playing theatres. Too many great moments to mention, but My Body Is a Cage was definitely one of the highlights. If I remember correctly, Rebellion was the "recessional" and then they returned for an encore which ended with Wake Up.

 

This was my fourth AF show (my first was the Sasquatch Festival, almost two years ago to the day) and somehow they just keep getting better.