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Seeing my #1 band for the 1st time
1 Nov 2007, 08:43
Wed 31 Oct – The Arcade Fire, Clinic, Wild Light
I was worried The Arcade Fire, the band I listen to more than anyone else, would disappoint. The venues on the current tour are massive, and they must be knackered from constant touring this year. I was even thinking that maybe the band is a bit too pretentious and a bit too serious (you don't get a lot of laughs in their songs, do you?)
But the band were really, really, really good.
To begin with the event special for those attending, by making it relevant to the night (Halloween) - with spooky songs on the tape before and after the gig. And they played the first song Black Mirror with Halloween masks on. I think Win had a surgeons mask, maybe borrowed from Clinic. The drummer had a mask AND seemed to have zombie makeup on, and what looked like a zombie blood-spattered shirt. With all this, they easily had the audience with them from the start - even in such a large venue.
The band also made it relevant to Nottingham, which was great for a band on such a big tour. Referring to the money going from ticket sales to charity, Win said that following the people of Nottingham's heritage (meaning Robin Hood), volunteers would be coming round and robbing our money!
As for their songs being overly serious, this didn't come across at all. The band has such energy and positivity, and most of them were grinning from ear to ear for the duration of the concert.
Their cover of Still Ill was unexpected, as I'd have thought they'd have only played it in Manchester. I wouldn't say it worked particularly well, but it was good to hear.
And they played Surf City Eastern Bloc, with Win saying they'd never played it live before. Really?! Again it was good to hear, but it's frankly a slow song that goes on a bit.
There were a couple more downsides to the gig. If I was any further back I'd have been narked that the big screen behind them was rarely used to show them in action. Therefore many people in the arena wouldn't have seen much. When the band was being filmed, it was mostly only the drummer you could see on the screen.
And then there was the bottling. Win got hit during a song with a bottle that was presumably thrown from the crowd. It instantly but a downer on things and, following a couple of further comments from Win about it, I thought the gig would have been spoilt by it.
But I needn't have worried. The Neighbourhood songs were great and No Cars Go in particular was pretty amazing - particularly with the wierd video looping behind them.
And then, for the second and final song of the encore (after Intervention), came Wake Up. And Win walked into, and sang from, the crowd for pretty much the whole song. Although it detracted a little from the rest of the band still on stage, it was quite something to see.
An incredible gig and highly recommended.
I was worried The Arcade Fire, the band I listen to more than anyone else, would disappoint. The venues on the current tour are massive, and they must be knackered from constant touring this year. I was even thinking that maybe the band is a bit too pretentious and a bit too serious (you don't get a lot of laughs in their songs, do you?)
But the band were really, really, really good.
To begin with the event special for those attending, by making it relevant to the night (Halloween) - with spooky songs on the tape before and after the gig. And they played the first song Black Mirror with Halloween masks on. I think Win had a surgeons mask, maybe borrowed from Clinic. The drummer had a mask AND seemed to have zombie makeup on, and what looked like a zombie blood-spattered shirt. With all this, they easily had the audience with them from the start - even in such a large venue.
The band also made it relevant to Nottingham, which was great for a band on such a big tour. Referring to the money going from ticket sales to charity, Win said that following the people of Nottingham's heritage (meaning Robin Hood), volunteers would be coming round and robbing our money!
As for their songs being overly serious, this didn't come across at all. The band has such energy and positivity, and most of them were grinning from ear to ear for the duration of the concert.
Their cover of Still Ill was unexpected, as I'd have thought they'd have only played it in Manchester. I wouldn't say it worked particularly well, but it was good to hear.
And they played Surf City Eastern Bloc, with Win saying they'd never played it live before. Really?! Again it was good to hear, but it's frankly a slow song that goes on a bit.
There were a couple more downsides to the gig. If I was any further back I'd have been narked that the big screen behind them was rarely used to show them in action. Therefore many people in the arena wouldn't have seen much. When the band was being filmed, it was mostly only the drummer you could see on the screen.
And then there was the bottling. Win got hit during a song with a bottle that was presumably thrown from the crowd. It instantly but a downer on things and, following a couple of further comments from Win about it, I thought the gig would have been spoilt by it.
But I needn't have worried. The Neighbourhood songs were great and No Cars Go in particular was pretty amazing - particularly with the wierd video looping behind them.
And then, for the second and final song of the encore (after Intervention), came Wake Up. And Win walked into, and sang from, the crowd for pretty much the whole song. Although it detracted a little from the rest of the band still on stage, it was quite something to see.
An incredible gig and highly recommended.
