Arcade Fire; Burn Up The Stage

The Pacific Coliseum was alive with the sweeping sounds of Arcade Fire this past evening. The opener featured the Tucson born country conglomerate with a Mexican tint in Calexico, with a bit of a yawn worthy performance. Backing the indie headliners set was a city highway scene, with a billboard and street lights as accompaniment. The overall feel of the night was pure exhilaration, truly a masterful performance.

Walking into the venue it was a little lackluster. The masses weren’t clambering to get in, most entrances lacked any line at all. Once heading out on to the floor it was a mandatory sit in. The security were advising, all, they had to remain on their posteriors until the opening act took stage. As we waited there was almost no anticipatory tension. The huddled, and seated, group just waited and stared at the empty canvas that hung in front of them. Was it a feeling of blah, or perhaps complete relaxation; hard to decipher.

When the members of Calexico started to filter on the platform, the people leaped from their positions and ran to fence. The mood went from patience to urgency in a split second. Without too much of an intro, the musical appetizer roared into a semi-sweet display. The seven piece Mexican flavored, rockers were no where near filling enough for this starving throng. The drove was looking for magic and did not get it in these guys.

From there quick jaunt, they were able to cover the better part of a dozen songs. The only hook to keep you interested were the trumpets. Even with their south of the border tinge it was not nearly enough to make any song memorable. The band mates took turns switching between the various instruments. Vocals were interesting but unaffected. The guitar was smooth, but too contemporary. It just wasn’t the flock to appreciate such a style. Many were bobbing their heads in rhythm but it felt almost sympathetic. It was like the Eagles were reborn but were raised in El Salvador, just a little mellow for the indie hipsters present.

As the crew setup for the headliners, the real jockeying took place. As the floor became swollen with the thick black rimmed glasses of fanatical Fire lovers, the temperature began to rise. Without warning the lights extinguished and the octo-member group passed to the stage. Their grins were toothier and were packed with even more excitement then the musical connoisseurs before them. This band is as humble and talented as they come.

With an explosion of enthusiasm Arcade Fire delved into a solid set of new and old. Touching on numbers from all three albums, Funeral, Neon Bible and the brand new The Suburbs. It seemed like every soul in the house new the words to all the songs. The entire night was one giant sing along. Husband and wife team of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne were the catalysts for the rest of their team. They poured a playful passion into every breath and beat put forth.

The rest of the group were all smiles and even when they were not playing. At any point that a members instrument was not needed during the piece, they still grabbed something and rapped to the rhythm with feverish dedication. The cement ground at front of the stage was alive with fanatical energy. Sweating and pushing through one another while still maintaining a rhythmic connection, it was awe inspiring. With very little to say between tracks, the entire set felt like one continuous song. When one would finish they would always have someone still playing to carry them over into the next; beautiful.

The band played through a short set of about an hour and a quarter then came out for a three song encore. This was one of the best concert experiences of the year. Mr.Butler was able to come down from the stage on several instances and swat his lanky arm through his fans and toss out high fives. At the end of the show Régine and the rest of the crew followed suit and passed out there share of hand shakes and grinned greetings. It was refreshing to see such modest and whole-hearted thankfulness.

This band has an ever expanding cult following and it was proven to Vancouver last night, why that is. Everything this group touches turns to gold, they put poetry into music and hypnotic realism is brought to life. Without out a doubt they are the band to see. Arcade Fire is the music aficionado’s live band.

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Tagged as: arcade fire, Pacific Coliseum, review