So what's the consensus on Arcade Fire live?

here's a preview:

http://stream.qtv.apple.com/qtv/toolshed/merge/arcade_100.mov

of course that vid is on the more intense side of the spectrum. they can also be very pretty. In any case, theyre better live than on record imo, and thats saying a *lot* since their records are generally amazing.

They have lots of energy and many great moments but they are not what I'd call a polished live act. They're still learning the ropes and will probably be incredible in a few years with more experience. Fun and sloppy right now.

peace,
a

It was the kind of gig that makes you put the album on as soon as you get home, and then listen to it all the way to work in the morning.

Anyone going to the other UK shows is in for a treat.

i've got to cobble together a proper review for monday so i'm not going to go into too much detail here in case i'm, heh, accused of plagiarising myself. suffice it to say that any gig that involves a buck-toothed ginger lunatic clambering on the speaker stack to play percussion on the balcony, two violinists pawing at each other like alley cats, and a finale involving the band stepping down from the stage and walking through the audience scattering confetti is something a little bit special.

they segued "the power out" into "lies" and it was beautiful. they encored with "the back seat" and i, er, got something in my eye.

alba told me he'd heard them compared - here, maybe? - to OMD. as comparisons go it's not immediately obvious, but it's spot-on: the strained, impassioned yelping; the terminal uncoolness; the instrument-swapping; the absolute conviction and power behind the songs.

all things considered, they were exquisite. i wish i had more than 250 fucking words to do them justice in the review.

er ... i don't know. i didn't bother to see them. now i feel bad, but ... the drinking of beer and the discussing of vital matters of state (er, sort of) seemed more pressing at the time.

It was a friend of mine, who lives on the French Riviera.

Also, they are on the new series of Later... this Friday!

At the time he'd declared them the best live band he'd seen in five years. He was right.

I enjoyed Final Fantasy as well.

excellent! will make sure mrs f and i are back from the pub for that.

but, you know, i'm a miserable curmudgeon.

i liked their show too, but i found the high-school drama club preciousness distracting. it's nice that they're enthusiastic, but...

I really love the Arcade Fire now; I don't think I've felt this passionately about a group or an artist since Pulp at their peak.

grimly - it's a pity I didn't get to meet you at the gig. When they marched out in parade I was trying to push through and follow, but alas I didn't want to get into a fight with some immobile glaswegians. THe band's been known to lead those small processions for tens of minutes, through amsterdam's back blocks, to kebab shops, down nighttime alleys, singing their songs, a little humming audience in tow.

that's brilliant. scary, but utterly brilliant.

i met them all trying to come back in to the hall in glasgow, which was hysterically funny. everybody kept slapping them on their backs and so on, and you could almost hear them thinking: "fuck off, let us get back for a beer."

...And then back to their place?

Wow, the nearest they got that last night was the singer stage diving - of which all I got to see was his shoes and his guitar occasionally coming to the surface.

one day i'm gonna have to brave the darker recesses of my record collection and go in search of these lost gems.

but i felt a huge surge of pride, watching them blow everyone else out of the studio. sure, they're freaks, but they're our freaks. i'm becoming quite obsessed by them.

the interesting thing was that they did "power out" and "rebellion (lies)": the two songs at the glasgow gig that were by far the most powerful, and involved by far the least fannying about. sure, they were still reaching for the stars, but they did tone down some of their japery and ... well, as i've said, i like them more when they're not embarrassing themselves.

after the show (the foo fighters also kicked ass) i flicked over and caught new order embarrassing themselves on jonathan ross. fuck me, they were dire. ana matronic guested; she was appalling, and seemed to be singing a different tune.

It's becoming a bit of a cliché to talk about soul and passion when discussing Arcade Fire, but there wasn't a dry eye in the house round ours when they really kicked into Rebellion (Lies). That they were able to put across so much of their fantastic live energy on telly was a real testament to their magic.

Was amused by Jools calling them "Arcade Power" after Power Out too, the berk.

Also had the misfortune to see New Order on Wossy. I kind of expected the rubbish vocals from Barney, but to hear Ana Matronic's reed thin, off-key and mouselike "live" vocal was distressing indeed. Not even karaoke standard, and had me reaching for the remote within seconds...

-- grimly fiendish

ahahah! I think that was a repeat, I've seen it before and it was almost Madonna-bad.

I saw them at a festival here. I was very curious about them having heard so many good things and really liking the album. Even though the tent was packed they just blew everyone away. First time I'd seen crowd surfing ;) One of the best gigs I've ever been to I think.

-beware of shitty quality-

their AOC makes perfect sense, though. thanks, ben and ned.

There was a moment about three-quarters of the way through Arcade Fire’s victorious show at the Hollywood Bowl last night – I think it was during “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” -- when lead singer Win Butler broke into an awestruck smile. He was looking out into the crowd, this mass of bouncing devotees who knew all the words to all their songs. It wasn’t a huge, toothy smile. Just a little grin of wonder, as though he’d just been whispered some particularly good news, or read a brilliant passage in a novel. I have a general idea of what he was thinking: “Whoa. Oh my god. Whoa.”

Raving about a live Arcade Fire show at this point is like writing about how cute kittens are. We know, we know. It’s like, how many superlatives can you pile on top of one another before the whole thing collapses? So let’s leave it at this. You know that feeling you get when a magical combination of notes transforms into a melody, travels into your ears, hits the sweet spot of your eardrums, passes into your brain and has a massive orgasm in your head? When everything – work sucks, I’m broke, I’m lonely, did I remember to feed the cats?, I think I have to go pee, maybe they need a cellist – vanishes and the music becomes you?

Those moments, even under the best of circumstances, usually last a few seconds before epiphany gives way to brainchatter and you’re back on planet Earth. Well, last night was tantric. At one point I stopped, looked up at the sky, and felt totally at one with the universe. A plane was passing overhead. It moved through a thin veil of clouds, disappeared, then reappeared. On another night, or at a different moment, big frickin’ deal. Last night, a plane moving gracefully through the sky was as beautiful as a haiku, seemed designed for the moment. It was an odd, otherworldly sensation, like I was, in Butler's words, “between the click of the light and the start of the dream.” Whoa. Oh my god. Whoa.

Where does music come from? Why does it come, and to what end? How can one band touch heaven while a million others can barely touch their toes? Ah, sweet mystery. If you were there, chances are you get it. If you weren’t, or have never seen them, forget it, you wouldn’t understand. But I’ll say this: if you’re a jazz fan, imagine witnessing firsthand a John Coltrane solo. A classical nut: you’re in Rachmaninoff’s living room while he’s at the piano. You’re driving Hank Williams around while in the back seat he’s working out the lyrics to “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” Dylan in the basement with the Band. James Brown rehearsing cues with the Famous Flames. Patti Smith at CBGB. The Clash at the Bond.

The Arcade Fire at the Hollywood Bowl.

Hyperbole? Perhaps. But you know what? Kittens are adorable no matter how often you say it. And the Arcade Fire ruled the universe last night. Whoa. Oh my god. Whoa.

(Oh yeah, and LCD Soundsystem opened. They were excellent. On any other night with any other band, they’d have stolen the show. But last night wasn’t any other night. And we missed Wild Light, but wouldn't wish the first slot on that double bill on our worst enemy.)

This looked like a lot of fun:

http://www.prefixmag.com/blog/video-arcade-fire-performs-with-springsteen/7532