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Arcade Fire blazes at Civic Center
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Arcade Fire has already released the year’s best rock record, “Neon Bible,” and Tuesday night at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, the band — 10 members strong — put on a blazing show that married dark cynicism with exuberant idealism.
The show lasted for about 90 minutes, drawing from “Bible” and its excellent predecessor, “Funeral,” two albums that the fans obviously knew intimately. Win Butler, Arcade Fire’s lumbering and occasionally severe frontman, seemed delighted to be here in Atlanta, thanking the audience profusely and mentioning that a dollar from every ticket had gone to charity.
Good vibes carried throughout the show, and they grew as the show progressed and the material grew more and more cathartic. This is impressive considering that Arcade Fire songs tend to grapple with disaffection and fear, emotions that seem to have been boiling for a long time.
But the Arcade Fire does not believe in moping. It believes in waking up, banding together, turning darkness into light. Sometimes the band communicates these messages with words — song lyrics, of course, but also stage comments. (Near the end of the set, Butler encouraged far away fans to pour down the aisles and get closer to the stage.)
Other times, the band communicates through surging melodies and crashing rhythms and wordless, full-throated vocals. Like U2 and Bruce Springsteen, the Arcade Fire has a rare gift for creating a communion with its audience. The band may write songs about alienation. But out in the crowd, there was a palpable feeling of unity.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Categories: Pop Music
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By Marc
May 2, 2007 8:44 AM | Link to this
Amazing Show I have rarely seen an audience flow and grow with a band like last night. Even the drag-a-longs seemed to give a few glances around after the third or fourth song and jump to their feet and scream Arcade Fire Rocks!!
The energy was amazing. If you ever get the chance to see this band, do so.
By Byron
May 2, 2007 8:52 AM | Link to this
That was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in Atlanta. Weird venue for a rock concert…AF seemed like they would have been a perfect fit for the old school Tabernacle instead, but whatever, at least the acoustics were excellent.
As for the show…phenomenal. The final 6 songs or so….I don’t think I’ve ever heard a crowd surge with such applause and emotion. Just a great show from an awesome band.
By modestd
May 2, 2007 9:25 AM | Link to this
One of the most fantastic shows I have ever seen before in my entire life! I had been waiting for this for almost 2 years. Well worth the freaking wait!! The National was not too shabby either.
By modestd
May 2, 2007 9:25 AM | Link to this
One of the most fantastic shows I have ever seen before in my entire life! I had been waiting for this for almost 2 years. Well worth the freaking wait!! The National was not too shabby either.
By modestd
May 2, 2007 9:26 AM | Link to this
One of the most fantastic shows I have ever seen before in my entire life! I had been waiting for this for almost 2 years. Well worth the freaking wait!! The National was not too shabby either.
By modestd
May 2, 2007 9:27 AM | Link to this
Sorry…..
By Crispo Jones
May 2, 2007 10:43 AM | Link to this
Arcade Fire was great! SO WAS THE NATIONAL
By NF
May 2, 2007 10:53 AM | Link to this
The National are coming back on June 13th to The Earl. Better get my tickets now. After last night they will go quick and that place is pretty small…
By Sean Demery
May 2, 2007 1:25 PM | Link to this
Last night at the Civic Center was one of those “Holly Crap” experiences. The Arcade Fire are sooooo good for so many different reasons. The last Holly Crap experience I had at a show was in San Francisco in ‘06 when I last saw this band!
I hope the same for you when you hear the album.
By quake
May 2, 2007 1:41 PM | Link to this
They were stunning. Just stunning. I hope its not another two years before they come back.
By Jim Tiller
May 2, 2007 2:55 PM | Link to this
Crowd: I honestly thought that there was an echo in the venue for the first half of the show, because backing vocals were coming from my left most of the time. It turned out to be some people singing…really well, actually. Even the upper deck of folks was really into it. The guy next to me was clapping (during the song, and to the beat – super fast). As much as I enjoyed it, I felt like everyone else was enjoying it even more. I/we had assumed that it would be the kind of show where everyone would remain sitting, but we stood and bopped our heads the whole time. Stage lights went on, crowd stood up, crowd stayed up.
Acoustically…sound: Even with 10 people on a relatively small stage, you still got the feeling that they played as a unit, and in my slurred words last night after the show, “better than the sum of their parts.” Most bands I’ve seen live have peaks of energy that coincide with guitar riffs or kick drum strikes, but in this case, for me, it was the backing vocals, which is a refreshing and distinguishing characteristic. Instrumentation was right on, too, but the vocals soared in excellent harmony amongst the band, as well as with the audience and venue itself (acoustics). Its funny b/c I could care less about the vocals in a lot of music, but theirs is essentially an extra (set of) instrument(s).
Visual stimulation: No one on the stage sat still. You wouldn’t know it from listening, but they were all rotating instruments, and I don’t mean someone would put a guitar down and pick up another. I mean one guy would play the drums for a while, then the chick would take his seat and he’d play something else. At least two people played the organ, drums, guitar(s), and keyboards. Two guys in the back right rotated out various brass instruments, including a frikin’ saxophone. There was a stand-up bass that was incorporated into a couple of songs. The two dudes on the left looked like extras from the Blue Man Group, banging on literally everything on their end of the stage at some point. During one song, it looked like two Tazmanian Devils with drumsticks. One of the violin chicks on the right was dancin’ and foot-stompin’ the whole time. At one point Win invited everyone to just rush the stage (which they did, even filling up the aisles on the side), and shortly afterwards, one of the band members (see Blue Man Group reference) was walking on a balcony ledge about 15 feet in the air, banging a drum in the air. Part of me wanted to close my eyes and just listen for a minute, but I never wanted to miss what was happening on-stage.
The “I Came to Hear ‘Keep the Car Running’ and ‘Intervention’” Factor: They didn’t play these until the end, but after the first song, I didn’t care. Every song was good, even the few slower ones. The ending trio was great, but if they’d stopped just before “…Running,” then I’d still be as impressed. Very powerful. They’re a package-deal, not just a band with a couple of hits and a bunch of filler.
Summary: It was a great show overall, and I’d see them again for sure, at double the price. It’s hard to make fair comparisons due to the venues, seats, etc., but for me, this show was right up there with Coldplay at Phillips.
By jb
May 2, 2007 3:06 PM | Link to this
speaking of sound…was it just me or was the sound a little on the low side last night? don’t know if it is the arcade fire’s fault or whether the civic center wouldn’t let them turn it up to 11.
great show regardless!
By JG
May 2, 2007 4:14 PM | Link to this
I had a feeling it was going to be one of the shows that just knocked your socks off even though I have only had the albums for a short time. It was great to see a crowd that grew more and more comfortable as the show went on because everyone in the building realized that they were experiencing something very unique and musically tight. I will see them again hopefully at a venue like the Fox. Many solid years lie ahead for these guys.