Arcade Fire @Enmore Theatre(22/01/2008)

Sat 26th Jan, 2008 in Gig Reviews

I arrived at the Enmore early to line-up as I was on the front floor and was adamant to get a spot right on the barrier. My girlfriend and I were 5th in line at 4pm and wondered if waiting for three hours was such a good idea but milk crates were salvaged so it was all good. We were treated to Arcade Fire’s complete soundcheck which sounded amazing from the street, behind closed doors. Then about half an hour later, to our complete surprise, the collective of Arcade Fire strolled ever so casually out of the Enmore Theatre front doors and walked past us sitting out front, simply waving and smiling to the few of us waiting for their evening show.

They were just so modest and good natured that it made me so happy to be seeing such a polite band play such grandiose music.

There was so much hype surrounding their shows I found it hard to sit still at times but the doors to the cafe finally swung open and we rushed down to the floor to claim our territory on the barrier, gazing across the vast stage full of the widest variety of instruments I’d seen onstage at once.

The DJ music ceased and the crowd screamed as Arcade Fire’s track started to play as we waited patiently for any signs of life from the side of the stage. The lights dimmed and the crowd simply exploded as the silhouettes of Montreal’s Arcade Fire floated across the stage and too their respective positions of the commencing chords of Wake Up which had the crowd singing and clapping in tune and in time (something which I find is very rare at concerts). This was a great introductory song and it just kept getting better from there with Keep The Car Running, Black Mirror and No Cars Go spellbinding the crowd into a state of pure euphoria.

The Well and The Lighthouse finally had Win getting those sitting upstairs to stand up as he said “I know you’ve got work tomorrow but let’s f—-ing go!”
_
The Age of Consent_ (New Order) cover being a highlight of the night for me. Not to mention the purely uplifting pre-encore medley of Funeral favourites Power Out and Rebellion (Lies) leaving the crowd completely speechless in a daze of awe and sheer pleasure and enjoyment!

Then after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, they appeared onstage to rapturous applause for an encore I won’t soon forget! Regine took the helm at the organ and started playing the first notes of Neon Bible’s Intervention and then came the closer, the first single from 2004’s Funeral; Laika which had almost everyone in the band play-fighting and hitting anything that could be used as percussion with vigorous intent. This included the trademark bike helmets, cymbals and after they failed Will and Richard jumped down onto the floor between the barrier and the stage and used the barrier to play on and then continued to hit eachother to the dismay of the security guards.

The final notes of Laika rang out across the theatre and that was it, the most energetic and hyped band of 2007 had just played a few metres away from me and I couldn’t be any happier!

No, they’re certainly not just another NME flavour of the week and yes, they most certainly live-up to the hype and expectation which surrounds them as one of the world’s best live bands.

Being on the barrier the sound was interesting as we were getting most of it from the foldback speakers at the front of the stage and at times it was hard to tell if the band was actually singing as the crowd sang along with such volume and passion to every song, not forgetting the handclapping that was essential in almost every song and instructed by the band.

We really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect set-list. I was handed a set-list from Will and had the a security guard pass me a drumstick, which Will and Richard used to drum on the barrier during Laika. It was such a spectacle to see how much energy they still had after a 90 minute set!

It was simply amazing!

They are not to be missed if you are going to any of the Big Days Out!

The set list was as follows:

WAKE UP
KEEP THE CAR RUNNING
BLACK MIRROR
NO CARS GO
HAITI
BLACK WAVE/BAD VIBRATIONS
NEON BIBLE
OCEAN OF NOISE
TUNNELS
THE WELL AND THE LIGHTHOUSE
HEADLIGHTS
ANTICHRIST TV BLUES
POWER OUT
REBELLION