Arcade Fire Rollcall/ New Album Discussion

[Justin Tonation]

LCD Soundsystem had twat: psyched 2 see @arcadefire tonite. miss those folks. such a good lp. a kick in the ass. maybe lcd need to make another one after all...

[sweetcell]

so?...

[Cock Van Der Palm]

Just got back from show.  1st time seeing them and I was very impressed.  Didn't live up to the hype but I don't think anybody could.  I was in the pavillion and thought the sound was a little muddy for the 1st couple songs.  Maybe my ears adjusted but the sound seemed to improve as the show went on.  Minor snafu on one of the new songs when drum machine tracks went bonkers.  Crowd was really into the show.  Anyway great show. 

Spoon was okay.  I like Spoon but they are a one trick pony....all starts to sound similar.

so?...

[runwhiteyrun06]

Just got back from show.  1st time seeing them and I was very impressed.  Didn't live up to the hype but I don't think anybody could.  I was in the pavillion and thought the sound was a little muddy for the 1st couple songs.  Maybe my ears adjusted but the sound seemed to improve as the show went on.  Minor snafu on one of the new songs when drum machine tracks went bonkers.  Crowd was really into the show.  Anyway great show. 

Spoon was okay.  I like Spoon but they are a one trick pony....all starts to sound similar.

so?...

I agree with most of what you said.

I was in the pit and the sound was pretty bad the first couple songs. It got better afterword but it was never that great, especially the vocal volume. But I think that can be attributed to being in the pit.

Great setlist.

The song they had to cut midway through due to the SNAFU was "Deep Blue" if I remember right.

It was my first time seeing them live and I really enjoyed it. The crowd loved it and Win has some great stage presence. I didn't really enjoy Spoon much, but I'm not a big fan to start with. I did feel bad for them as Arcade Fire made Spoon's performance look pretty shallow.

[chancegardener]

Gotta disagree with the comments on Spoon. It was my third time seeing them and they are getting better, and more engaging, all the time. They even brought the horns out for "Underdog". Very good Spoon performance.  My first time seeing AF and yes the sound was not great at first but improved. I had a swell view down in the pit, and the song on which the drum machine crapped out was "Half Light II", the one I wanted to hear most off the new album. But their take on the title song "Suburbs" was great, as were all the hits "No Cars Go", "Keep the Car Running", "wake Up", etc ... somebody supply the set list please.  But an overall high energy performance, even frantic at times, the band switiching instruments left and right. Good stuff.

[Mr.Whippy]

The song they had to abort due to the drum machine was Half Light II.  Bummer as that is probably my favorite new song.

I really liked the show, but the new stuff just doesn't ignite the audience the way the old stuff does, and that is a bit sad.  If the whole show had the energy level that is achieved when they play the Funeral stuff, it would be amazing. 

I feel like on the Neon Bible tour people were more into the new stuff.  Could be because that record had been out for a longer time.  I guess it is alot to feel people are going to be real familiar with material that just officially came out a few days ago.

[Firebutt McGee]

I like the new record on the first couple of listens. Both of Regine's lead vocal contributions are two of the obvious highlights to me. Rococo and Half Light II are also pretty killer.

I don't think anything is as straight for the jugular as "Windowsill" or "In the Backseat", but I'm fine with it. I think they just wanted to make a frantic album as a testament to the suburbs, and hey, it kinda works. It doesn't hurt that parts of it are way more fun than anything on Neon Bible or Funeral!

On the flipside, Sprawl I (Flatland) is laughably bad in it's theatrics.

The way he sings that line:

"Cops showing their lights
On the reflectors of our bikes
Said, do you kids knowwwwwwww what time it is?"

Uh, yeah. You keep at that, Win Butler.

(Edit: Oh, Regine's vocals are a lot like Kazu from Blonde Redhead's on this record to me. Not a bad thing!)

[imbecile]

I thought both bands were pretty good.  Arcade fire seemed to be on their game.   The sounds was generally a bit off (from the lawn).  They certainly put forth a lot of energy and the lawn was moving pretty good, well before he acknowledged us.

I made notes along the way on the phone and this is what i came up with for the setlist:

Ready to Start
Month of May
Tunnels
Well and the Lighthouse
Half Light II (aborted due to drum machine fuck up)
Laika
No Cars Go
Haiti
Sprawl II
Suburbs I
Suburbs II
Modern Man
Rococo
Intervention
We Used to Wait
Power Out
Rebellion
-Encore Break-
Keep the Car Running
Wake Up

[yohansen5b]

minus the very drunk, very high kids in the pit, i had a blast.  it was my first time seeing spoon and, while a lot of the material does tend to run together, it was a fun set.  i'm sure spoon may benefit from a smaller venue.  i had seen arcade fire at DAR a few years back and i would agree that show may have had more energy.  while i like 'the suburbs', it doesn't quite bring the energy as parts of 'funeral' or 'neon bible'.  that said, fantastic show last night. 

i can't have been the only one to have seen the very awkward bra scene, right?

there's also a special joy in watching a drum disintegrate in the band's hands while banging on it.

[runwhiteyrun06]

minus the very drunk, very high kids in the pit, i had a blast.  it was my first time seeing spoon and, while a lot of the material does tend to run together, it was a fun set.  i'm sure spoon may benefit from a smaller venue.  i had seen arcade fire at DAR a few years back and i would agree that show may have had more energy.  while i like 'the suburbs', it doesn't quite bring the energy as parts of 'funeral' or 'neon bible'.  that said, fantastic show last night. 

i can't have been the only one to have seen the very awkward bra scene, right?

there's also a special joy in watching a drum disintegrate in the band's hands while banging on it.

First, I have no idea how that one girls bra didn't fall off when her friend was holding her up. When Regine throw the other bra back that had been thrown on stage she threw it at that same girl I guess to tell her to cover up because that strapless one didn't look like it would hold.


I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't want to bitch, but the people in the pit were terrible. For Spoon I got stuck behind the biggest douche of all time. If you were in the center or left side of the pit you probably have a decent idea who I'm talking about. Then for Arcade Fire there was a big collection of fratty types who acted like it was their personal show and that they could do whatever the hell they wanted. My friend also almost got in a fight when this guy tried to bend over and force his way through the crowd to get to the front.

[azaghal1981]

The brotastic douchometer was very high at the Spoon club show I caught in March.

That is all I have to add here.

[yohansen5b]

First, I have no idea how that one girls bra didn't fall off when her friend was holding her up. When Regine throw the other bra back that had been thrown on stage she threw it at that same girl I guess to tell her to cover up because that strapless one didn't look like it would hold.


I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't want to bitch, but the people in the pit were terrible. For Spoon I got stuck behind the biggest douche of all time. If you were in the center or left side of the pit you probably have a decent idea who I'm talking about. Then for Arcade Fire there was a big collection of fratty types who acted like it was their personal show and that they could do whatever the hell they wanted. My friend also almost got in a fight when this guy tried to bend over and force his way through the crowd to get to the front.

yah, that girl looked like a bad accident waiting to happen.  i interpreted regine throwing the other bar at her as a not so subtle way of telling the girl to get dressed.  regine came from around the back of the keyboard to pick up the bra and aggressively throw it at the girl.  i don't think regine, nor anyone else in the band, was too impressed with the girl in the crowd.

i was roughly in the same area as you were in the pit (center-left in the pit).  was the douche the kid who took his very ugly hawaiian shirt off 3 songs in to AF?  i think i know the frat crowd you're talking about.  my favorite part: not only did they sneak in their own alcohol, they snuck in their own mixers.  

[runwhiteyrun06]

Yohan, you must have been really, really close to me.

You know exactly who I'm talking about.

The Hawaiian shirt guy was in front of me for Spoon and he kept moving around and blocking my view and then kept getting in my personal space. He also liked to yell a ton. I've never been in a fight but my urge to punch that douche in the face was soooooo high.

It was funny watching that whole douche group take swigs of Pepsi then of Bacardi. I was tempted to go tell security just to get Hawaiian guy kicked out. There was an elderly lady in the pit behind the shirtless dude at one point and he was completely oblivious to her. I was getting afraid that he was going to run into her and knock her over.

[yohansen5b]

Yohan, you must have been really, really close to me.

You know exactly who I'm talking about.

The Hawaiian shirt guy was in front of me for Spoon and he kept moving around and blocking my view and then kept getting in my personal space. He also liked to yell a ton. I've never been in a fight but my urge to punch that douche in the face was soooooo high.

It was funny watching that whole douche group take swigs of Pepsi then of Bacardi. I was tempted to go tell security just to get Hawaiian guy kicked out. There was an elderly lady in the pit behind the shirtless dude at one point and he was completely oblivious to her. I was getting afraid that he was going to run into her and knock her over.

holy shit, we must have been standing next to each other.  i was standing right next to the elderly lady and talked to her a couple times. me and my buddy moved her out of that dude's way.  i have tremendous respect for old people who can hold their own in the pit.  i didn't want that asshole ruining her time down there.  or, worse, get hurt.

i said something briefly to mr. douche but his response was the "It's GA, bro!".  while he does have a point, he also implicitly gave me permission to mess with him as it was, indeed, GA.  fortunately, he danced his way further up front to annoy other people.

[azaghal1981]

Was he wooing?
God I hate wooers.