For anyone not yet aware: this band is incredible. They exude an unnatural level of contagious energy through the entire set, all 8 of them wielding a panoply of instruments and skill.
Friends who had, apparently, been dragged to the show by their significant others asked me before the show what kind of band Arcade Fire were. I said, "folky new wave," and now, having seen them live and not just heard their records, I think that's fair, though I might've added energetic and atmospheric to the description.
The opener, "Ready to Start," from the award-winning album The Suburbs (their 3rd), set the pace for the night and the song closed out with an extended jam I ddn't expect from such a "songy" band. Not that they're particularly jammy, but they are great live, and allow many of their songs to breathe more in that setting. I wish the room they'd been playing in hadn't owned the most cavernous echo of any live music venue in history, but the band's greatness overshadowed the poor acoustics.
Another of the new songs, "Modern Man," had a distinct Talking Heads flavor, satirizing the "quiet desperation" of suburban life while somehow glorifying it. Nearly everyone can relate to lines like "In line for a number."
"Intervention," a desperately bitter but beautiful track from 2007's "Neon Bible," was a late-in-the-game surprise, and by the time the first encore came "Keep the Car Running," I had decided that, though their brand of social commentary is somewhat derogatory gospel, merely knowing that you have a problem is hope enough for recovery. I came away a believer.
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