Coachella 2011: aftermath thirteen, The Arcade Fire

This was my first time seeing Canadian heavy weights The Arcade Fire.

I suppose that I had a feel for what these guys would sound like, but I had no idea that they would be so explosive. They were everything I wanted and needed at 11:00pm on Saturday at Coachella.

Spending an entire day soaking up every band humanly possible is quite draining. So the expectation of lasting through to the closer set is actually quite difficult. Furthermore, them being at the main stage is another difficult feat. The Arcade Fire were the only headliner that I actually stayed throughout. The day prior I stayed out late to hear Gayngs play a late night slot, but that's all I toughed it for.

I was most impressed with the Arcade Fire's sincerity. Part way through the show frontman Win Butler very earnestly said to the crowd: "If someone told me in 2002 that we'd be opening for Animal Collective, I'd tell you to shut up."

Furthermore, I was impressed with myself and just how much of their material I was actually familiar with. I first got into the Arcade Fire because they were all we played in a record store I worked at, way back when we'd play albums all the way through. There's something about knowing a record from start to finish, in my later  years of working at a record store they'd play five albums on random. Heartbreaking.

But from that familiarity with Funeral I really started to dip into their music. There's something really interesting about that transition from feeling neutral towards an album and moving towards loving just because it's familiar. I feel like Tegan and Sara's So Jealous and Funeral are two albums that won my heart over that way.

I remember a man in his mid-forties asked if we had Funeral on hand, and I was a little confused why a man of his age would be interested in an under the radar album like Funearl. He later told me that he read good things about Funeral in the Globe and Mail. That was back in 2004, I'd say the Globe's prediction was right.

It's pretty impressive to think just how great of a leap the Arcade Fire has really made in just three albums. (three SOLID albums) And through this consistent quality they've more than likely exploded the way they have.

They have a really polished live sound, one that really feels comfortable and close, even in front of twenty five thousand people. It felt more intimate than a show at the Sound Academy would feel any day.

There was big talk about a black box that was lowered from above the stage. I was in a position that I could see this box fully three quarters of the way through the set. As I predicted, balloons would be lowered onto the crowd, but it was the amount that I wasn't ready for. There must've been over one hundred large balls (beach ball-like) dropped onto the audience during the band's performance of "Wake Up". For a good three songs people were bashing them around like a massive group volleyball game. Eventually the balls even began changing colours as it turns out they were sensitive to bass sounds.

Just watching this video gives me the quivers:

After the band first left the stage people decided to hold tight to the balls as they felt the need to keep them as souvenirs. It was only later that someone pointed out how much they obstructed one's view of the live show. Fortunately, I was far enough back to have a pretty decent view despite the surrounding stationary balls.

The Arcade Fire put on a serious spectacle both visually and musically. After seeing this performance, I vowed never to miss an Arcade Fire gig that I had an opportunity to watch.