Each time through our fair city, Arcade Fire’s pulpit gets a little higher, their congregation grows a little bigger (read: prettier), the surrounding hysteria spirals more furiously. But the band aims for the intimate, which means Win wants you in the aisles, to crash the stage, to realize that “there’s only like four security guards… what can they do?” But it was Radio City Music Hall, after all, and the ushers weren’t having it. (United Palace was another story.)
So last night was the inaugural evening of the High Line Festival, and though Mr. David Bowie was in the house (spotted milling about), we didn’t see him on stage. Bummer. Damn mimes, so unreliable! What we did see instead was a massive band on a tiered platform, a movable pipe organ, the brothers Butler taking turns mingling in the crowd, and a trumpeter blowing from the rafters. More so than most, as Judson reminded, this band needs crowd-love to burn — and the Funeral songs always incite the riot. Favorite moment? The crowd keeping the wordless melody to “Rebellion (Lies)” alive through set break. Least favorite moment? $8 vodka tonics. Better than Hiro, at least.
And don’t forget about the National, who played to a mostly-empty-but-gradually-filling hall and kicked much ass. Matt was limping and had to fall to his stool after pouring himself into “Mr. November” (shades of Julian when we saw the Strokes and the White Stripes there in ‘02), but the crowd compensated by standing for him, in applause at set’s end. The National have five shows at Bowery at the end of May, so we’ll save our gushing about them for then. After the jump, both bands setlists and a plethora of AF pics. Enjoy ‘em.
ARCADE FIRE SETLIST
01 “Keep The Car Running”
02 “No Cars Go”
03 “Haiti”
04 “Black Mirror”
05 “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)”
06 “In The Backseat”
07 “My Body Is A Cage”
08 “The Well And The Lighthouse”
09 “Ocean Of Noise”
10 “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”
11 “(Antichrist Television Blues)”
12 “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”
13 “Rebellion (Lies)”
—-
14 “Intervention”
15 “Wake Up”
THE NATIONAL SETLIST
01 “Secret Meeting”
02 “Mistaken For Strangers”
03 “Slow Show”
04 “Abel”
05 “Start A War”
06 “Squalor Victoria”
07 “Apartment Story”
08 “Fake Empire”
09 “Mr. November”
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yessss, i was waiting for this update.
equally amusing was seeing a tiny, messenger-bag toting guy get hauled out by 3 burly security men.
not so amusing was being barked at by similarly burly men 5 times my size and then sheepishly heading back.
epic show! i got a little misty.
I know what y’all are thinking…
WHERE CAN I BUY FINGERLESS HURDY-GURDY GLOVES LIKE REGINE’S?
(Check your local hurdy-gurdy supplies store?)
Is this whole thing still going on?
Who’s the new violinist?
What kind of camera were these, and all the pics you provide, taken with??? Do you like it? I’m looking for a new one.
hot damn i want a hurdygurdy. why are all the boys in arcade fire so … offbeat cute?? three weeks until berkeley!
violinist’s name is marika i think… beyond that no clue.
Arcade Fire: A Neon Bible Study
By David Buckna
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07030103.htm
A vodka tonic in Norway is about 11-12 dollar. Money I’ll gladly pay if they only would come back and finish the cancelled european tour. Each concert review I read about AF these days is a severe kick in the nuts.
They are wearing the same clothes they wore at the Asheville show.
“They are wearing the same clothes they wore at the Asheville show.” Why is that interesting, “Interesting”?
“Arcade Fire: A Neon Bible Study
By David Buckna
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07030103.htm”
And, suddenly, Arcade Fire get MORE pedantic
Yeah, they’ve probably got standard stage gear. Holy jamoley, this show looks amazing. I gotta say that I’m pulling for the National and hope this makes them cover-mag worthy. I’d love to see a live “Mr. November.”
Amazing show, especially with William and Richard going absolutely ape-shit on Neighborhood #2 (and pretty much every song).
Three sightings, one was a guy from SNL, dunno his name but he’s the guy in the baby-wig commercial. The other was Matt Berninger from the National who was sitting in the center about 20 rows behind me, he seemed giddy all-set and even made a joke saying “it’s good to be back in radio city.”
The third person was quite insane; did anyone see the elderly woman sitting in a wheel chair in the very front of the left-most section? She was right in front of the sub-woofers so she had to have been blown away. She arrived right before the national took the stage with who i assume to be her son and stayed for the entire show. She looked to be late-seventies/early-eighties and he looked about 45-50. I can’t imagine why she would be there, but it confused the hell out of me and my roommate. If anyone knows who she was or even saw her, let me know.
I was at United Palace on Tuesday, and our crowd held up the ‘oohs’ of Rebellion in between set break as well.
Quoth Win: “It’s way fucking easier with you guys singing instead of us.”
the national and AF… what an amazing combination.. you americans sure are lucky!