Arcade Fire in San Diego

While Steph was visiting, all of us went down to the Spreckles Theatre in San Diego to see the Arcade Fire. The Arcade Fire are an up and coming band from Montreal, Canada who are really gaining alot of much deserved publicity worldwide. In my opinion, this is the best band in world right now. They have found a unique sound and not afraid to explore it.

The concert didn't showcase a band as much as an orchestra. The five band members are joined by two violinists, two horns men, and a jack-of-all-trades. Their stage looks like a cluttering of instrument stations and megaphones. There is a church organ, multiple keyboards, an xylophone, a Bass, an accordion and a number of other instruments whose names I do not know. Aside from lead singer Win Butler, the remaining band member rotate through the instruments with the enthusiasm of kindergarten children attacking pots and pans; sometimes switching instrument stations mid-song. No instrument is sacred, even the drummer switches out for some songs. These multiple instruments combined with the bands enthusiasm create a dynamic environment that can not help but infect everyone in the room (I even had a man who looked no less than 60 yrs old stomping, clapping and dancing to the music).

As we had the privilege of recently seeing another great young band, TV On the Radio, I think it would be beneficial to explain how they are different. Both bands are incredibly talented and have a wonderful sense of sound. Where they diverge is that TVOtR are driven by the art. They are very serious and dedicated to their craft. This creates some amazingly technically proficient music. By comparison, Arcade Fire, while they are definitely artists, are more dedicated to the passion or feeling of the song. They use their emotion to dictate where the song will go creating some very unexpected twists and turns. For both bands, it is their incredible sense of how to put it all together that makes them stand out from most bands today.

The result is a memorable experience that does not compare to any other concert that I have ever attended. I credit the Arcade Fire for doing it their own way. They leave nothing on the table - so to speak. What I mean is that during their set they played every great song they had in order to create a memorable core show. The downside is that they played two brief encores of "lesser" songs - almost allowing the audience wind down. I, a person who is not a big fan of the pomposity of encores, really liked the strategy because that core show was unbelievable. This is one show that I would love to see over and over.