January has been a good month for music. With the numerous festivals around at the moment, there has been no shortage of single shows to keep Melbourne entertained.
So what better way to say sayonara to the holiday period than with a gig by Arcade Fire Selling out in super quick time, the band settled on two shows for Melbourne just after the Big Day Out festival.
Anticipation and excitement were running high and there seemed to be a buzz amongst the crowd as punters filed in for one of the best live gigs I’ve seen in a very long while.
At the start, the band seemed to focus on playing a number of songs from their new-ish album of last year, Neon Bible, however 2004’s Funeral was definitely represented, with the band playing the favourites “Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)”, “Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)” and my favourite, “Rebellion (Lies)”. As a treat, towards the end of the gig the band treated the audience to an older track, “Headlights look like Diamonds”.
Although Win Butler’s massive frame commanded attention for much of the show, the rest of the band members had their prescence known, with Regine singing along to the crowd and running between the many instruments she masters. Will Butler definitely seemed to be getting into it the most, at one point jumping over his drumset to get to the keyboards and nearly breaking his neck in the process.
I was unsure as to how their music would translate to a live setting, but the band didn’t disappoint, sounding stronger than ever. I was most suprised that Regine’s sweet, almost childlike voice stood up better than on disc. All in all it was an excellent, high energy show that would convert event the toughest of critics.
Check them out if you get the chance.
