It’s not very often that faith and religion can go main stream in the world of rock and roll; yet alone a Montreal based indie rock band. Up to just a few years ago this band was performing to a small crowd at the Empty Bottle and now can sell out theaters with a capacity of 3,600.
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Arcade Fire
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 Entertainment
Art
Chicago Theater
Chicago, Ill.
May 18, 2007
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Of course I am talking about Arcade Fire, who are currently touring to promote their sophomore album “Neon Bible”. Recently, they hit the Chicago Theater for three sold out shows.
These days, Arcade Fire tickets disappear within minutes and fans on the day gather outside the venue trying to score last minute tickets. Craigslist and scalpers probably made their share of money from a fan base desperate to see their incendiary live show. This situation would be nothing strange if we were talking about say a u2 or the Rolling Stones, but Arcade Fire’s fledgling career makes the scene outside the Chicago Theatre extraordinary.
The band was formed back in 2003 and exploded onto the music charts with their exotic debut album “Funeral” (2004), which was bolstered by their exuberant early live performances. Since then Arcade Fire’s press buzz and air time have increased exponentially. However, having just released their second album, the jury is still out as to whether Arcade Fire is a band with legs.
Currently touring with 10 multi-instrumentalist musicians on stage, Arcade Fire is led by singer/songwriter Win Butler and multi-instrumentalist/songwriter wife Regine Chassagne. The band layers their sound with a plethora of unusual instruments including accordion, xylophone, horn, pipe organ and violins. But Arcade Fire’s originality does not end with its instrumentation. Using religion as the core theme of their –so far- limited but majestic song portfolio, they have planned gigs in churches; if an old fashioned religious revival meeting needed a rock gospel choir with a mercurial soaring lead voice, Arcade Fire would fit the bill. The band has made a habit of choreographing small fights on stage, which only add to the theatricality of their shows.
Their performance started with a short film showing an evangelist preaching, while at the same time the band came down the center isle to enter a darkened stage decorated with neon Bibles. The religious imagery that opened the concert isn’t mere posing; the band’s recording studio is a church that they renovated themselves. A large projection screen at the back of the stage at times displayed band members playing, while at other times it showed creepy images such as the band floating in water. Kicking off with “Black Mirror” Win Butler’s dark, almost tragic voice reverberated through the auditorium while the converted met their wall of sound with ecstatic cheers.
Within the blazing 90 minute set the band covered ten out of the eleven tracks from their new album, including the exuberant chamber music “Intervention”, which made use of the pipe organ on stage, and “Neon Bible”, which featured Win singing alone with his glittering guitar while the audience clapped along, before the full band came in for the thundering grand finale that characterizes much of Arcade Fire’s material.
It was when the band performed songs from their first album, Funeral, that the crowd seemed most involved. During “Neighborhood#2 (Laika)” band members Richard Perry and Will Butler performed their usual performance art/theater where they beat everything they can find in their way, including each other. For the encores, the band performed the exuberant “Neighborhood#3 (Power Out)” and “Rebellion (Lies)” which included the 10-member band’s towering and richly orchestrated chorus that Arcade Fire is so well known for. The band closed the night with Chassagne performing “In the Backseat.”
It is obvious that this evening the audience were far more familiar with the songs from the first album and perhaps it is the simple fact that the new album was just released 2 months ago. Although the number of copies sold to-date would seem to suggest that “Neon Bible” is destined to outsell its predecessor, it still remains to be seen whether it will outshine the band’s majestic debut which rocketed them to a wider audience.
Either way, if you are unfamiliar to their music then consider attending one of their live shows. Arcade Fire’s multifaceted talent and originality shines during their live performances and it is undeniable that their live shows guarantee high entertainment value and fun for all.
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