Wolf Parade / Arcade Fire

Ignatius Feb 23, 2019

I've been thinking lately that as long as a band has a good sound, I prefer a smaller bar show over these stadium tours, because you get more room to dance and are more likely to be able to meet and chat with them, included in the ticket price. I do love that about Moon Hooch, but Arcade Fire tonight reminded me how much I love a highly produced show with lights. This was the 3rd show I've seen "in the round", (honorable mention to The 2nd Law's inverted pyramid) and I'm currently kicking myself for leaving the U2 show early eight years ago because that must have been an amazing show. And comparing this show to the Drones tour, I have to say this one was on the same level, if not better. The Drones stage was visually stunning and technically cutting-edge, but you get a sense that Muse shows have gone beyond being about the music at all, whereas Arcade Fire's four pillars of lights were able to do so many cool things incredibly effectively but were unobtrusive of the band and the instruments. At the end of the day, 8 talented human beings were on the crowded stage performing for 2 hours straight. That puts a refreshing smile on my face.

Wolf parade certainly caught my attention. I was looking them up during the show and wanted to buy one or two of their albums but they weren't at the merch table, sadly. Delicious Canadian indie rock, divided between the two songwriters in the band. I particularly liked You Are a Runner, and I Am My Father's Son. Spencer Krug's voice really shined on Valley Boy which is on the new album Cry Cry Cry coming out a week from now. I'm excited to check it out and see if I want to buy it

Quick notes on the Arcade Fire set, I liked the blue/red aesthetic during Signs of Life, the light show during Reflektor, and Sprawl II gave me this euphoria that reminded me of when I saw David smiling during Mercy. It was just one of those perfect moments. Win Butler talked about playing Trees 15 years ago and they were unfortunately 2 hours late due to a breakdown so he dedicated a song to the one fan who was also there, lol. And he called out the crowd after playing Neon Bible: "This is the first time people have talked through that song, thank you Dallas. There's a first time for everything..."

But the song that really stuck with me was Here Comes the Night Time. The bass was strong, the lights were entrancing, I caught the lyric "if there's no music up in heaven, then what's it for?". And especially there was a moment in the middle of the song where they took down the wrestling ring ropes and the energy just exploded from there. It felt exactly like the moment during New Born in 2010. I wasn't quite expecting to see another of those moments, especially from a band that I only really know one song of.