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Friday, May 25, 2007

reviewed: the arcade fire at deer lake park [updated x2]

I should have brought my camera to Deer Lake Park last night because it was, perhaps, one of the more perfect outdoor concert environments I've ever been to... even making the Gorge and the Shoreline Amphitheatre look silly. The sun was out, it was 20+ degrees, the crowd was quasi-sane, and the beer garden was a logistical wonder. Oh, and from my 3rd row perch, the Arcade Fire were fucking phenomenal.

It's been 2 and a half years since I saw a quasi-undiscovered Arcade Fire perform at the Commodore, a lot of things have changed since then: a second album, a world tour or 6, critical praise in the press, radio play, videos on much music, bigger venues, even crusty old rock stars trying to stay relevant have performed with them. All things considered, it's a recipe for band to lose their edge.

The Arcade Fire have not lost their edge. In fact, they've sharpened it. Their live show is louder and more inspired than ever. Yes, there are theatrics.. but they draw you in. You can't help scream along with the band... it's an incredible compelling, joyous thing. In the set Neon Bible tracks fit seamlessly along side the Funeral era stuff. It's hard for me to even pin point specific highlight as the whole thing was exciting and wonderful. Every word from every mouth and every note from every instrument was important and exciting.

The Arcade Fire are the most important band I've experienced in a decade. If you're groaning while reading that last sentence, you're either too jaded for your own good... or you haven't seen them live.

Hands down, this was the best show I've seen ~~this year~~ in the last couple of years. I wonder who can/will top it?

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UPDATE: thanks to a nameless commenter, we've discovered that if you click this hyperlink you can view the setlist and download the show via bit torrent. Well played, Internet.

UPDATE 2: Apparently, not everyone's into the bit torrent/FLAC thing... and just want their ~~mtv~~ mp3. Here's a sample of the recorded show at Deer Lake:

Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running (Live)

If there's interest, I'll host the entire show for mp3 download.

Also, there's some good photos of the show here.

elsewhere

boxers, not briefs | shake your remix

Labels: arcade fire, deer lake park, mp3, reviewed

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