SomeAngryIndian

The Arcade Fire at The United Palace

OK so…yeah I saw Bjork twice. I was going to write a review of those concerts as well as a review of her new album, Volta. However, I didn’t feel like focusing on a pretty underwhelming, disappointing experience. The album is not great. The songs do not hit a chord with me at all. I found my mind wandering during her new songs. Bjork, pay attention to the fact that you got most of your applause during Post/Homogenic songs. Please. Because the new stuff sounds flaccid. And I’m sorry but Declare Independance is atrocious. There. I said it. Musically, it’s a blatant ripoff of Army of Me. Lyrically, it’s like a shitty protest version of Alarm Call except, instead of being about world unity and the power of music, it’s about hating the government so much you want to make your own currency. Everyone go make your own flag and your own language and let’s not try to do something more constructive in unison. Where’s the love, Bjork?

Sigh. Good. Now that that’s done, let’s move on. Seriously.

This spring’s concert schedule has been fantastic. Loney, Dear & Low was a fine start. D-Plan was deliriously good. Bjork was a misstep. But Arcade Fire was redemption.

Setlist:

Keep The Car Running
No Cars Go
Haiti
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Black Mirror
In The Backseat
My Body Is A Cage
The Well And The Lighthouse
Ocean Of Noise
(Antichrist Television Blues)
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)

Encore:
Intervention
Wake Up

Opening with Keep the Car Running was a good move since it’s a favorite for a lot of people. I was glad to hear No Cars Go but I think it’s seriously underestimated. I wish it closed the album (just because the high from it to the initial low of My Body is a Cage is hard to swallow for me) and it’s the only song for me that really has that bone crunching catharsis from Funeral. I really like Neon Bible (esp after the concert) but nothing from it hits me as much, except No Cars Go. Nevermind that it’s technically older than Funeral, it’s still brilliantly redone.

The highlight for me was probably In the Back Seat.

I love Régine Chassagne. It’s such a joy to watch her perform (everything from keyboard to organ to drums!) but her vocals are really what make Funeral for me. Haiti is so fresh and the lyrics so bittersweet, tragically uplifting, and her voice. That voice! The next album needs more “Régine songs”.

When I run my mind over Funeral I can’t imagine another song ending it. It’s power is just staggering. Lyrically, it’s a perfect microcosm of what the album is about: loss, it’s repercussions, and the journey we take in understanding and coping with it. “I’ve been learning to drive all my life” - as tired as driving metaphors can be, when Régine delivers it (in a vocalization inspired by Bjork, ironically) its power is undeniable. The distorted guitar with the strings running over it resemble the proverbial Hessian river: its idyllic surface masking a rushing undercurrent. This is how grief feels. Like your floating and your legs are moving faster than your head can. Who will plan the funeral? Who will buy the flowers? You just do and not think sometimes and it goes and

I didn’t expect to hear In the Back Seat so when they played it I was hit pretty hard. They’d only played it once since 2005, and that was in Paris. Who saw it coming? When the song ended I realized I was rocking slowly back and forth and my hands were folded and clenched tight. So lucky.

The end of the concert was awesome. Literally - full of awe. Power Out rollicked into an astounding performance of Rebellion (Lies), the audience clapping until the band reappeared for an astounding rendition of Intervention. The final song was Wake Up.

Win pulled a few people on stage before almost everyone on the floor rushed the stage. They played Wake Up completely surrounded by their fans. It was sad to see security tackling some people and being dicks (though only doing their jobs) but Win moved forward to the edge of the stage for those that couldn’t make it up. I applaud them for what they did. Oh and btw, Wake Up was sick. Fucking sick. Brilliant.

That’s all for a while now, children. See you in July maybe.