The Arcade Fire (GAMH, 12 January 2005)

Few things in life are good the second time around. A second helping of your favourite dish, a second paycheck, and a second chance. Well, add a second time seeing The Arcade Fire to that favourite lists of seconds. After raving about them in their first San Francisco show at the Bottom of the Hill back in December, well, be prepared for another rave review of their first of three shows at the Great American. In fact, I'm so excited to write about what transpired in their first show at GAMH, that I'm literally going to pee in my pants in 5 minutes. Yeah kids, drinking and then having a spot that is impossible to leave is not good for the bladder.

There were several similiarities from their December show with this one. First, everyone's outfit was the same. Regine wore her trademark black dress with white strap and accompanying red stockings and gloves (more like an arm warmer), the female violinist (forgot ther name) wore the same dress, and Win wore the same outfit (suit jacket and dress shirt). The props were the same, with the cow near the drums (I like to call her Bessy) and the reindeer (which Winn said they got from Wal-Mart who is their secret corporate sponsor). And they played the same songs.

Also, the first two songs they started with were the same, with "Wake Up" and "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)." Like the December shows, these were just outstanding and they were excellent starting songs because it really pumped up the crowd. I literally got shivers when they shouted in unison during "Wake Up." It's just sheer bliss. During "Laika," Richard (aka Napoleon Dynamite) and Will put the motorcycle helmets again and were banging the living shit out of anything solid. Will even got up on the speaker and made several visible dents on the wall on the upper right side of the stage. An act so brilliant and moving that I wanted to go up there and smash things up myself.

Let me digress here about Will: he has to be my favorite Arcade Fire member next to Richard. He is just an absolute crazy fool! You don't know what he'll be up to. And he bangs the drums like a mad man. At one point, he had this look on his face while he was banging the drum on "Laika" like this crazed murderer constantly stabbing his helpless victim. Yeah, it was that intense.

While some things were the same, others were noticeably different: (1) There was one reindeer missing. in their props; (2) They had the album cover hands taped on the pillars; (3) they have an additional violin player, Owen from Final Fantasy; (4) the songs were played in a different order; and (5) the length and sound of their songs were more epic. I think the reason for (5) is that the GAMH's sound system is vastly superior to Bottom of the HIll's.

I am just amazed at the Arcade Fire's intensity throughout their show. I don't know how they do it. They seemed a lot fresher for this show than their December one, probably because of their much needed break (even though Win was sidelined for a couple of weeks with illness). Of course, their intensity is . . . um . . . intensified by the much bigger stage of the GAMH. Every song, from the start to the finish, was just downright amazing. From all 10 tracks of the album, to "No Cars Go," to their newish song called "Burning Bridges, Breaking Hearts," and to their outstanding cover of Talking Head's "This Must Be the Place," every bit was played with so much intensity and brilliance that one has to wonder if these guys are like manna from heaven. Just the abundance of layers in their music - the percussion, guitars, strings, and the occasional accordion and xylophone - made each song stand out on their own. All they needed was a cowbell damn it!

OK, my bladder is about to burst, so I have to stop here. Just to let you know, I'm going tomorrow night and I can't fuckin' wait! Also, I brought some friends with me who saw them for the first time and I'm glad to hear from all of them that they enjoyed the show very much. So much so that they were asking me for tickets!

Once again, Arcade Fire, "this Bud's for you!"

Beer Rating: 0 Beers