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Over their three years or so of existence in the music realm, the Arcade Fire have collected much praise and hyperbole for their albums, Funeral and this year's superb release Neon Bible. This praise and adoration is rightly deserved, as both albums are amazing, genre defying collections of music that are unlike anything out today. But it is only when you see the band live that these claims can be confirmed. Playing the first of two nights at the Greek Theatre, the Arcade Fire furthered their claim to the new indie-cum-mainstream darlings and proved that the hype of the past 3 years is not only just but deserved.
More Pics and Review after the jump....
I have seen the band 4 times in the past 3 years, twice pre-Neon Bible and twice post and what I have seen can only be compared to that of a child growing from adolescence to a teenager. A stoic, yet energetic band has emerged from the raw, rambunctious band of the previous two years. Their sound has become more focused and full, exemplified by show standouts, "My Body Is A Cage," "Intervention," and "Ocean Of Noise," all off the new release. At the front of the band, both Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, have found their strength with this band, Butler as the stoic lead and Chassagne as the energy and pride of the group. They are supported by a group of musicians that are as versitile as themselves as each song change is a virtual musical instruments as each member finds themselves playing a different one then the previous song.
With all this growing up and changing the band still respects its roots and the album that gained them their popularity, as did the crowd. "Power Out" and it's seamless transition to previous show closer "Rebellion (Lies)" got huge response from the crowd and the show closer "Wake Up" was the perfect way to close out their set and turned the Greek into a sing-a-long.
It is a little bittersweet to see this band grow up, like a child you want them to stay young and keep that innocence but at the same time you look forward to growing with them and watching them blossom. If their newest effort and tour is any indication this band will grow yet stay completely true to their roots.
More Photos Can Be Seen At The Flickr Photoset for this show...
