On Sunday the 5th of December 2010, a date that will live in fame, I saw Arcade Fire live in Dublin for the second time in my life. I could use words like "incandescent" or "transcendental" to describe the experience, and I probably will. The fact is that it was nothing more or less than the best concert of any kind to which I've ever been. Its closest competitor? The last time they played here in October 2007, in the Phoenix Park.
For such a cold day, the journey there was easy enough, thanks to the Luas. I arrived at the O2 midway through Devendra Banhart's set, which I was actually rather sorry I missed; I understand it was worth seeing. Vampire Weekend were the other support band; they put on a fairly decent show, although I wasn't quite as enamoured with them as other people seemed to be. My first thought when the Sultans of Sound themselves came on stage was that Vampire Weekend were probably weeping backstage, suffering by comparison. In fairness, just about anyone would have been.
That brings me on rather neatly to Arcade Fire's own set. I thought the setlist was ideal; about half of The Suburbs, three from Neon Bible ('Keep the Car Running', 'Intervention' and 'No Cars Go') and seven from Funeral (including my favourite Arcade Fire song of all, 'Crown of Love'). The set as a whole was about 100 minutes long, which was more or less ideal; there were a couple of notable absentees from the setlist, but it would a bit ungrateful to complain about that after an absolute blinder of a concert. The songs bled into each other beautifully; a particular highlight was when 'Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)' segued into 'Rebellion (Lies)' via a sonic assault of which Iggy Pop would have been proud.
This same sonic assault was backed up by a remarkable level of energy among the band members. Will Butler was particularly insane, often spending whole songs banging a snare drum which wasn't miced up (he was, at least, in time). Meanwhile, when Régine Chassagne was on lead vocal duties (notably during particular highlight 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)'), she danced elegantly around the stage, resembling nothing so much as a child at play. As for Win Butler, he made an effort to rival his brother and wife, often coming right up to the audience (unlike the last time, he didn't do a stage dive; it's rarely a good idea when you're six-and-a-half feet tall). As usual, the band seamlessly swapped instruments throughout the show; I shudder to think how much rehearsal time must have been necessary to pull off such a feat.
I've always been impressed with the sound quality in the O2, and Sunday was no different. In fact, it was probably the best quality of sound I've ever heard there, which is saying something. Every note was clear, crisp and, not least, loud. In addition to this, the show had an excellent visual component. Cameramen at the sides of the stage captured live images of the band, sometimes focusing on individual members, sometimes providing a wider picture. Whoever was controlling these images did a fantastic job, particularly when they started playing around with opacity so that band members appeared to pass through one another.
In short, the show was both incandescent and transcendental (see?). I spoke to a number of friends about it afterwards. Some had seen the band live before; others hadn't. All were in agreement that the concert had been remarkable, and one of the best they'd ever been to. I've been listening to almost nothing but Arcade Fire for the last two days. My love for them had, I confess, lapsed a little in the last couple of years, but it has been reawakened with a vengeance now. Arcade Fire are coming for YOU. You should be glad of it.
Oh, incidentally, if you have Google Chrome, open it up (if it's not already open) and go to www.thewildernessdowntown.com. It's quite something.
[18 days until Christmas!]
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