I haven't mentioned the Arcade
You already know the highlight of last night's Arcade Fire show at Irving Plaza, but it was already a fantastic show by then - David Byrne getting on stage just made it unforgettable.
I haven't mentioned the Arcade Fire on here much because, well, frankly I don't think Funeral is all it's cracked up to be. It's a good album with a few great songs, but I think it drags in spots. The almost mythical status it's achieved seems a bit much to me. The live show, though, is a totally different story. I'm far from the first to say this, but the Arcade Fire are a tremendous live band.
With 8 people on stage going nuts, their songs take on a visceral energy that can't always be captured in a studio. The density of their sound can just floor you. You feel the band - the violins, all the percussion - much more when they're all spilling over each other, even off the stage. Lead singer Win Butler ended up in the crowd at the end of an intense "Neighborhood #3," and the two guys on stage left were banging pretty much everything in sight with their drumsticks - even climbing up onto the PA. It's a lot of fun to watch, and even more impressive to hear. My favorite songs were my favorites on the album - "Neighborhood #1," "Wake Up," and "Haiti" - but pretty much all of it was great. Oh, and that's before David Byrne entered the picture.
I knew that the AF covered the Talking Heads classic "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" from time to time, so I was hoping they'd pull it out last night. It's hard for me to name a single favorite Heads tune, but "Naive Melody" would make any short list. Though I've seen Byrne live once, he didn't play any Talking Heads. So when I saw him walk out on stage for the last song, I knew what was coming and I just couldn't believe it. To be honest, the Arcade Fire version doesn't match up to the original. As SoF pointed out, it was missing the bouncy groove that makes the original "Naive Melody" so essential. But with David Byrne singing it, and with all that energy on stage - what a moment.
I enjoyed the openers as well. I know Central Village doesn't dig Man Man, but I quite liked them. Their sound was something like Black Dice meets Liquid Liquid with some Tom Waits and a lot of instruments thrown in. Weird stuff, but I dug it. Final Fantasy is just Owen Pallett on violin - he also joined the AF on stage. He'd sample himself playing to stitch together some good songs, like Andrew Bird but a bit edgier. He also covered Joanna Newsom's "Peach, Plum, Pear" which was pretty cool.
For more on this show, check out Brooklyn Vegan, Central Village, Daily Refill, Statute of Frauds, and I Rock I Roll. (Plus plenty of others I haven't gotten to yet, I'm sure.)