Arcade Fire at the Sydney Entertainment Centre 28/1/14 - Live Review
- genevavalek
- Feb 3, 2014
- 3 min read
When I got to the Entertainment Centre (more annoyingly known as the Qantas Credit Union Arena), an unexpectedly small line of people were waiting for the floor doors to open and suddenly I remembered - it's back to school!
It was fairly empty at first, but in the mid-back of the dancefloor a couple of guys in ghost body suits pounded out some African-esque rhthyms on hand drums whilst a handful of Reflektor Arcade Fire bobble heads boogied to the punters delight.
The crowd started to look interested when Diplo took to the dj decks, and he proceeded to confuse and slightly entertain the mostly twenty/thirty something audience. These are the words of the 30 year old standing behind me: (imagine scruffy, half-assed beard, wearing lens-less glasses and a beret) "this guy is definitely not avant garde enough. His bass drops are sooo predictable and he's a manufactured and stylised figure of what the pop world desires. Some record company big-wig took a Brad Pitt lookalike and gave him a few buttons to press and now we have to put up with this Diplo shit. Dip-low should aim Dip-higher" - make of that what you will, and as much as I appreciate his dip-jokes I certainly did not agree with Mr Pretentious or his 'local craft beer' that was slowly spilling down my back during his Dip-tirade. Diplo's music wasn't particularly well-received but in the end it was an odd match of audience to artist that took away from his set's mind-blowingness and danceability.
After a 15 minute wait between acts, the blissful sounds of Arcade Fire filled my ears but Win Butler, their giganticly tall lead singer, was nowhere to be found. My friend poked me and pointed to the left hand side of the arena where a spotlight lit up some of the stairs and sadly due to my irreparable height, I can't describe how he entered. All I know is that he somehow made it to the stage.
I was so overly eager for their set I had to pee for 10 minutes before they started but an adrenaline rush of excitement when they took to the stage managed to help me hold it in for the whole set, and trust me, my bladder doesn't hold itself like that for just anyone. This was a special occasion.
Body fluids aside, Arcade Fire are one of every few live bands I've seen that have really physically affected me. Dancing through Afterlife, swaying to The Suburbs and jumping with Joan Of Arc, was like floating on a sea of light and every hardcore fan had come to worship their godly performance. Win's fire, Regine's theatrical beauty, Will's incredible energy and every band members total passion made the whole night ignite into what can only be described as a religious experience.
Despite my ravings, there were some negatives; the sound mixing was drastically off at times especially during 'It's Never Over' when they sang as a chorus, the levels weren't blended properly, and often at the start of songs the lead singers would be slightly out of tune, probably due to poorly balanced inner-ears but a majority of the time the performance was perfect. The stunning wall of sound produced by the Canadian group was like a warm blanket and as I danced to Here Comes the Nighttime, I truly felt at home.
SETLIST:
My Body is a Cage (Snippet)
Reflektor
Flashbulb Eyes
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Joan of Arc
The Suburbs
The Suburbs (Continued)
Ocean of Noise
It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus)
Afterlife
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
No Cars Go
Keep the Car Running
Normal Person
Rebellion (Lies)
Devil Inside (INXS Cover)
Here Comes the Night Time
Encore:
Ready to Start
Wake Up
Review by Geneva Valek
Photo by Geneva Valek - the first 50 who send an email to ewalker@pnc.com.au with their name and address will get a postcard mailed to them with the image on this article OK GO!
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