Arcade Fire. O2. December 5th/6th - PLEASE READ OP - CROWDSURGE TICKET

Tom Fiat

Good photos above / below.

Aldebaran

Here's a few of mine from Sunday night.

Thundercats Ho

Class gig last night. high quality and high energy, they gave it socks.
Yer man made bits of the snare, near the end of the gig.
The boll1x of a drive home was more than worth it.

Vampire Weekend were pretty good, if not a bit samey.
their bass player had a cool little dance going on.

smartblaa

Thundercats Ho wrote: »

Yer man made bits of the snare, near the end of the gig.

anyone have footage or pics of him wrecking the snare?.. twas class!
i think he ended up belting it off the stage for the rest of that song!

homerun_homer

smartblaa wrote: »

anyone have footage or pics of him wrecking the snare?.. twas class!
i think he ended up belting it off the stage for the rest of that song!

This is the only pic I've posted from this point of the gig.

jill_valentine

Some awesome photos, Will Butler is a madman. I haven't really seen any photos that show just how much he was bleeding though, there was quite a bit of it at one stage.

I thought Sunday was the better of the two shows, but that might have just been because I was pretty much at the rail for that one, and a good bit further back last night.

homerun_homer

jill_valentine wrote: »

Some awesome photos, Will Butler is a madman. I haven't really seen any photos that show just how much he was bleeding though, there was quite a bit of it at one stage.

I have a more bloody looking photo but it's blurry so I haven't posted it. I'd loved to had a a good view of him falling from where he started drumming. He's a nutter.

gsxr1

jill_valentine wrote: »

Some awesome photos, Will Butler is a madman. I haven't really seen any photos that show just how much he was bleeding though, there was quite a bit of it at one stage.

I thought Sunday was the better of the two shows, but that might have just been because I was pretty much at the rail for that one, and a good bit further back last night.

being away from the stage is better by far in the o2. The sound is twice as good.

plus the bar is closer:D

jill_valentine

Sound is better, definitely, but I dunno, I just don't get a whole lot out of shows if I'm further back. I'm about 5'3, so if I'm more than a few rows away from the rail, I tend to miss a lot of what's happening onstage, and I just don't pick up on the energy, if that makes sense.

I remember Will mentioning in an interview that he'd once set Régine's hair on fire during a show years back, but he never did elaborate.

homerun_homer

jill_valentine wrote: »

I remember Will mentioning in an interview that he'd once set Régine's hair on fire during a show years back, but he never did elaborate.

At EP 2005 he was using a matches during Rebellion (Lies) to mess with Richard as he was at the mic & Richard would be blowing them out as they got nearer to him. I imagine it might have been shenanigans like this that did it.

smartblaa

smartblaa wrote: »

anyone have footage or pics of him wrecking the snare?.. twas class!
i think he ended up belting it off the stage for the rest of that song!

found it! fast forward to 3:40

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAhXK9YVQvA

snazzy

Best gig of my life.

Can't fault it. Absolutely awe-inspiring.
I had seen AF back in 07 at Oxegen but being 16, didn't really know my arse from my elbow or them but it was that performance that got me interested.
3 years on, I'm a solid fan and have been looking forward to their Irish dates since I first heard. Went to alot of lengths to get the Monday tickets as I was abroad without a credit card at the time and by god, was it worth it.

Devendra was entertaining and I liked his quirky ways. Carmencita was great.
VW. Loved them but I'm a fan of both albums regardless. Saw them at Glastonbury 6 months ago and to be fair, fan or not, you cannot deny that they bring massive energy. The bassist Chris is the most active bassist I've ever seen with funky dance moves! M79 and Cousins were highlights.

Arcade Fire. Wow. We were lucky in that even though we arrived at 5.30, we were in the first 20 at Gate 3. This was the first gate to be opened so we ended up second row right of the centre. Perfect spot.
Start to finish we didn't stop singing or dancing and there was just such intensity. We had checked out the setlist from the night before so it was such a pleasant surprise to know that they switched it around to keep it fresh. I couldn't pick a highlight, the whole thing was just breath-taking. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing their genuine smiles too and when they went to continue to play The Suburbs cntd after The Suburbs, it was obvious that the mass sing a long would suffice and they didn't expect to be made redundant. :D

The interaction and the energy was unbelievable and the crowd were lovely where we were. For the front, it was not pushy or claustrophobic. Ine girl offered out sweets and at one stage passed out glowsticks which was lovely and made a nice effect. May have accidentally thrown one at Richard's face but he laughed at it so relief! :eek:
One girl behind me stood with no expression or emotion all night but feck off to her. That annoys me. There was no sign she was enjoying herself. I can resepct people who may not jump around or know the words to every song yet still show some engagement. This girl may as well have been watching paint dry. Frustrating.

Loved Regine and her ribbons, Will and Richard messing with the drum and Will effectively destroying the drum. Win is a solid frontman with a great presence. Didn't catch much of what he said but something about Michael Buble? The seating crowd were brilliant too. Looked back a few times to see no one sitting and at times when people were, some people just dancing in the aisles. Reaffirming.

At any rate, I loved every second of it and AF deserve every bit of recognition they get and should be deemed the Best Live Act in the world at the moment. The only other gigs I've been to where there has been that level of involvement and energy and joy from the band members would have had to be Broken Social Scene or Flaming Lips.
To go outside and find it snowing just topped off a fantastic gig. Would not hesitate to see them again.
Got a good bit of footage so will post in the coming days.
For now some ****ty amateur photos;

jill_valentine

Re: Michael Bublé-

Win always jokingly takes the piss out of whatever city he's in during Power Out, to rile up the crowd, badmouthing the New York Knicks, or making a crack about the English Olympic bid or whatever. Last night he said something to the effect that he thought it was amazing that they could fill a venue like the O2 twice, he thought it meant they "had a special relationship with Ireland" - until he found out Michael Bublé could do it too.

What did he say about politicians on Sunday? Something about yoghurts?

Ugh.Im.Clashing

Since people are posting photos - here's just a few I took on Sunday night. I love the first one, none of my friends seemed to notice at the time how Will was destroying that drum! Definitely the best photo I took









I hope I re-sized them OK...

jill_valentine

Sound is awful, but it's a quick clip of Will after he'd smacked himself in the gob on Sunday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXNzI5QflKg

technogoblin

Went both nights to crown a year of seeing some of my favourite bands of the moment, with the band that I consider my favourite of all. Incredible pair of shows, which having now seen them seven times I can't help but expect.

Quick note on the support. Devendra Banhart is a quirky little performer, who by Monday night I was looking forward to seeing again. I was oddly perturbed by his skeletal get up on second night, though really enjoyed his set.

Vampire Weekend. Ah. I saw them once proper in 2008 at the Ambassador, getting a friend a ticket for their birthday, and found the experience entirely forgettable. I'm just not into their stuff, which isn't to say I don't think they're a half decent band. They seem an entirely likeable bunch, their music just isn't for me. They looked to really enjoy themselves, aside from the keyboardist, who I believe is responsible for most of the songwriting. Is he getting bored of that gig or just a shy performer?

To the reason I found myself in the O2 on two consecutive nights. Arcade Fire. Here's a band I can't get enough of. Both nights were entirely spectacular, magical, physically demanding, shout out loud stompers! If I was to nitpick I'd say I would like to have seen some more of the lesser-lauded gems on this year's The Suburbs, namely Empty Room, Half Light I, Suburban War and Deep Blue, but that's really nitpicking. The Suburbs works magically onstage, Month of May is a mother-f**king headbanger if ever there was one. Sprawl II is nothing short of mesmerising; following Haiti, it gives the crowd a solid ten minutes of Régine to the fore, which proved one of many highlights. The Monday night saw the band revel in the crowd's Haiti chant after the song ended, segueing into Sprawl II. Wow!

The stuff from Funeral and Neon Bible is still as big as ever. Power Out and Rebellion will forever be my favourite pair of songs to hear live. Neon Bible (an album I loved to pieces) got more of an airing on Monday night, The Well and The Lighthouse and My Body is a Cage making for a welcome ode to 2007.

What's best about this band is how much they give you (notably Will busting his lip during Rebellion on Sunday), how much you can't help but give in return , and how genuinely happy they are that you went to the trouble. "Jesus Christ", to quote the reigning king of the evening, Mr. Win Butler, "I don't know how you do it everytime, Dublin." I think Monday night was the happiest I ever saw a band on stage.

So, which night was better? I reckon the crowd were more into it on Sunday, but a little wilder on Monday. The setlist worked better for me on Monday, and while Sunday was a stormer to say the least, Monday tipped me over the edge. Elated!

The big question. Where will I have to fly to see this band before their next between-albums hiatus? Hmm.

jill_valentine

That last question is haunting me, technogoblin.

I may have to bodge together a trip to Manchester this weekend that involving a pretty harrowing-looking bus/ferry trip.

scudzilla

jill_valentine wrote: »

That last question is haunting me, technogoblin.

I may have to bodge together a trip to Manchester this weekend that involving a pretty harrowing-looking bus/ferry trip.

Not really, go to the Irish Ferries terminal at Dublin Port on Sat morning around 7.30am, buy a Rail and Sail to Manchester for around 80euro, Ferry leaves at 8.15, gets into Holyhead at 11.45, walk 150yards to train that goes direct to Manchester, you'll be there fro about 2.30pm.

80quid return is great

Blackpitts

smartblaa wrote: »

anyone have footage or pics of him wrecking the snare?.. twas class!
i think he ended up belting it off the stage for the rest of that song!

there you go, from minute 12:00 on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhg9uSyyj4Y

homerun_homer

I took a video of my fav song from the Suberbs - sound turned out crap so I may re-upload with alternate audio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAAUJsG3iIo

jill_valentine

scudzilla wrote: »

Not really, go to the Irish Ferries terminal at Dublin Port on Sat morning around 7.30am, buy a Rail and Sail to Manchester for around 80euro, Ferry leaves at 8.15, gets into Holyhead at 11.45, walk 150yards to train that goes direct to Manchester, you'll be there fro about 2.30pm.

80quid return is great

This is looking alarmingly plausible. Thanks!

Pierce_1991

homerun_homer wrote: »

I took a video of my fav song from the Suberbs - sound turned out crap so I may re-upload with alternate audio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAAUJsG3iIo

My favorite song from suburbs too

snazzy

Rake of videos for yer viewing pleasure. Nothing too special but makes me smile when reminiscing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9CsWYGjHyg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX37j0x4kkk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6kx5sU1Yn0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF0AE_CkGM8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg-mOC-sp9k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuheAmb2NMM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TGlRLPcNwY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcxmLzNs1Tk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llbD9rqGoXs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0nsySyLXYw

8-10

jill_valentine wrote: »

That last question is haunting me, technogoblin.

I may have to bodge together a trip to Manchester this weekend that involving a pretty harrowing-looking bus/ferry trip.

You want a ticket? I'm no longer going because of the weather forecast. It was meant to be my silver anniversary! My 25th Arcade Fire concert. Oh well. I'll stay on 24 for the time-being. The potential North American tour in early 2011 is hugely tempting.

But yeah, let me know if you want the ticket, or if you're going at all you can take it to sell/give to someone else. It's just going to waste here. Also, if you're stuck for travel I have a flight booked on Saturday morning which you could probably change the name on for a smallish fee? Let me know, I don't have your number anymore.

jill_valentine

Message sent elsewhere, thanks man, I'll take you up on that.