Dinosaur in Trouble: proudly serving Twin Cities music geeks

Sunday, October 09, 2005

The Arcade! The Arcade! The Arcade Is on Fire!


Régine Chassagne and Win Butler of Arcade Fire

Less than a year ago – November 27, 2004 to be exact – Arcade Fire was scheduled to play two shows at the 7th Street Entry. Even back then, it seemed too good to be true that a band of that magnitude was going to be playing in the Entry. Well, it was too good to be true. Due to complications arising from the closing/reopening of First Avenue, the show was moved to the 400 Bar. Even though the 400 Bar was slightly larger, it was still ridiculously packed (according to the many accounts I heard – I didn’t actually go due to some inexcusable reason that I can’t remember right now).

Nowadays, promoters wouldn’t even think of booking Arcade Fire in a venue the size of the 400 Bar (much less a venue the size of the Entry). So if you’re like me, you’ve long since missed the opportunity to brag about how you saw Arcade Fire before they were selling out shows in the First Avenue mainroom.

Oh well, at least I can take consolation in the fact that Arcade Fire’s First Avenue debut on September 29th was absolutely killer. The night’s lineup, although a bit incestuous, was as solid as can be. Bell Orchestre (which includes Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry, Sarah Neufeld, and other touring members) stunned us with their brand of accessible instrumental neo-post-rock. Honestly, I only saw the last 1.5 songs of their set, but what I saw was strong enough to warrant an album purchase (well worth the preposterous asking price of $15).

Buzz band, Wolf Parade (a name that seems to go hand-in-hand with Arcade Fire these days), proved their worth after Bell Orchestre. What an amazing performance! Maybe they’ll never be able to escape the Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse comparisons, but if they continue to put on powerful, impassioned shows like they did at First Avenue, lucky concertgoers will realize that they are an incredibly unique band in a league of their own. And speaking of bands that quickly grow out of small venues, Wolf Parade will be playing in the Entry this Thursday (10-13-2005). Catch them before they start selling out mainroom shows!


Wolf Parade

Now, do you really need to hear me rave about Arcade Fire’s performance? Probably not. I’ve never heard a single Arcade Fire review that has been less than positive (not that I’ve ever specifically looked for bad reviews). So I’ll tell you this: Arcade Fire really, really sucked.

Ha! That was obviously a lie. Seriously, Arcade Fire is well aware that they have to live up to their exalted name. Hence, they know that they can’t put on a performance that is less than stellar. With up to nine musical phenoms running around the stage, Arcade Fire’s set was sparkly solid. Wowee!

But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself! Check out the excellent photo sets at The Big Ticket and chriswarren’s photos.


Arcade Fire

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