Gig Review: Arcade Fire, Manchester Apollo, 8th March 2007

An Open Letter to the Arcade Fire:

Dear Arcade Fire,

On behalf of those of us in the seating area of the Manchester Apollo on your current tour I beseech you to stop playing venues which are even partially seated. For starters, when you start your performance a bit flat I find it more noticeable because I don’t have the crowd to pull me along. Even when you’re beginning a show with the three best tracks off your new album, “Intervention,” Black Mirror” and “Keep the Car Running,” I realise it can take time to build up steam – if half the audience were not sitting down trying to decide if and when it was appropriate to stand, you would have felt a lot more love from the crowd for the new songs. You must have felt it, you held yourselves back for a long while last night.

Your performances are so full of chaos and verve that it is very difficult to watch you without jumping up, singing along and joining in. Sitting down takes a great deal away from this, especially when everybody around you is also sitting politely and quietly. Your new songs are so immediate, I find it hard to believe that I am the only person who was entirely frustrated by the mid-way point when you played a masterful version of “No Cars Go.” I could see the odd person stand, only to be asked to sit back down by security. By this point though, you were up to full force, I could feel your sincerity from way at the back and I wanted to see the expressions on your faces. Even the people sat across the front of the stage had to stand up, move to the side. Even the normally quiet “Haiti” was beautifully done, Regine sounded lovelier than ever and her emphatic delivery and the manic rushing around on stage made me tap my feet. I thought “My Body Is a Cage” was breathtaking, it really delivered its point in the live setting and as it swelled to a close I could feel the divide between the people getting the full force and those of us sat in the rafters, watching the gig unfold.

It was not until the closing stages of the show, after you’d played nearly the whole of your amazing new record, that finally, finally those of us in the cheap seats felt a part of the proceedings. I could hear singing when you began “Crown of Love,” and a few people stood up during “Power Out” and I felt I could join in. By “Rebellion,” when Win dove into the crowd and dragged a group of people onto the stage to dance with him, the atmosphere finally reached that normal frenzied point where everybody was on their feet singing. This made the night feel like a proper Arcade Fire gig as the dancers mimed into light bars and dove into the crowd. Although the encore of “Tunnels” and “Ocean of Noise” was a bit more subdued, it melted into a real gig, like we were there instead of watching from afar, and in the end I walked away with a smile on my face in anticipation of tonight’s second round.

Oh Arcade Fire, you are one of, if not the best live band on the planet and the joy of your shows is being able to share in the hope and happiness you bring to the room. Sitting down makes the crowd feel one-step removed from the experience, especially when we are so far away and you look no bigger than figures on a television screen. Please consider this plea, next time you come through town, don’t make us sit. Find somewhere for us all to stand and celebrate your songs along with you.

Many thanks,
JustHipper

Arcade Fire – My Body Is A Cage

Arcade Fire – Crown Of Love

9 Responses to “Gig Review: Arcade Fire, Manchester Apollo, 8th March 2007”

  • Matthew Says:

    I have been to a few gigs with lots of seating recently and it’s crap. I don’t even like to leap around – I like to stand inbetween the moshers and the lurkers and tap my feet in peace – but seats could kill the atmosphere anywhere.

  • beth Says:

    I’m a bit torn on the seating issue because, at my age, I like a nice sit down – and at my height if I’m not within touching distance of the stage I can’t see a thing … but the Apollo is a pretty terrible venue for atmosphere, even standing, I find.
    Well done on getting the tickets btw – we missed out & I was gutted!

  • JustHipper Says:

    I have the exact same problem and the Apollo is particularly bad. I shouldn’t complain as we were lucky to get tickets, but I hate the seats! At least standing I can move around til I find a decent spot, and if I can’t see I can find a place where people are dancing and happy. In the seats, you’re trapped.

    Having said that, the atmosphere tonight was miles better!

  • James Says:

    Glad to hear that tonight’s gig was much better. I thought they were disappointingly flat last night for about the first half of the set. It wasn’t just up in the seats where the atmosphere faltered by the way, you could feel it downstairs too. I haven’t taken to Neon Bible yet and I really can’t see myself falling in love with it like I did with Funeral though so the over-reliance on new songs in last night’s set probably hamstrung my enjoyment. ‘Ocean Of Noise’ was, in my opinion, a real bummer of a song to go out with for a band as strong live as Arcade Fire, especially when you factor in what they left out (‘Wake Up’ and ‘Laika’ being two notable omissions).

    Forgive my filling up of your comment box with my opinions.

  • JustHipper Says:

    No no, no problems, opinions always welcome. It was nice to read such a different one over at The Console. I wish I’d had her gig!

    They did change the set tonight and “Wake Up” made a very welcome appearance. I liked the fact they played all the new stuff together, it makes sense as a set in a way, it was only problematic as the album is all of 5 days old. I always wonder why a band puts out a record and then changes the running order when they do it live, though. In a sense you’d think that there was a reason for the track order on the record.

    In any case, maybe it was all down to it being the first night of the tour. But the Apollo is notable for a poor atmosphere, we’re usually besieged by talking if we’re not right at the barrier because it’s the place people go for their one gig a year when they’ve only heard one song by whatever band is on. Maybe next time they’ll play the venue formerly known as GMex.

  • Pete Says:

    I agree with James. I was at the show on the 8th and was very dissapointed. I have seen the arcade fire in Liverpool 2 years ago and was blown away by the performance. The gig in Manchester felt like it was a chore for the band. Did any one else think that the comment “Don’t worry, we will play the hits, like good little girls and boys” came across as stroppy? Thought Power out and Tunnels were really flat. When they left the stage they got booed from the circle.

  • JustHipper Says:

    Was it that flat down front that people were booing? Really? I thought the first half was lacking but they picked up for us by “No Cars Go.” People around us were positively celebrating once they went into “Crown of Love.” We didn’t hear the booing. To be honest, I didn’t think he sounded stroppy, but if people were that unreceptive to the new stuff, they must have picked up on it. Certainly Friday night’s gig was miles better, as The Ledge said. Everybody seemed far more up for things, band and crowd.

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