The O2, Dublin
"Businessmen drink my blood, like kids in art school said they would," sings Win Butler at the beginning of this exhilarating performance, elegantly expressing the quandary Arcade Fire have found themselves in since their debut album, Funeral, met with such enormous success in 2004. They have found an audience far bigger than most indie rock bands could possibly imagine, and with that sort of success comes massive expectations, the demand to maintain artistic credibility, of course, while continuing to entertain the masses with their epic, soaring sound. Many acts have stumbled under such pressure, but with that opening line, from a pounding Ready to Start, Butler and his sprawling band signal that its a challenge they're happy to embrace. And embrace it they do.
A jaunty warm-up by the pleasantly lightweight Vampire Weekend was a perfect amuse-bouche before the main course but their set also serves to show how difficult it is to fill the O2’s sprawling stage. Arcade Fire have no such difficulties, with their eight members all taking the stage surrounded by numerous drums, keyboards, violins and guitars. Looming behind them is an array of floodlights on a pylon and what resembles a drive-in cinema screen. The scale of their set design, however, barely comes close to matching the scale of their ferociously energetic performance. From the first song on, the entire band exhibit a feverish intensity that often threatens to spin out of control, but they always manage to create instead a focused sort of anarchy.
Butler's wife, Regine Chassagne, acts as theatrical foil to her husband, her doll-like appearance and voice of glass an effective counterpoint to Butler's towering leadership. The setlist achieves a nice balance between the mature songs from their latest album, The Suburbs, and beloved tracks from Funeral.
Before finishing with a rousing Wake Up,Butler invokes the bands legendary set at the 2005 Electric Picnic – that gig seems a long time ago now, but with this euphoric performance, they more than recreate the special energy of that famous night. Above all, Butler and his band seem to be inviting everybody, from the businessmen to the art school kids, to join them for the ride.
