Merge Fest: Arcade Fire and Spoon at the Garden

I'll be honest, I only started getting into Arcade Fire this year. When they were starting to get (big) in 2004 and 2005 with their debut album Funeral, I still probably had no idea they existed. At some point they caught on with me but I still wasn't impressed. It took tickets to their show to get me latched on but once I was gearing up for the show, I was already hooked. Their new album The Suburbs leaked and I really liked what I heard. So August 5th came and I finally got my chance to see the indie darlings on one of the biggest stages: Madison Square Garden. Oh and some band named Spoon was opening for them. Deeeecent.

I got to the city around 5pm and waited to meet General Ducks Mazzoli who had recently returned from the battlefield with a broken shoulder blade (what the fuck.) Despite the injury, Ducks was just as pumped as I was for what was going to be a legendary show. We had dinner at one of New York City's finest eating establishments, Chipotle, although Ducks was unsatisfied with his burrito from the god like amount of rice that was thrown into the thing.

After being sent off by Pavement fanatic Jeff Feldman, Ducks and I hit up a bar for a few drinks before the show. We finally met up with Eddie Small and his friend Jim who were also attending the show but were too cool to meet up with us for dinner and drinks. (Actually Eddie got lost, what an idiot.) Ducks and I found our seats fairly easy and while we weren't in the pit up front, we were still on the ground floor with some great seats that were only 50 bucks. (Well worth it for an Arcade Fire and Spoon show.) Some Canadian named Owen Pallett opened at 8 as we were walking in. He wasn't terrible but I wont be downloading his music anytime soon.

I would say it was a little after 9 when the Garden got dark for Spoon to come on. So for the record, this would be my sixth time seeing Spoon and the first time they would not be the headline and the first time I was seeing them in a huge venue. They started the show with just lead singer Britt Daniel coming on to do an acoustic performance of "Me and the Bean" followed by the rest of the band coming on to do a cover of The Dammed song, "Love Song." An interesting start to say the least.

Here is the deal with Spoon. I thought they were very good but it just wasn't the same. Spoon is a band meant for a smaller club like venue and when you see them, you want to be near the front to watch Britt Daniel go crazy on stage and just spaze out like a mad man on his guitar while wailing out his lyrics. At the Garden on Thursday, he was very toned down with his performance and the lights were very bland. Now you have to understand that they were not the main performers so a lot of this toned down act is expected. Still, I feel that this is a chance to reach out to people who have never seen the band play and they were kind of boring on stage. For a band as talented as Spoon, it was a bit of a disappointment. Nothing like the other 5 times I had seen them. So just remember, if you are going to see Spoon: smaller venue, get close and enjoy!

And before I forget, while I thought Spoon was still great, the set list was not. First of all, I'm sorry but "The Ghost of You Lingers" is just not a good song. There are so many other legendary Spoon tracks to choose from. And while I may have been disappointed by their new album Transference, to not include "Written in Reverse" and "The Mystery Zone," the two best songs off the album and your lead single is an outrage. I did like the inclusion of the fan favorite "I Turn My Camera On" and "I Summon You" and "They Never Got You" was a nice surprise but again, on that ending guitar part, Britt Daniel kept it very tame instead of going nuts like he usually does.

(For Jeff and Eddie: Remember when the opened with this at Prospect Park: Unbelievable!)

Anyway, while Spoon was good, they were not the reason I was there. It was more like an added bonus to see them opening up for the headline: Arcade Fire!

What should you expect from a band with 9 members filling up a giant venue and playing from a new album that was released 2 days ago? Pure Fucking Insanity would be correct. Arcade Fire hit the ground running and never stopped. They opened the show with the perfectly titled "Ready to Start" from their new album which got the crowd humming. Things really got going with their second song of the show and second song off their breakthrough debut Funeral, the accordion driven banger "Neighborhood #2 (Laika.) The lights blared while everyone joined along screaming the lyrics. Definitely one of my favorite Arcade Fire songs. (By the way, my opinions deviate little from popular opinion. What usually happens when you have just started liking a band.)

They followed with "No Cars Go," a hit from their second album Neon Bible. The thing that stood out on this song was the almost Méliès like image of the two women on the big screen. Very trippy and weird, especially at the end of the song when their faces matched the songs ending of "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Next was "Haiti" which was another show highlight for me. Régine Chassagne, the wife of lead singer Win Butler, came to the front of the stage to belt out the homage to her home land and the band seemed to put some extra life into this one. She stayed on the mic to lead "Empty Room" which is one of my favorites from the new album. Again, the energy was top notch for this song.

Arcade Fire came back with their new single "The Suburbs" which I really enjoyed although the crowd seemed like they were taking a break. I guess it is kind of a mellow song so I wouldn't expect the crowd to be jumping around. This was followed with "Crown of Love" which I probably enjoyed the least out of the entire show. They went back to their new album with "Rococo" which was funny because as they announced they were going to play this, some guy near us just screamed out "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES." Definitely a highlight from their new album. The next two songs were "Intervention" and "We Used to Wait." The latter saw lead singer Win Butler entering the crowd and trying to balance on the railing. This all seemed to be a set up for their four song medley that would send the crowd into a frenzy and close out their first set in epic fashion.

Win Butler chimed on about the people who ask politely for the people next to them to stop dancing and how those people need to shut the fuck up cause this is a rock concert. Everybody started screaming and red lights drowned the stage with the opening chords of "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), an absolute show stopper. Except they didn't stop and went straight into my favorite Arcade Fire song "Rebellion (Lies)." These songs back to back was definitely the best part of the show. The place was in complete euphoria the entire time. Can I go back now?

While everyone was catching their breath, Arcade Fire went into the fast paced "Month of May" off their new album which was filled with energy but failed in comparison to the two songs prior. They closed the set with "Keep the Car Running," one of the better songs from their lesser second album Neon Bible.

For the encore they could not have chosen three better songs. They opened with their classic opener "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), the song that started it all. It was simply fantastic. Another favorite from the concert. Second was "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) which is definitely my favorite from the new album so I was very happy they played it. And although the drum machine faltered, Butler said that the song was too good not to start over. They got it right the second time and while it was great, I pictured this song to be so much better live and it failed to live up to my expectations. To no ones surprise, Arcade Fire thanked the crowd and dived into their most popular and arguably best song "Wake Up." The crowd sang along to every word as the Garden was actually shaking. I cant remember a better ending to any concert. A truly fantastic experience. The walk home from the train station......not so much.