[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“Ladies and Gentlemen. Boys and Girls. In the red corner – the Kings Of Indie. The Dukes of Earls Court. The Queen Mothers of Melody. The undefeated Arcade Fire!”
With an introduction like that, the rest of the evening is pretty bloody clear.
York Hall is more well known for being a boxing venue, that’s a fact. Yet in a corner of Bethnal Green, tonight feels like something else. With the adverts outside for swimming lessons, fitness workshops and discount gym membership, it’s not exactly the sort of location you’d peg down for one of the world’s biggest bands to shift into a new era. Yet that’s exactly what makes it perfect for Arcade Fire. The rulebook was long thrown out of their waggon, and tonight marks another slice of a band engrossing themselves into 2017 with an unfinished hunger, swagger and charm. The words pinch yourself may be chucked around a lot, but over an hour and forty-five minutes after they take the stage it’s exactly what the hundreds gathered are doing. Live it and breathe it, tonight is something special.
Playing in the round (right where that boxing ring would be), Arcade Fire are a band searing with now. ‘Everything Now’ to be precise, opening like a long-time fan favourite that’s bellowed back in deafening fashion. It ignites an evening that can only be described as indescribable. Swirling with the embodiment of every note and risk they’ve played since Day 1, tonight is a sermon of captivating power, and of a band truly thriving with the platform they now stand. Old favourites are screamed back as if they are written across the lungs of everyone gathered, with ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ setting off Will Butler to storm around the square stage to look at every eye glimpsing, ‘Here Comes The Night Time’ lighting up a tropical disco like it’s a flick of a match and ‘No Cars Go’ driving its way around the building into one collective moment of bliss. It’s a startling reminder of the eras and touchpoints that have made Arcade Fire one of the most beloved bands of modern times. Fresh tracks such as ‘Chemistry’ (debuted tonight and simmering with a sass-filled strut of confidence), ‘Signs Of Life’ and ‘Creature Comfort’ (the latter overflowing with pure emotion and punch) fit perfectly with a catalogue that becomes defiantly unrivalled as the night continues. Never sitting down or pausing for breath, it’s nothing short of faultless.
As ‘Reflektor’ lights up Arcade Fire as the party band of the year, or ‘Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)’ stirs frenzied eyes across the room, or ‘Wake Up’ rings things out with a singalong that could probably be heard across London – tonight proves that Arcade Fire stand in an untouchable class of their own. A band always looking to the future, with every emotion, memory and day making up their strides, York Hall is beyond a gig, beyond a moment and beyond a song. It’s a life pulse that beats through everyone watching, and that’s what makes Arcade Fire so vital.
“Can we do another?” asks Win Butler as the lights come up and the band have left the stage. On tonight’s evidence, the beat will keep going for decades and decades to come. Don’t look away; the next hook is coming right at ya.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]