Montreal's Arcade Fire is often credited with supplying the spark that sparked its music scene, propelling the North American city into the leagues of previous alternative rock hotbeds like New York, Athens (Georgia) and Seattle.
Whether the Montreal scene went on to equal that of 1990's Seattle is debatable-- in fact the "surge" is still in progress, and the complete effect won't likely be understood for many years to come - but the value of Arcade Fire to the Canadian Indie scene is unassailable.
When dismissed as a novelty act of sorts - they had a fondness for performing in uncommon outfits including crash helmets, and often took to marching through their audiences - music addicts soon figured out that Arcade Fire was in reality, the real thing.
An uncommonly large and diverse line-up is headed by lead vocalist Win Butler and his other half, Régine Chassagne, (Canadian born with Haitian roots). Butler's sibling, William, is a multi-instrumentalist (bass, guitars, synthesisers and percussion), and Tim Kingsbury plays bass and guitars. Richard Reed Parry (regularly compared to Napoleon Dynamite) plays guitars, bass, keyboards and accordion, while Sarah Neufeld plays violin and Jeremy Gara sits on drums. Several extra travelling artists suggest the band's on-stage presence is usually around ten, and the reality that so many play numerous instruments-- well, you can think of the capacity for a disorderly phase performance!
Arcade Fire's 2004 launching CD, Funeral, was launched with little excitement. An album that combined the solemn (songs affected by the deaths of numerous of the band's family members), with uncommon instrumentation and pop masterpieces, like Neighbourhood # 3 (Power Out), Funeral captured the critics off-guard. The oversight wouldn't last long, however, and moved by a raucous live show and recommendations from celebrity fans including David Bowie, U2 and Talking Heads' David Byrne, the buzz surrounding the band began to build.
The notorious music evaluation site Pitchfork granted Funeral a 9.7 rating, and it was eventually named Album Of The Year for 2004 by the music press, amassing a host magazine covers, television appearances and awards for the band.
There was a remarkable quantity of pressure on the band to equivalent Funeral's phenomenon with a follow-up release, even though there was little hope of matching the media hype that had accompanied Arcade Fire's "discovery" and the subsequent spotlight on the Montreal music scene.
Neon Bible was released in March, 2007, immediately holding down the primary position in the Canadian music charts and premiering at second on the Billboard album chart. The Neon Bible tour continues this fall throughout North America and Europe, so if you get the opportunity to see Arcade Fire, it's doubtful you'll regret it.
Besides being a remarkable live act, you will witness the band that solitarily begin the Montreal Music scene. And who knows what popular entertainer might join them on phase?
To whet your appetite, here's another fine bit of Arcade Fire performance footage, this time Rebellion (Lies) from the Coachella music festival.
Discography-- Studio Albums
2004: Funeral (# 33 UK).
2007: Neon Bible (# 2 UK).
Several extra taking a trip musicians imply the bands on-stage existence is usually around 10, and the reality that so numerous play numerous instruments-- well, you can think of the potential for a disorderly stage performance!
Arcade Fire's 2004 debut CD, Funeral, was released with little fanfare. An album that integrated the solemn (tunes influenced by the deaths of several of the band's family members), with unusual instrumentation and pop masterpieces, like Neighbourhood # 3 (Power Out), Funeral captured the critics off-guard. The oversight would not last long, nevertheless, and moved by a raucous live program and recommendations from celebrity fans consisting of David Bowie, U2 and Talking Heads' David Byrne, the buzz surrounding the band started to build.
More info: neonsign.com
