Written by Maria Cristina Laureano
On Thursday, August 14 downtown Winnipeg was filled with crowds of people dressed in costume ranging from batman, cowboys and prom queens.
No, Halloween didn’t come early this year – it was the return of Montreal indie rock band Arcade Fire.
The show started off with two opening acts: Tune-Yards, the music project of New England experimentalist Merrill Garbus, and Electronic composer Dan Deacon. Both bands successfully hyped up fans for the main show, particularly Dan Deacon who got people to participate in dance battles – the most interesting being between a person dressed as a mustard bottle and another as Link from the Legend of Zelda. But of course the best was yet to come.
Unlike other concerts that end with a bang, Arcade Fire started their show with one – along with a parade of huge paper mache heads and lights and confetti that poured over the MTS Centre.
Even with their grand entrance, the band did not disappoint and continued the rest of the concert with the same level of energy and showmanship. The uber talented group who have won multiple international awards, including the 2011 Grammy and Juno for Album of the Year, entertained enthusiastic fans with their wide catalogue of music starting off the show with their hit single Here Comes the Night Time.
While each song that was played seemed to be effortless, you could tell the band carefully orchestrated every move to put on the best show. Mesmerized by the high quality of Arcade Fire’s live show, fans were often caught off guard by the performance art that was happening in a makeshift second stage in the centre of the arena. This included a cameo from the infamous MIRRORMAN, a living sculpture artist dressed up in a mirror ball suit, who also was featured in the band’s Reflektor video. Another amazing skill Arcade Fire had was despite the large size of the arena, they still managed to get everyone dancing and up off their seats and recreated the intimacy of their earlier, smaller shows.
If there’s anything to be said about an Arcade Fire concert it’s that they’re thrown with style. Fans were definitely given a show of great music, flashing Technicolor and the right amount of theatrics. And just like the show started, the concert ended with a bang – along with a parade of huge paper mache heads and lights and confetti that poured over the MTS Centre.
