All in All

One of the things that I both love about Mac and at the same time infuriates me is that when he has a new band of suchlike to love, he loves them with a passion bordering on obsession. It’s not that I don’t necessarily love them too, I’m just that little more reserved, so his enthusiasm can become a little too much.

The Arcade Fire are a real case in point. Their first show in London was at Kings College Student Union in early 2005, before the cd was released but of course Mac had an import copy months in advance. He was obsessed. The gig was electric and I could immediately see why he was so impressed and excited. We stood next to Bjork at one point. The gig was slightly ruined by a coke-head record company guest list and his fake-tanned tart, but we have moved on from there. It was essential to see them again to assist that moving on, so off we went to the Astoria a month or so later. Later in the year we then flew to Ireland to see them (and Kraftwerk, another Mac obsession) at the Electric Picnic festival, and there was serious consideration of a trip to the States as well. Mac loves this band.

Now they are back. 5 intimate gigs, followed by a European tour. Mac’s excitement has been close to the ‘I can’t breathe’ stage. We begged, stole and borrowed to get tickets for last night’s St John’s church opening concert, followed by a week in March where there are gigs booked for Brixton, Glasgow and Paris. Isn’t this a bit much?

Well, I’ll admit that I was expecting to be a bit let down last night, after all, what can live up to that much hype, especially when it is promoting a new album not yet released. On top of that, Mac insisted on getting there and queuing up in the cold for 40 minutes before the doors opened to ensure a good seat. However, it well exceeded my expectations and they were utterly, utterly stunning, totally electric and, well, I nearly forgot how to breathe at one point. Best of all, right at the end they went out the side door right by us and played an acoustic version of ‘Wake Up’ on the church steps, and we were able to get to stand right by them, no-one in front of us, almost part of the band itself. A totally magical experience, thank you Mac, you were right again.

Btw, zoom in on the photo on this link to see if you can spot us. We’re about 6 rows from the front, and to the right. I am wearing a brown striped shirt and Mac looks like he’s gobsmacked.
http://andrewkendall.com/pages/misc/zoomify/arcadefirecrowd.php