Photographs by Randall Vasquez.
With the success of last year’s double disc disco dabbling Reflektor, Arcade Fire have continued their legacy of consistency. With singles like Afterlife and We Exist still floating through the air waves, they have not had to worry about drawing attention to promote their newest release. Yet, Arcade Fire still have put on a bigger and more varied show than ever in support of this album; No more are the quaint designs still an aspect of their visual image. With surreal costumes, intense visuals and eccentric props, they have transformed from the kind of band that would tell a story through emotion into the kind of band that tells stories the way they did back in the day. With bands like Pink Floyd and Genesis creating visual representations of their songs, and artists like David Bowie and Alice Cooper becoming different beings, Arcade Fire have decided to use this tour as a catalyst to help speed up their evolution into the live band they are now without forgetting about those who laid the paths before them.
The door to the club is open, and the passage way leads into the future; A future that flirts with the past. Arcade Fire’s get up with this album has been a constant reflection of pop culture’s past since day one (who can forget the Reflektor music video, glad with disco balls and massive heads?). With a twenty minute music video for Here Comes The Night Time to truly introduce the world to the new Arcade Fire, we had enough time to adjust ourselves before their midnight-frolicking album came out. With the new tour celebrating this celebrated album, Arcade Fire have paid tribute to many of their influences with many cover songs. With each city they have visited in North America, they have featured different cover songs. You can find everything from DEVO being performed in Ohio, Nelly being interpreted in Missouri, and even Fugazi being channeled in Washington, amongst many other artists being re-imagined. If both Reflektor and its correlating tour have taught us anything, it’s that Arcade Fire have many surprises left for us. If this is their most celebratory period, they are doing a damn fine job at welcoming the stars as they peak through the night time sky.
