Friday, March 09, 2007

gig reviews: arcade fire, the feeling

Arcade Fire/Manchester Apollo

Perhaps appropriate for a band calling their LP Neon Bible, Arcade Fire seem determined not to do things by the book.

Seven tracks in - all drawn from their latest album - and it's a despondent looking audience. A coy "don't worry, we'll be good and play the hits" remark ushers in a blistering finale eventually curtailed by a bizarre choice of final track: the dour Ocean of Noise.

It's as brave as it is unconventional. One cannot help but feel endeared. 8/10


The Feeling/Manchester Apollo


Support band The Fray are strong, offering up a window back on what The Feeling's own stageshow used to be like. Already they were a fully realised band when playing to rooms of 100 people this time last year, now they've reached the big stages they seem determined to crank proceedings up an extra notch.

They try and throw a new trick in at every turn, most notably the inspired opening montage of Youtube mimes of their own songs. Meanwhile their Video Killed The Radio Star cover - flat on the Rosé b-side - still comes alive on tour.

A great family night out, basically. 8/10

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