Report From the Field From Coachella - #8 / The Arcade Fire Report

I know what your asking
what is the reaction to the Arcade Fire
it went some thing like this.

Plam Springs Desert Sun

Arcade Fire

The band started with "Keep the Car Running," followed up by "Black Mirror," "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)," "Haiti," "Intervention" ... and then I stopped taking notes because I was crying. Seriously.

This is a band that makes you emotional.

The highlight for me was hearing the band perform "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" -- when I get married next spring, that's the song that will be playing when I walk down the aisle.

The lowlight of the performance was the drunk douchebag who lumbered up behind me.

"CHILI PEPPERS! Chilipeppers! Chillipeppaas!!" he screamed, even though the Red Hot Chili Peppers weren't scheduled to play for another hour.

The drunk guy had a really difficult time articulating his thoughts about Regine Chassagne's accordion when he screamed, "You suck! Only (expletives) play that keyboard uh, squeezy box thing ... you know, that thing! That thing you're playing now! Chilipepppaas!!"

I wriggled my way closer to the stage until I was surrounded again by the Arcade Fire's reverent and passionate crowd.

Best show I've ever seen. Hands down.

I've dreamt about watching them play, and they surpassed it. I had goosebumps for an hour straight.

Arcade Fire also played "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" before ending with "No Cars Go."

Amazing.

crowd on fire

in five years of going to coachella, I've never seen such a large
crowd as what arrived for arcade fire. they owned coachella and blew
us away. I don't know of any other band who could pull off what they
just did. highlight moment was when the singer, win butler, came out
to the crowd to belt out one of the band's signature tunes. after
only two albums, this band has mastered their craft, and I'm excited
about where they'll take us next.

L.A. Times

Arcade Fire stokes the flames

Tomorrow, on the Sabbath, you get politics, when Rage Against the Machine figures to turn Coachella into a big, old soapbox. On Saturday night, the glowstick-waving crowd got religion.

The Arcade Fire delivered a set so full of spirituality and verve that the main stage could've doubled as a giant, pyrotechnics-loaded pulpit. Nobody in sight -- especially those who witnessed the band's quick rise -- sensed disappointment was around the corner, not from a polite collective of string-wielding Canadians. But in acknowledging that expectations were met, it is easy to take for granted the artful chaos that is Arcade Fire's music. The only small question was whether their unhinged madness would work on such a huge stage.

It did, from the kitchen-sink percussion -- these folks bang on anything that's handy -- to the majestic, almost funereal organ behind "Intervention." The passion was not lost on sweltering crowd; the crowd's affections were not lost on Butler, who thanked them for their kindness. "Manners," he said, "are the cornerstone of a prosperous society."

Orange Country Register

having just watched Arcade Fire turn into a Coachella history maker on the main stage. One for the books, as they say. Maybe even THE one for the books.

The Press-Enterprise

Arcade Fires up the crowd

It looks like Montreal indie darlings the Arcade Fire have packed the field facing the Coachella stage Saturday evening with more people than Bjork attracted as a headliner on Friday night.

The band opened with "Keep the Car Running" from new album "Neon Bible" and practically had a symphony on the stage with them--including a strings section and a French horn.

But the common people weren't the only ones trying to see the Arcade Fire. At the end of The Decemberists' set, singer Colin Meloy announced the band was heading to watch the band and urged the crowd to do the same.

And Carl Newman, lead singer of the New Pornographers, rushed through the crowd in the VIP area to find a spot to watch the band.