when a fire starts to burn

Arcade Fire last night. Sidney Myer Music Bowl. I'm a bit speechless...stay with me! AF were nothing short of amazing and by some form of miracle we got a spot up front in the stalls. We stood there dumbfounded with this gawky smile on our faces the whole time. No heads in the way, just looking down the barrel of one the biggest bands going around. Let me count the ways in which I love thee, Arcade Fire.

Diplo was announced as their support the day before the show. What an awesomely random addition to the night! Diplo is in town with Major Lazer who is also doing the Big Day Out rounds and it's great AF got someone out there who wasn't going off the prerequisite of a 'band that sounds like Arcade Fire'. He warmed the crowd up nicely with his set, having us all ready and raring.

Out came the familiar Beavis and Butthead looking bobble heads that have been synonymous with the Reflektor album and everyone started screaming, only for the band to follow out a little later. Good jokes guys! I love that through all the promotion of the Reflektor Album/tour their sense of humour has shone through. They are not taking themselves too seriously. Apparently they walked out to Blur's Song 2 at the Gold Coast Big Day Out, a cheeky nod to the withdrawal of the band from the festival.

AF had suggested to its fans a dress code of 'formal attire or costume' for the tour, in order to create a carnival/party sort of feel. There were a few of these glittery fans sprinkled through the crowds looking fab. AF were all looking sharp; even the runner was wearing a colourful onsie. No need to wear black and be invisible here!

AF put on such a big, strong performance. So much presence, energy and depth. They all played at least three different instruments each, just rotating around the stage and mixing it up. Lead Win Butler worked the crowd, jumping in and joining us, throwing out instruments, taking phones from the crowd to use as props...he definitely earned the bra thrown at him! What a star. The Bobble head came out again as they did a rendition of INXS' 'Devil Inside'. 

The only problem I had with the night is they couldn't play all their songs. Yes, I'm still drunk on love for these guys and I'm all giddy! With such a solid catalogue there are always going to be songs that don't make the cut, it's not exactly a bad problem to have. My favourite song for the night was 'The Suburbs' which is from my favourite album of theirs, that familiar piano at the start came in and you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. They stayed slightly off the usual 'set list formula' and after the Diplo announcement this is no real surprise. 'Wake Up' was played very early and like I said they have so many songs to dig out they had the luxury of keeping us guessing. The last song choice probably surprised most with 'Power Out' giving us the unexpected right to the end.

AF have been on my wish list for some time now and they lived up to everything I had heard about them live. They had everyone eating out of the palm of their hands singing, shouting, dancing, clapping...it certainly had the carnival feel they were shooting for. Epic!

Set list was (via @arcadefiretube): https://twitter.com/ArcadeFiretube/status/425964288243539968/photo/1