Arcade Fire and The National @ Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA [5/5/07]

In an effort to avoid the craziness of trying to get tickets for the Arcade Fire's New York shows this week, my friend Matt and I opted instead to get tickets to see the band in Philadelphia. Philly is, after all, a short 90-minute drive away from New York, so it's not too much of a hike, and, given how quickly tickets for the band's three NYC shows sold out, there's a decent chance that we wouldn't have gotten tickets even if we'd wanted to. So Philly it was.

This was the first time I've seen the band since their show at the Bowery in late 2004. That show, and their show earlier that year at the Knitting Factory, was as intense and exciting as just about any concert that I've seen in recent years.

Somewhere along the way since then, however, I've cooled substantially on the band. I'm not a huge fan of Neon Bible -- it's not bad, by any means, but for the most part it doesn't really grab me like Funeral. And, more importantly, I'm a little put off by the fact that the band is being treated like they're the new Beatles or something. I think they're an excellent band, without question, but I really don't see what all of the incredible fuss is about. If I had to put together a list of the most talented, interesting rock bands in the world right now, I doubt that Arcade Fire would even make my top 20. (Hmm, maybe I ought to actually put that to a test...)

So I wasn't particularly surprised to find myself enjoy, but not love, the band's show at the Tower Theater tonight. While I was hoping that hearing the songs from Neon Bible live would get me to like them more, that didn't really happen. Even the older songs didn't grab me like they did when I saw the band in the past. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it was seeing them in a huge theater (where, admittedly, I was in only so-so seats in the balcony). And maybe it's because I always tend to react poorly when I'm at a concert surrounded by hundreds (or thousands) of people who are freaking out over a band that I just can't get that into. I guess being surrounded by so many people going nuts just serves to remind me that I'm not enjoying the show all that much. Either way, I'm glad I saw them, but it's unlikely that I'll rush to see them again before the next album comes out.

The National, on the other hand, impressed the hell out of me. While I was only lukewarm on their new album, Boxer, at first, it's really grown on me (like all of their albums) in subsequent listens and is now one of my favorite albums of the year. The new songs sounded great live, and I can't wait to catch the band in the much cozier confines of Bowery Ballroom in a few weeks.

Pics, such as they are from the balcony:

The National


The Arcade Fire