Swish
08-07-2010, 06:17 AM
Well boys and girls, I can't believe I'm at my computer already, getting home after 1 AM from this show in Columbia, MD. The Merriweather Post Pavilion is in the suburbs of DC/Baltimore (how ironic that the new cd from Arcade Fire is called "The Suburbs'), and it's a really nice amphitheater with thousands of seats under roof and the cheap seats behind that on a grassy hill, so bring a blanket. We had pretty good seats in the loge section to the right of the stage.
This was my 3rd time seeing Spoon and they were somewhat underwhelming this time, but probably because they respected their role as the opening act, and it was apparent that most of the 14,000 in attendance were there to see Arcade Fire. My friend Eric was surprised that Arcade Fire could draw this many people, but I reminded him they just played Madison Square Garden for cryin' out loud. I won't get into the set list for Spoon, but the highlights were 'Don't You Evah' and 'Cherry Bomb'. The crowd was enthusiastic but not overzealous as they played about 8 or 9 songs and left the stage to a standing o after about an hour. I'll be seeing them on 9/11(ugh) as the headliner, so I'm sure that will be a better time for them.
Arcade Fire came on stage around 9:00 and were greeted with raucous applause, and they lit it up immediately, with the 8 man, or should I say 5 man + 3 women, band grabbed their instruments and set the place on fire. Everyone was on their feet so that was the last we saw of our seats the rest of the night. The opening song was a bit unfamiliar to most since it was 'Ready to Start' off their new release "The Suburbs' (I listened to it about 8 times since getting an mp3 copy on Tuesday), but the crowd was going bonkers anyway. Next was 'Month of May', also from the new one, then 'Neighborhood' #1 from 'Funeral', and it sounded as they everyone knew the lyrics as the sang along. In fact, they sang along with every song from 'Funeral' and 'Neon Bible'. Let's face it, most of their songs are up-tempo, 'crowd-ready' anthems, and the entire band leaves nothing on the stage. What fun!
The fourth song 'The Well and the Lighthouse' was from 'Neon Bible', then 'Half Light II" off the new cd, but it was cut short because the drum machine malfunctioned, and Win Bulter told us they were trying to incorporate a drum machine into their music to get some new sounds, but it kept 'fu*king up', drawing a laugh from the audience, and they immediately started 'Neighborhood #2.
Here's the rest of the set list:
7. No Cars Go
8. Haïti
9. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
10. The Suburbs
11. The Suburbs (Continued)
12. Modern Man Play
13. Rococo Play
14. Intervention Play
15. We Used to Wait Play
16. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
17. Rebellion (Lies)
. Encore:
18. Keep the Car Running
19. Wake Up
All in all a great show, and if you get a chance to see them, GO!
This was my 3rd time seeing Spoon and they were somewhat underwhelming this time, but probably because they respected their role as the opening act, and it was apparent that most of the 14,000 in attendance were there to see Arcade Fire. My friend Eric was surprised that Arcade Fire could draw this many people, but I reminded him they just played Madison Square Garden for cryin' out loud. I won't get into the set list for Spoon, but the highlights were 'Don't You Evah' and 'Cherry Bomb'. The crowd was enthusiastic but not overzealous as they played about 8 or 9 songs and left the stage to a standing o after about an hour. I'll be seeing them on 9/11(ugh) as the headliner, so I'm sure that will be a better time for them.
Arcade Fire came on stage around 9:00 and were greeted with raucous applause, and they lit it up immediately, with the 8 man, or should I say 5 man + 3 women, band grabbed their instruments and set the place on fire. Everyone was on their feet so that was the last we saw of our seats the rest of the night. The opening song was a bit unfamiliar to most since it was 'Ready to Start' off their new release "The Suburbs' (I listened to it about 8 times since getting an mp3 copy on Tuesday), but the crowd was going bonkers anyway. Next was 'Month of May', also from the new one, then 'Neighborhood' #1 from 'Funeral', and it sounded as they everyone knew the lyrics as the sang along. In fact, they sang along with every song from 'Funeral' and 'Neon Bible'. Let's face it, most of their songs are up-tempo, 'crowd-ready' anthems, and the entire band leaves nothing on the stage. What fun!
The fourth song 'The Well and the Lighthouse' was from 'Neon Bible', then 'Half Light II" off the new cd, but it was cut short because the drum machine malfunctioned, and Win Bulter told us they were trying to incorporate a drum machine into their music to get some new sounds, but it kept 'fu*king up', drawing a laugh from the audience, and they immediately started 'Neighborhood #2.
Here's the rest of the set list:
7. No Cars Go
8. Haïti
9. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
10. The Suburbs
11. The Suburbs (Continued)
12. Modern Man Play
13. Rococo Play
14. Intervention Play
15. We Used to Wait Play
16. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
17. Rebellion (Lies)
. Encore:
18. Keep the Car Running
19. Wake Up
All in all a great show, and if you get a chance to see them, GO!