I went and I saw and it was good.
My trip with G to and from Toronto was akin to a religious experience in some ways. It was definitely a journey.
The concert was excellent. The opener, The Sadies was a great start to the show itself. Their flavor of alternative country, blended with an array of other flavors of rock, was solidly entertaining. I was reminded at moments of Johnny Cash and the Rolling Stones. The guitar playing showed that they are truly seasoned musicians, and now as I review their list of albums I see I was right. Although they are hardly small potatoes, I have to wonder if they are just a hit song away from making it big, and whether they have been searching for it or just enjoying the ride?
Next was Janelle Monáe, who I was also excited to see, and her musicians. She did not disappoint! G likened her to Gwen Stefani, though I likened her to a blend of The Shirelles and Micheal Jackson. She owned the stage, and there were brief moments when I thought she could've easily been the headliner, despite the crowd gathered. I am sure Arcade Fire fans are not her typical crowd, still there were cheers. Her ability to do hip hop, on top of soulful ballads, and pop inspired songs, all while wearing an outfit that looked more like a modified tuxedo (kind of like this one) was impressive. I also got that feeling that even after her long set, she could've easily gone on for hours more. Awesome!
And then at last came the climax of our journey, Arcade Fire. They were all I had hoped. I sit here without regrets. They were excellent musicians. They were normal people inspired, driven, and successful. They played much of their new album, including the song that inspired buying the tickets at the last minute, "Rococo". The performance of "Rococo" was as amazing as I had hoped, and I think G felt the same way. If anything it seemed too short, though I don't know what duration would've sufficed. Several of their songs from "Funeral" and "Neon Bible" were also played and after hearing so many I came into a place of musical awe. There is something remarkably honest about Arcade Fire. The show they put on seemed more like a confession of themselves. They weren't dressed to match or provide a slew of theatrics. They played and sang and danced and other than being practiced musicians, there was an in the moment life to the energy of their performance. A fan favorite, and one of my favorites, "Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)" stirred the crowd to newfound life that carried the concert on to the end, including through the time before the encore when the final notes of "Rebellion (Lies)" were ooooo'd until Arcade Fire retook the stage. (I'd like to believe that the oooo-ing brought them back on and that it was not previously decided, but I know better. Still, how cool was that!?) The hour and a half flew by but it was well worth the journey. The closing song of the encore, "Wake Up", still stuck in my head to now, almost 24 hours later.
(You can even see someone else's recording of the performance. I think this guy was like 3 people away from me because I see my head as he turns the camera towards the crowd!)
For another review, may I suggest Ryan Bolton's on blogto.com, including the set list and some excellent pictures.
The Journey…
Here is the part where I go on and on about why seeing Arcade Fire for 1.5 hours actually took us 16.5 hours. Where did the other 15 hours go?
It wasn't so bad really. I mean I am home now. I am just a whiny baby at this point. In short, G and I left our house at 9:30 AM and got home at 4:00 AM.
Why so long? Well when we left the house we didn't actually have the tickets in hand. Fedex REALLY wanted a signature, and due to our absence this past week I didn't know until Friday when I begged them not to send them back to Canada. The best we could do was leave the family rented lake house early and pick them up half way across town at the Fedex distribution center. After acquiring the tickets about 45 minutes in (10:15 AM) I convinced G I would make it up to her by getting her favorite breakfast at McDonalds (gross, I know, but she has a thing for the McGriddle). After passing by two Burger Kings, we started to get concerned for our fortune, until we found one by 10:40 AM. Little did I know McDonalds is apparently on a different schedule than the rest of the world and serves lunch starting at 10:30 AM. Whatever. Our trip then continued down a road that seemed unnecessarily backed up.
Little did I know then that waiting in lines would be my new hobby for the day.
On to the Buffalo exit and then Niagara Falls, we ran the toll booths at both the Thruway exit and the bridge over Grand Island were ridiculously backed up. Our fortunes, looking grim primed us to spend a lucky dirty dollar I had found in the mud by the train tracks 2 days previous in Auburn, NY. It worked. The border crossing, the expressway, even the parking in Toronto, all went smoothly and quickly. We even caught the ferry to Olympic Island where the concert was to be with little wait. By 3:30 PM I remarked to G about our good fortune to be finding ourselves in line to enter the field where the concert was to be half an hour before "doors open". By 4:30 PM we had settled onto the grass in front of the stage on our towel blanket, and G napped as I had a bite of my tasty fries from The Poutine Machine.
Now I'm sure you're thinking this isn't so bad. I mean at this point we had been only been in a few lines of remarkable size on the expressway, as well as the line for the ferry, the line at McDonalds, and the very long line at Tim Hortons (so I could have something other than McDonalds). There was also the line to get onto the field, and the remarkably long line at The Poutine Machine, and the line at Fedex to get the tickets in the first place, but whatever. We were still there on the grass an hour and a half before show time, in a great spot close to the stage. We could not complain. The dirty dollar's magic had worked. The magic had also run out as we learned after the show.
After the show, and the excellent encore, the crowd was herded first around the entire field, then across a bridge, into a line between two chain-link fences. It took about 30 minutes after the show just to reach this point. It did not take long after that to realize that the ferry we had ridden to Olympic Island was going to be a problem. G and I were now very tired, very hungry, and very dehydrated from hours of travel and concert preceding this line for the ferry. It was not long before I started to wonder how much worse it was for prisoners, or for people sent into concentration camps throughout human history. Here we all were waiting for a line we did not wish to be in, but without choice. Tired and sweaty, with the humid warm air of the night, the smell of hundred of people was pungent, and without access to toilets or water there was an element of cruelty to it. Fortunately for us we knew it would end soon and not turn into the hell experienced by others herded into places not of their choosing. Over an hour and a half later (just before midnight) we were finally among the privileged few to board the ferry to freedom.
By 4 AM we finally had made our way home, but on the way G and I decided we will never ride the ferry to the island again for a concert. Those last 2 hours of the drive were particularly painful as I literally pinched, scratched and even bit myself to stay awake, telling myself to wake up, as the song continued to churn in my fresh memory. I was determined. With the experience of the post concert ferry, next time we'll make the trip to another venue other than the Olympic Island in Toronto, but are glad we went. Would I do it again? For Arcade Fire? Yes. Arcade Fire made it worth it.
Song Recommendations
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Click here for more info on Arcade Fire – Funeral – "Wake Up".
The MP3 may be purchased here…
Arcade Fire - Funeral
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