Fans here have always warmed to Arcade Fire
Win Butler and co back tonight for their hotly anticipated 3Arena gig
The love affair between Arcade Fire and Ireland has been blossoming for over 13 years.
The Montreal sevenpiece played a legendary gig at Electric Picnic in 2005 and have repaid Irish fans for their dedication by returning for shows here every couple of years or less.
Some 10 months after their mammoth gig in Malahide Castle, Arcade Fire are back tonight for a sold-out gig in Dublin’s 3Arena.
There’s been the secret shows too and last June following their show, fans were also treated to a secret post-gig party in Whelan’s where the band returned to the stage for an impromptu set at the first Irish venue they ever played.
Since expoding onto the scene in 2004 with the release of their critically acclaimed debut album Funeral, the indie outfit have become one of the biggest bands in the world with four more albums under their belt and numerous Grammy awards on the mantlepiece.
Last year, the band – consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, along with Win’s younger brother William Butler, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara – released their fifth offering, Everything Now.
It went straight to the top of the Irish charts within a week of its released and scored the band their third number one album here.
The 13-track record, which follows the band’s previous charttoppers The Suburbs (2010) and Reflektor (2013), was also named best-selling album of the week both on vinyl and for independent retailers.
Despite its chart-topping status the album wasn’t terribly well received but Butler has welcomed the criticism.
He told The Guardian last week: “Part of me hopes that this record is our stinker, our horrible record.
“Because if it is, then we may be the greatest band of all time. It’s pretty funny to me. If that’s the worst thing we can possibly do then I’m at peace.”
According to Butler, people missed the point of what Arcade Fire were trying to do with the album, from its satirical promotional campaign to its overarching narrative.
The audience responded to discussion of “evil corporations” as old news, something that had been talked to death.
But, Butler said, “I look at the moment we’re in. We’ve got a reality star in charge of the United States, and everything that we love and care about is filtered through this incredible corporate structure.”
He noted that we accept Apple as a benign entity, but we don’t really have a reason to. “Like: ‘Hey, we’re not Exxon, we’re the good guys!’ We’ve all just accepted it.”
The musician also waxed lyrical about the current state of American politics.
“I think the American left are crazy, too. I’m an independent, I’ve never been a registered Democrat. I voted for Obama, I’ve only voted for Democrats, but I have no horse in that race, no one I have any affiliation to.
“My heroes are Martin Luther King and Gandhi. I’m way more on the side of MLK than I am Occupy Wall Street in terms of my personal philosophy.
“The thing about the civil rights movement was it was about something very specific, and I find that the left is just devouring itself. Concerning itself with things that are not particularly healthy; not focusing on accomplishing actual things, just surface things.”
While he supports activism like the March for Our Lives movement, he admitted that he grew up around guns – particularly shotguns – and isn’t convinced Americans are ready for change.
“There was a mass shooting at a country music festival that didn’t even move the needle on gun control; I don’t know if we’re up to the challenge as a people,” he said.
“Just putting in a hashtag is not enough. It does feel satisfying, and it’s a useful tool, but it’s really not affecting the thing itself, which is
’Part of me hopes that this record is our stinker, our horrible record’
physical, completely human and not even political, really. It has to transcend politics. We’ll see if it can break through that noise ceiling.”
Fans lucky enough to get a ticket for tonight’s show are in for a treat as the setlist boasts some new tracks alongside stomping hits such as Rebellion (Lies), Neon Bible and Wake Up.