A stripped-back show leaves a carnival crowd in search of a party
Arcade Fire Isle of Wight Festival
Known for soaring, emotional art-rock, elaborate stage productions and carnivalesque live shows, Arcade Fire have always thought big. Over the past decade, the indie band has grown in popularity to sell out arenas thanks to incessant touring, rave album reviews and word-of-mouth enthusiasm. Songs from five acclaimed albums hop between the punky and symphonic, the hesitant and anthemic, while their mature, stomping sound is much akin to a mini-orchestra having a instrumental fist fight.
The Canadian group, whose everchanging line-up includes husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, last played a British festival when they triumphantly topped Glastonbury’s bill in 2014. This year’s Isle of Wight festival was to be their only UK show this summer, but last week they played a surprise, intimate gig at a small venue in Scunthorpe, Lincs, opting to perform in-the-round. A warm-up, perhaps, before they set off on a lengthy European tour ahead of the release of their new album in July.
But for their headline act at Seaclose Park on Saturday, Arcade Fire seemed to be missing something – the explosive energy, pounding lights and communal experience that is expected of the top-billed act of the first major festival of the summer.
Arcade Fire have stripped back the visual effects that adorned their previous tour, from papier mâché heads to elaborate sequinned costumes. If anything, more action appeared to be happening off stage this time: while fans embraced the fancy-dress code (Freddie Mercury and Danger Mouse were spotted enjoying a dance together), Butler stalked the stage in a black Stetson and rarely interacted with the audience. This was a shame, because most of Arcade Fire’s songs come equipped with choruses that walloping crowds can lustily trumpet along to. The conductor, it seemed, was missing.
In another departure, they began with their usual majestic set-closer, Wake Up, before slipping into the free-flowing Everything Now, a rallying cry against a culture of instant gratification and consumerism. The song was only released last week but, sandwiched in a set list of hits, felt unsinkable. Co-produced with Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter and Pulp’s Steve Mackey, it’s a chipper throwback to the shimmering disco of Abba with an infectious hook and a spiky, upbeat chorus. The brooding beats continued with favourites Here Comes the Night Time and No Cars Go, while Reflektor, the rousing glory of their fourth album on which David Bowie was a guest vocalist, provided a surge of energy.
With no grand statements, this sleek, minimalist comeback highlighted Arcade Fire’s indulgent ambition as formidable musicians, each member conveying their own emotional maelstrom as they beat drums, guitars and keyboards while beads of sweat flew into the air. That they couldn’t quite rouse the crowd in the same way felt bittersweet.