Arcade Fire

[Mash011]

1 minute ago, fowls said:

It wasn't so much the singing that I found strange, it was how frequently the singing slipped into a laddish chant - it was like a Fratellis gig at times (or a night at 5th Ave...). The Ooooohs were far outnumbered by Laaaas and Duuuuhs. I've never heard that at an AF gig before.

 

I would have excused it as people not knowing the songs and grabbing onto any hook they could find (pints of lager with the lads, get a bit lairy etc), but there was plenty of singing to fairly obscure parts of songs too.

 

I found it endearing as a one off, but hope it doesn't become a habit. Very British sounding though!

Haha yeah it was a bit like that. First gig I've been to in Manchester so I kind of wrote it off as a Northern thing but maybe I'm wrong on that one. Crowd was definitely enthusiastic, if not exactly the right atmosphere for it. For whatever reason the gig didn't really connect for me even if the band were fantastic. May just be that I was unfortunate to encounter a few dicks in the crowd, and it was the first gig in a while I'd done sober.

[fowls]

Just now, Mash011 said:

Haha yeah it was a bit like that. First gig I've been to in Manchester so I kind of wrote it off as a Northern thing but maybe I'm wrong on that one. Crowd was definitely enthusiastic, if not exactly the right atmosphere for it. For whatever reason the gig didn't really connect for me even if the band were fantastic. May just be that I was unfortunate to encounter a few dicks in the crowd, and it was the first gig in a while I'd done sober.

Oh yeah, some prats near me distracted me so much I closed my eyes for most of a song - I was determined to enjoy every minute of it! Haha It's a pity how much the crowd can really swing your perception of a show. Been to plenty that I know should have been a great show, but the people around me ruined it. 

It was Win's emotion that really connected with me for this show, along with the crowd enthusiasm. It was great to see it was more than just another show to them, albeit for the worst of reasons. Talking about the bombings and then breaking into Here Comes the Nighttime with all the lyrics about righteous preachers falsely believing they're getting into heaven was bloody intense!!!! Never saw the song in that angry way before.

[reflekting]

2 hours ago, nikkic said:

Anyone else see the Instagram post earlier where they said "pre-order new album for exclusive access to future shows".

European tour awaits! 

Arcade fire tube advised that they will be touring in spring next year. He is mostly reliable, with the exception of suggesting that they would release a new single today. 

[nikkic]

25 minutes ago, reflekting said:

Arcade fire tube advised that they will be touring in spring next year. He is mostly reliable, with the exception of suggesting that they would release a new single today. 

Yeah just checked their tour dates for the remainder of the year and they are pretty much full with US, Canada and South America, so next year seems more likely. 

[Odessa]

Defo won't be able to turn down the tour if it's next year. Might have given it a miss if it had been the end of this year. Kinda scared to see them in an arena now cos I dunno if it'll live up to last night. Love all 3 new songs now so fully convinced the album is gonna be great.

[Tr234]

If you're facing the stage what sides are the toilets on? Going today don't want to be too far

[Hugh Jass]

46 minutes ago, Tr234 said:

If you're facing the stage what sides are the toilets on? Going today don't want to be too far

They're on the left.

[Amy Lawn]

3 hours ago, Hugh Jass said:

They're on the left.

Are Tories welcome in the toilets at Castlefield Bowl?

[D-Low]

Great gig. Was it just me or did the sound get quieter for AF though? Was loud as fuck for the support on before I was screaming in my girlfriend's ear trying to talk to her but when the band came on the sound got significantly quiet.

[stuartbert two hats]

1 minute ago, D-Low said:

Great gig. Was it just me or did the sound get quieter for AF though? Was loud as fuck for the support on before I was screaming in my girlfriend's ear trying to talk to her but when the band came on the sound got significantly quiet.

It wasn't very loud was it?

[bocumaroy]

Might be of interest to some for an insight into their early shows (only Win and Regine from the current line-up). Been listening to all the really old unreleased stuff a lot lately; would love for some of it to end up on a release one day but it seems too much like an entirely different world for them. 

 

[efcfanwirral]

20 hours ago, Mash011 said:

Haha yeah it was a bit like that. First gig I've been to in Manchester so I kind of wrote it off as a Northern thing but maybe I'm wrong on that one. Crowd was definitely enthusiastic, if not exactly the right atmosphere for it. For whatever reason the gig didn't really connect for me even if the band were fantastic. May just be that I was unfortunate to encounter a few dicks in the crowd, and it was the first gig in a while I'd done sober.

Is just Manchester, crowd is usually made up of absolute dickheads so to be honest we got off lightly the other night with so few! 

[CaledonianGonzo]

[Amy Lawn]

4 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

Is just Manchester, crowd is usually made up of absolute dickheads so to be honest we got off lightly the other night with so few! 

Alright, Captain Generalisation

[stuartbert two hats]

5 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

Is just Manchester, crowd is usually made up of absolute dickheads so to be honest we got off lightly the other night with so few! 

Maybe it's because I'm local, therefore one of the dickheads, but I didn't see any. There were plenty of people with more enthusiasm than musical ability, but I'd rather that than a dead crowd.

I just wish the sound had been better.

[Hutchmaster]

I quite like the Manchester crowd, they show passion more than other places I've been to.

[Avalon_Fields]

On 07/07/2017 at 10:21 AM, verrymerry said:

What a gig! We could see sweet eff all for the first few songs (top of the seated bit) so we went to go downstairs and managed to stand on the bottom steps. Security gave up trying to move people in the end. 

I'm guessing we weren't the only ones singing Wake Up on the way home! 

We were obviously very close!!

[efcfanwirral]

2 minutes ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

Alright, Captain Generalisation

 

1 minute ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Maybe it's because I'm local, therefore one of the dickheads, but I didn't see any. There were plenty of people with more enthusiasm than musical ability, but I'd rather that than a dead crowd.

I just wish the sound had been better.

 

I live here too, just noticed a lot of 'laddishness' at many gigs over the years. Some are the ones where I know fully what I'm getting myself into but I always spot a few. Somehow spotted a fight at Radiohead behind the sound desk during all I need on Tuesday! 

I think Thursday was one of the better ones, people actually knew most of the songs which I find is quite rare. I always like the amosphere at that venue to be fair. 

[Amy Lawn]

True, the indie rock fan in Manchester does tend to skew toward a different type of breed than elsewhere, as a by-product of a massive part of our local pride stemming from the fact that we produced 5 or 6 famous bands and there was a notorious nightclub here in the 1980s. There's good and bad that comes from that. In my experience, few other places have a sort of gig culture like Manchester does. On the whole I think it's a good thing; we're one of the best places in the entire world in terms of the quality and number of bands who pass through here all the time. There's an amazing wealth of niche artists who play in the city centre all the time, and so many of them get amazingly receptive crowds. There's a tendency to get a bit "Let's go fucking mental na na na na whey!" at the bigger indie gigs, but a bit of laddishness is the only thing we have to trade for being one of the best gig cities in the world, so I think we're still coming out on top.

Other than that, I'd sum up Manchester by saying the vegan food options are fucking great, there's a very good comic shop, and everything else is w*nk.

[CaledonianGonzo]

But are you 'mad for it'?

[stuartbert two hats]

20 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

 

 

I live here too, just noticed a lot of 'laddishness' at many gigs over the years. Some are the ones where I know fully what I'm getting myself into but I always spot a few. Somehow spotted a fight at Radiohead behind the sound desk during all I need on Tuesday! 

I think Thursday was one of the better ones, people actually knew most of the songs which I find is quite rare. I always like the amosphere at that venue to be fair. 

Oh actually, just after Win threw some water into the crowd, some prick chucked the end of their pint into the crowd, spraying me and Mrs Hats amongst many others.

And that first night of the Roses return. Fuck's sake, so much piss from the sky.

I take it all back, fucking Mancs.

 

[bocumaroy]

Enjoyed the atmosphere less than any previous Arcade Fire gig but it wasn't awful by any means. Didn't see any bad dickhead behaviour as such, just a small cluster who seemed more interested in having a mad one with their mates rather than responding to what was happening on stage.

Quite a few people around me were pretty disrespectful during Beak> though and I think the band noticed.

 

[Mash011]

10 minutes ago, bocumaroy said:

Quite a few people around me were pretty disrespectful during Beak> though and I think the band noticed.

To be honest, and this is as someone who usually gets way more into support bands than most of the crowd, I found Beak> pretty dull. Maybe the wrong setting for them it all had very little impact for me.

[fowls]

1 hour ago, efcfanwirral said:

Is just Manchester, crowd is usually made up of absolute dickheads so to be honest we got off lightly the other night with so few! 

Nah, I've been to plenty of Manc gigs over the years, including the two Suburbs shows and this was the first time I've noticed 'laddishness' outside of a Heaton Park/Cricket Ground setting. If anything Manc crowds tend to be more static and calm than London crowds - getting a decent atmosphere is a rare thing. No idea why - maybe tickets are easier to get so it's not concentrated by a frenzy of super fans? There's certainly far less early queueing in Manchester.

Edited July 8, 2017 by fowls

[CaledonianGonzo]

Generally, perhaps controversially, but genuinely, I don't think support acts automatically mandate 'respect'. The ball's in their court to do with it what they will.  I've seen some great support acts in my time but I've also seen a tonne of absolute garbage and if I'm confronted with the former I'm gonna have a carry on with my mates and go to the bar rather than standing there and stroking my chin over The fucking Twang.