Arcade Fire

[Hugh Jass II]

3 minutes ago, Miyn said:

I interpreted 4th down JP as an idea of placement for a secret (or special as they've actually been announced for Coachella) set, 4th down announced normally would be crazy even by Matt's standards.

It’s most likely he’s talking about secret set here, but every few days he pops up with “Arcade Fire aren’t big enough to headline anymore, right?” in a fairly naked attempt to provoke an argument nobody is interested in having.

[kingbadger]

2 minutes ago, Hugh Jass II said:

It’s most likely he’s talking about secret set here, but every few days he pops up with “Arcade Fire aren’t big enough to headline anymore, right?” in a fairly naked attempt to provoke an argument nobody is interested in having.

The thing with a band like Arcade Fire is that there's not necessarily any need for them to revisit Glastonbury again. They've made their way to headline the Pyramid and done it. I wouldn't put a secret set past them because they seem in tune with the festival's culture/ethos. But there's no unfinished business (like say Gorillaz) and if they never play again, what does it matter? Glastonbury might be the be all and end all for us lot, but does it matter to a headline act like Arcade Fire? Metallica were initially due to headline Other, now they've done the Pyramid are we half expecting them to show up again to headline Other as originally planned? 

[Florian Saucer Attack]

13 minutes ago, kingbadger said:

The thing with a band like Arcade Fire is that there's not necessarily any need for them to revisit Glastonbury again. They've made their way to headline the Pyramid and done it. I wouldn't put a secret set past them because they seem in tune with the festival's culture/ethos. But there's no unfinished business (like say Gorillaz) and if they never play again, what does it matter? Glastonbury might be the be all and end all for us lot, but does it matter to a headline act like Arcade Fire? Metallica were initially due to headline Other, now they've done the Pyramid are we half expecting them to show up again to headline Other as originally planned? 

You can apply this logic to Beyoncé or Stevie Wonder but arcade fire play festivals regularly 

Am I right to assume you are not a fan of arcade fire?

[Matt42]

9 hours ago, Hugh Jass II said:

Weird how once a week Matt seems to come along with his “Arcade Fire aren’t very big” schtick.

You can smell the desperation for a row about it.

 

9 hours ago, Miyn said:

I interpreted 4th down JP as an idea of placement for a secret (or special as they've actually been announced for Coachella) set, 4th down announced normally would be crazy even by Matt's standards.

 

8 hours ago, TASHMA BWABWE said:

 

Oh...that's a thing, is it? Weird. I did wonder whether it was a tongue in cheek comment or just a grossly naive take. I'm new here and guess I fell into the trap.

Guys come on. It was clearly in reference to them playing 4th or so down a stage very similar to the JP at coach.

[FuzzyDunlop]

Is there a thought of them doing a secret set?

[FloorFiller]

Just now, FuzzyDunlop said:

Is there a thought of them doing a secret set?

They’re a very real possibility. They’re doing a lot of last minute small/secret sets in the run up to this album release and considering they’re probably not gonna get the call to headline again any time soon, then doing a secret set would keep them in the frame for possibly returning sometime in the future. Considering Glastonbury’s love for secret sets, they’re top of the list of bands likely to be up for it imo. 

[JSmurphy]

I'd absolutely love that.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

Makes sense to me, the secret sets recently have been pretty big headliner sized bands. What with the two year gap and missed 50th, you’d expect a few surprises to be pulled out of the bag and bigger ones than normal years at that.

Edited April 15, 2022 by Deaf Nobby Burton

[kingbadger]

10 hours ago, TASHMA BWABWE said:

Maybe they don't need to play, but they might still want to.

They're a successful band who tour and have a big following, and Glastonbury is a big festival to perform at in support of a new record release, so why wouldn't they if it's offered to them?

As I said above, I wouldn't put doing a secret set past them if they wanted to do  the festival, especially with what they're doing currently. Equally they've headlined at a time when their profile was highest in the UK, and they are one of the smallest headliners in terms of mainstream recognition in the UK in the festival's modern era. Are they going to be on Glastonbury's radar as a repeat headliner? 

[kingbadger]

10 hours ago, Florian Saucer Attack said:

You can apply this logic to Beyoncé or Stevie Wonder but arcade fire play festivals regularly 

Am I right to assume you are not a fan of arcade fire?

You're wrong, I'm gutted I weren't there for their 2014 set and they'd be right at the top of my list for realistic dream headliners. Would love to be proven wrong and for them to do it again, but I feel they played at their peak in terms of mainstream popularity in the UK and would need another big, commercially successful album to be invited back.

[Matt42]

22 minutes ago, kingbadger said:

Are they going to be on Glastonbury's radar as a repeat headliner? 

Let’s be honest, they are doing a secret set at Coachella because their chances of being asked back there to headline is probably slim too. They’ve been backed into a corner where they can’t come back to the big festivals as a headliner, so a special set is really the only way to do it.

I can totally see them popping up at Glastonbury doing something similar. They are a very niche band in the UK and they were booked to headline due to quality of output, and probably some expectation that reflektor would be a bigger record for them than it was after the suburbs. Pretty sure they got the call too after FM declined.

I would absolutely love to see them at glasto doing something similar to what they are doing at Coachella. Or returning to Glastonbury as a sub or other stage headliner would be cool. 

Edited April 15, 2022 by Matt42

[FuzzyDunlop]

28 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

They’re a very real possibility. They’re doing a lot of last minute small/secret sets in the run up to this album release and considering they’re probably not gonna get the call to headline again any time soon, then doing a secret set would keep them in the frame for possibly returning sometime in the future. Considering Glastonbury’s love for secret sets, they’re top of the list of bands likely to be up for it imo. 

Other than Diana Ross, they'd be my number 1 of the festival. I'd miss macca for them I think.

[Bucketsquad]

Just now, FuzzyDunlop said:

Other than Diana Ross, they'd be my number 1 of the festival. I'd miss macca for them I think.

Have you seen them live before? They are worth missing a lot of bands for as they are epic live.

[Florian Saucer Attack]

6 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Let’s be honest, they are doing a secret set at Coachella because their chances of being asked back there to headline is probably slim too. They’ve been backed into a corner where they can’t come back to the big festivals as a headliner, so a special set is really the only way to do it.

I can totally see them popping up at Glastonbury doing something similar. They are a very niche band in the UK and they were booked to headline due to quality of output, and probably some expectation that reflektor would be a bigger record for them than it was after the suburbs. 

I would absolutely love to see them at glasto doing something similar to what they are doing at Coachella. Or returning to Glastonbury as a sub or other stage headliner would be cool. 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

12 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Let’s be honest, they are doing a secret set at Coachella because their chances of being asked back there to headline is probably slim too. They’ve been backed into a corner where they can’t come back to the big festivals as a headliner, so a special set is really the only way to do it.

I can totally see them popping up at Glastonbury doing something similar. They are a very niche band in the UK and they were booked to headline due to quality of output, and probably some expectation that reflektor would be a bigger record for them than it was after the suburbs. Pretty sure they got the call too after FM declined.

I would absolutely love to see them at glasto doing something similar to what they are doing at Coachella. Or returning to Glastonbury as a sub or other stage headliner would be cool. 

Many people probably thought the same about the Killers though, until their secret set, so all the more reason to do it.

[stuartbert two hats]

I do think this "band big enough to headline at a pinch" is a very real thing and can be very awkward in keeping acts away from Glastonbury. The Cure are one of those bands that aren't small enough to play any slot other than headline and not big enough to turn up on regular rotation like Coldplay, Muse or the Artic Monkeys - so have 14 year gaps between appearances.

I do wish these slightly offbeat huge bands that I enjoy so much like Arcade Fire, The Cure and Radiohead would get a bit smaller, so I could see them at Glastonbury more often, but I think they're stuck in the current position - I don't think they've dropped down to subbing, at least not yet.

[misterplow]

14 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

They’ve been backed into a corner where they can’t come back to the big festivals as a headliner, so a special set is really the only way to do it.

Watch them headline big fests such as Rock En Seine, Opener, Rock Werchter, Mad Cool, Roskilde, Flow, Oya and Sziget next year.  

[the wonderwhy]

15 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Let’s be honest, they are doing a secret set at Coachella because their chances of being asked back there to headline is probably slim too. They’ve been backed into a corner where they can’t come back to the big festivals as a headliner, so a special set is really the only way to do it.

I don’t think this is true. They’re doing a surprise set because it fits in with their spontaneous touring schedule at the moment. They’ve just been announced as a headliner for one of Canada’s biggest music festivals (filling in for one of the biggest bands in the world, no less). 
 

I would be kinda surprised if they never headlined Glastonbury again to be honest. I imagine the pieces will fall into place one year. There isn’t a lot of other places for them to go in the UK (APE and Latitude is basically it, they’re never doing IOW) and they’re much more of a festival band than an own-gig-in-a-big-field band. They’re a critically acclaimed booking now in the same vein as Radiohead or The Cure (although obviously not quite as big) so they’ll definitely be on the festival’s radar, just probably won’t ever be a first choice. Put them with a Taylor Swift and an Arctic Monkeys and nobody‘s going to bat an eyelid. 

[Matt42]

9 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Many people probably thought the same about the Killers though, until their secret set, so all the more reason to do it.

I mean the Killers have something that Arcade Fire don’t have… not really comparable.

 

6 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I do think this "band big enough to headline at a pinch" is a very real thing and can be very awkward in keeping acts away from Glastonbury. The Cure are one of those bands that aren't small enough to play any slot other than headline and not big enough to turn up on regular rotation like Coldplay, Muse or the Artic Monkeys - so have 14 year gaps between appearances.

I do wish these slightly offbeat huge bands that I enjoy so much like Arcade Fire, The Cure and Radiohead would get a bit smaller, so I could see them at Glastonbury more often, but I think they're stuck in the current position - I don't think they've dropped down to subbing, at least not yet.

I would say the Cure, Radiohead are stratospherically bigger than Arcade Fire. On a different playing field. The Cure whilst not releasing anything new for a long time are extremely established and some of their tours across Europe sell extremely well (like Depeche Mode).

 

7 minutes ago, misterplow said:

Watch them headline big fests such as Rock En Seine, Opener, Rock Werchter, Mad Cool, Roskilde, Flow, Oya and Sziget next year.  

I don’t doubt it, but these festivals book very different to Glasto/Coachella. Glastonbury is way bigger than all of those. None of these could keep Kendrick Lamar no matter how much money they threw at him. 

[zahidf]

I can see them doing APE next year for sure 

[Matt42]

1 minute ago, the wonderwhy said:

I don’t think this is true. They’re doing a surprise set because it fits in with their spontaneous touring schedule at the moment. They’ve just been announced as a headliner for one of Canada’s biggest music festivals (filling in for one of the biggest bands in the world, no less). 
 

I would be kinda surprised if they never headlined Glastonbury again to be honest. I imagine the pieces will fall into place one year. There isn’t a lot of other places for them to go in the UK (APE and Latitude is basically it, they’re never doing IOW) and they’re much more of a festival band than an own-gig-in-a-big-field band. They’re a critically acclaimed booking now in the same vein as Radiohead or The Cure (although obviously not quite as big) so they’ll definitely be on the festival’s radar, just probably won’t ever be a first choice. Put them with a Taylor Swift and an Arctic Monkeys and nobody‘s going to bat an eyelid. 

I respect your view, I just think comparing them to Radiohead and the Cure misses an awful lot of important factors.

[FuzzyDunlop]

23 minutes ago, Bucketsquad said:

Have you seen them live before? They are worth missing a lot of bands for as they are epic live.

Yeah. Saw them on the Pyramid 2014, Manchester Castlefield Bowl 2017 & at the Manc Arena 2018.

I agree fully with you!

[Mark_safc]

40 minutes ago, FuzzyDunlop said:

Other than Diana Ross, they'd be my number 1 of the festival. I'd miss macca for them I think.

Don't tempt fate...McCartney is the only one on the lineup I want to see no matter what...would hate to miss an Arcade Fire secret set or otherwise...but would have to in order to see a Beatle.

Edited April 15, 2022 by Mark_safc

[Florian Saucer Attack]

13 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

I mean the Killers have something that Arcade Fire don’t have… not really comparable.

and that something is being so middle of the road that people who do not like music like them.

Let's not narrow the list of potential headliners to these types of acts and the latest pop stars who might turn out to be the flavour of the week 

[Mark_safc]

20 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

I respect your view, I just think comparing them to Radiohead and the Cure misses an awful lot of important factors.

I've seen a lot of bands live over the years including Radiohead and Arcade Fire are up there with the best. It's a very special experience seeing them live.