(Archive December 2017) Arcade Fire Concert in Toronto

By Rachel Aster | Observer Contributor

Arcade Fire had a strong finish to the North American leg of their current tour for their new album, Everything Now. The last two shows of the tour took place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario on November 3^rd and 4^th with opening band and local Toronto legends, Broken Social Scene. 

The Montreal based band made quite the entrance setting up the stage as a wrestling ring and entering with the announcement of each member and their height and weight as done in a wrestling match. The core 7 members of the band had this entrance for every show of the tour to ensure they could interact with their fans, high fiving them as they entered the stage. 

You could see the band glowing as they entered the stage and opened the show with their new single and title track, “Everything Now.” It was a strong start to the show and carried the excitement of the grand entrance they had made.

Lead singer Win Butler and his wife and band member Regine Chassagne each had intimate encounters with their fans during the concert. Butler walked through the crowd and into the stands while singing, allowing fans to give him a pat on the back. Chassagne danced under a disco ball with of a sea of fans during their dance hit and title track from previous album Reflektor. 

The lightshow and smoke machines added excitement and intensity during the two-hour concert. The vocals and instruments were evenly heard throughout the venue due to the setup of the stage being in the center of the room. The band had back to back rotating drum kits that were used to keep all four sides of the room engaged. 

Arcade Fire is known for respecting their fans and their opening bands. Butler could be found both nights standing front and center in the crowd listening to the opening band. Butler does this to encourage fans to acknowledge their opener choice and to show respect to the bands they choose. 

The show ended with one of their biggest songs and fan favorite, “Wake Up.” They exited through the crowd once again, each member playing an instrument and gleaming smiles bringing the high energy show to a satisfying close.