Arcade Fire & The National@United Palace, May 8

One of my very first musical experiences in New York City will definitely go down as memorable. How could it not be when it was a performance by two of the best bands of the past year? The much-hyped Arcade Fire and the National, who are less well-known but just
as amazing performed at the United Palace
Theater, NYC. Despite sound problems and a twisted ankle (which forced
Brooklyn's The National to shorten their set) both of the bands offered us
some surreal moments.



I have seen The National perform many times in Europe, so I know how
amazing and heartbreaking they are live. Even
yesterday where the conditions were not the best, they played several sublime songs such as "Start A War", "Squalor Victoria" or
their magical version of "About Today" which ended their set beautifully.
They humbly left the stage to the Canadians of The Arcade Fire who went on to launch over an hour-long explosion of music, colours and energy. I
had never seen anything like it. The Arcade Fire shows are a real
experience and the audience was in a trance until the very
last minute, when Win Butler invited the crowd to take the stage and
improvise choral back up on the wonderful "Wake Up"...

posted by pauline.passionate @ 10:50 AM