.

Arcade Fire Take Over Hollywood For Album Release Party

10/31/2013
.
(Radio.com) When Arcade Fire speaks, people listen. Such was the case this week when the Canadian-rockers-that-could asked fans lucky enough to win tickets to their "surprise" Reflektor release party in Hollywood Tuesday night (Oct. 29) to come dressed as "a Reflektor" (complete with a Pinterest page for inspiration). The results ranged from outfits made of compact discs to homemade takes on the diamond-shaped Reflektor logo, the crowd going above and beyond to support the band's latest disco-at-Haitian-Carnival direction.

That enthusiasm wasn't even dulled by the webcasted event (part of MTV Iggy and Intel's Music Experiment 2.0 series) being held in the heart of Hollywood next to the iconic Capitol Records Building during rush hour, creating a crush of humanity so thick that the city was forced to shut down streets like Vine and Argyle to accommodate the not-so-secret show, particularly after details were revealed earlier in the week. More than 2000 fans packed into a converted parking lot to find a makeshift stage atop a small building in the lot, festooned with long plumes of silver streamers and two massive banks of speakers blasting Haitian dance music before showtime.

When the band launched into Reflektor's title track to open the show, all of that excitement wasn't enough to transcend the flawed logistics. They were perched so high, most of the crowd could only see the top of frontman Win Butler's head and the occasional glimpse of singer Regine Chassagne's waving hand.

The further one stood away from the stage, the better chance there was of actually seeing the band perform. Some concertgoers went all the way into the porta-potty area in hopes of a clearer sightline. The best views seemed to belong to those able to watch the show from the upper floors of the Redbury Hotel and Avalon nightclub across the street. Resourceful fans unable to score tickets ended up getting some of the best views simply by standing along the closed section of Vine Street. More.

Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

Arcade Fire CDs, DVDs and MP3s

Arcade Fire T-shirts and Posters

Share this article

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it Share on Reddit email this article


...end