Video: Arcade Fire 'No Cars Go' @ Judson Church, New York City

Home » News » Video: Arcade Fire "No Cars Go" @ Judson Church, New York City

Video: Arcade Fire "No Cars Go" @ Judson Church, New York City

February 19, 2007 4:11 p.m. by Dave Park

The Arcade Fire show on Saturday (February 17) at the Judson Memorial Church was one of the best shows I've ever seen. The energy in the room was electric, and it was actually not too crowded despite being sold out.
There seems to be two schools of thought when it comes to band residencies. The first theory is that it's best to not see the band on the last night because they'll be tired and ready to leave. The other, and the one that applied on Saturday, is that the band will have nailed down their set by the last night. I imagine it was tough getting the sound right at a church and that it probably took a few tries to perfect it. Here are some photos and videos from the show.
"The Well & The Lighthouse" (Judson Memorial Church)

"No Cars Go" (Judson Memorial Church)

Posted in: ARCADE FIRE , PHOTOS , THE WOMBATS

Arcade Fire »
Artist Page

The Wombats »
Artist Page

More features, reviews, photos, mp3s, and video

Crow and Matthews open Democratic National Convention with Red Rocks concert (Video Footage)

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) ft. Rock-afire Explosion (Fan Video)

Radiohead and Arcade Fire bond in Montreal

Kanye, Wyclef, and N.E.R.D. to play Democratic national convention

Arcade Fire not scoring Donnie Darko director's new movie

More news »

9 Responses

February 19, 2007 at 4:49 p.m.

Josh H.

Is the sight of Arcade Fire live videos on every frickin' blog everywhere making anyone else want to puke or wonder if they a really horrible case of deja vu? Or is it just me? Most overrated band possibly ever. Or at least since they started releasing records. I just don't understand how after all of this hype anyone can be excited for this album? I'm biased because I think Arcade Fire suck but doesn't anyone have anything better to do in the Blog-O-Sphere? This is getting to the point of Band of Horses updates on Pitchfork level absurdity.

February 19, 2007 at 5:17 p.m.

Dave Park

They're my favorite rock group of the last few years. Unlike some of the bands that the blog-o-sphere loves they make very distinct, epic music. Even if I didn't like them, they are one of the biggest bands in the "indie" world so of course they're going to get tons of coverage.

February 19, 2007 at 5:31 p.m.

Josh H.

They are one of the biggest indie bands BECAUSE of the coverage (not just now, but when they first broke via the taste-making of places like Pitchfork). And, in my opinion. I don't hear anything remotely new or interesting in their music. It's just another group that has an amalgam of obvious influences. Only their influences are derivative of the derivative. Especially their debut. If epic means you have a ton of instruments on your songs then they are epic but they lack the substance to be truly epic. The songs I have heard so far from this new record are bland at best. I'm just sick of a handful of bands each year being anointed the end-all/be-all by certain indie outlets each year. But maybe I am wrong and the demand for seeing another friggin' live Arcade Fire track is actually bigger than the taste-making machine's supply.

February 19, 2007 at 5:51 p.m.

Dave Park

They are one of the biggest indie bands BECAUSE they are an amazing band. They get the coverage because of the music they make. Who would you say are their influences? And who are these influences derivatives of? Any band now is going to be influenced by bands of the past. That's how it works. I think compared to most bands now these guys are far from copycats of past groups. If not Arcade Fire, who would you annoint as worthy of considerable coverage?I'm at an all-time Arcade Fire high right now, but the show I saw this past weekend was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

February 19, 2007 at 6:41 p.m.

Jonny

no band (especially arcade fire) are worthy of such considerable coverage. that's the trouble with independent rock these days: everybody's too busy sucking each other off. everyone knows about the arcade fire and anyone who cares knows exactly where to go to stream video of their shows. im glad josh said something cos i thought i was going to lose my mind. thing is, dave, i understand that you're excited after seeing "one of the best shows" of your life, but i don't need/want/care to know/see/hear anything more about the arcade fire. i get it, i know who they are. can't you spend more time breaking bands that the majority of people don't know about. there are a huge number of good bands out there that never get any coverage, id personally like to hear about them instead of arcade fire or joanna newsom, etc.

February 19, 2007 at 7:39 p.m.

Dave Park

I don't think things are different. Whether it's Arcade Fire or band XYZ. Some band is always going to get more coverage than others. You're going to write about what people care about and what you like. Before Arcade Fire it was Modest Mouse, etc. Some bands warrant more attention than others. I do agree that much of the blogsphere is in the business of simply copying others and it's a conversation I've had with friends. I believe that at Prefix we do not fall in that category. At the same time, just because other blogs are posting about Arcade Fire that will not prevent us from covering them.Some of my favorite labels (Plug Research, Minty Fresh) right now and hip-hop in general doesn't get too much love on the Blogosphere right now, but we still cover them. When you're posting 150+ articles and media clips a day, a few Arcade Fire clips in a week isn't that much.

February 19, 2007 at 10 p.m.

Josh H.

While I am not entirely convinced that some bands get extra hype and become bigger than they normally would because of certain institutions I do agree with you about Prefix. My intention was never to target this particular website. Just bring up debate about how big the Arcade Fire phenomenon has gotten. Almost like a creepy, unquestioning cult status with some people. But, Prefix is amazing and I would never take a cheap shot at what you guys are doing. Pitchfork and Insound on the other hand I think have big capitalist motives to create hype and rake in the dough. So I am told and so I think.

February 20, 2007 at 8:41 a.m.

Eric

what bothers me about dave's entry is the fact that he says it wasn't crowded. they should have sold more tickets, because everyone in the world except Jonny and Josh H. think arcade fire are the best band in the world. ever.

April 24, 2007 at 11:59 a.m.

J.N.L.

And the reality of it all is..no one cares about the negative comments. If you are actually taking the time to create a paragraph just for the sheer reason of stating the same comment "I don't like this band". All I see in the previous less than appreciated posts are Josh and Jonny going around in circles, saying the same basic thing over and over again. Fact: the band doesn't control what the fans do. If they become indulged in a 'cult' status, that is their problem. Why would anyone possibly have a reason to 'hate'(such a strong word) the band just because of their status? As a musician, I can clearly say that their music is indeed a 'breath of fresh air' from all those that sit in their basement, listen to My Chemical Romance and convince themselves that their music is original. Aracade Fire is a unique and original band, period. They incorperate many instruments into their indie/rock/baroque pop music. Win and Regine can live the rest of their lives doing what they love to do, and I seriously doubt that anyone's comments are going to ruin what the band and they have. Don't like the blogs? Don't read them. End of Story. Quite frankly, I believe that most people approach the situation in arrogance.