Last week, when people asked me what my plans for spring break were, I answered with chilling with my dog, catching up on my TV shows (Portlandia and the Big Bang Theory) and doing homework. My thoughts were so preoccupied with the fact that I had so much on my to-do list for spring break that I completely forgot that last semester, I had gotten my dad to buy me tickets to Arcade Fire, who performed in Philly (the nearest major city to my hometown) last night. What an awesome thing to get to do over spring break! (With none of the inconvenience of having to wake up and go to school the next day).
The show was at the Wells Fargo Center, which people from the Philadelphia area know is home to the Sixers (basketball) and the Flyers (hockey). I’d never seen a show in arena seating before, and even though we were in the mezzanine, we were directly across from the stage (separated of course, by an entire arena).
The opening acts were both DJs. Kid Koala, a chubby Canadian guy in a koala suit went first, and was followed by Dan Deacon, who made the general admission crowd dance and do funny things, much to the amusement of everyone in the stands. Arcade Fire had requested that everyone come dressed in formal wear or costumes, and some pretty outrageous costumes made watching these people dance even better.
Then, at long last, Arcade Fire went on. They were pretty hard to see from where I was sitting, but luckily, a couple of TV screens on either side of the stage gave me a better look at the performers. They played most of my favorites and some unexpected songs–as part of their second set, the band did a cover of Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly” in honor of Philadelphia. Here’s the best video of it I could find on YouTube.
Overall, I had a wonderful time at the concert. I didn’t think the stars would ever line up in such a way that Arcade Fire would come to town during a time when I would be available to see them, but things ended up lining up perfectly. It’s a great feeling to have now seen Arcade Fire and to be able to check them off my concert bucket list!
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