September 30, 2010
The night started out with a trip to the carts. However this night had very little to do with the food carts of Portland, for tonight was the night in which Arcade Fire came to town.
I was sitting at a table near Potato Champion, waiting for the rest of my party to arrive. It was not long before they did, and of course, when they did, this is when the ridiculousness of the night began. Only to get worse as the night went on.
The doors opened to the Memorial Coliseum at seven p.m. that night. We were wanting to leave in a timely matter to be there around this time. However, a certain someone needed time to go back to her house in order to grab a sweater, thus making our arrival time a bit later. We made it to the Memorial Coliseum, and after encountering a not so friendly parking guy, walked into what would probably be one of my top ten favorite nights ever.
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| A concert poster from a telephone pole, that great lengths were gone to in order to recieve |
Floor seats. Not much is better than such seats when seeing your possible favorite bands. However, after walking into the building we were met with a standing room floor audience.
The opening band was Calexico. A band described as Alternative Country. I would describe is at a mixture of different types of music, with some Latin flavor added. The band, consisting of about 7 band members playing various instruments, my favorite being the trumpet players, was not bad, just not what I would have hoped for. The set list was about five songs, after which a time period of about half an hour was spent waiting for the main attraction. All while trying to make your way to the front of the audience to get a better view, when about one hundred other people are all doing the exact same thing.
The lights dimmed and the crowd went wild. The song The Suburbs (Continued) came on to announce the beginning of Arcade Fire’s set. Hand were in the air, people were singing and dancing, some of which could be questionable dancing, lights were going off, and on the enormous screen placed behind the band on the stage, a picture of some women swimming came on, and the concert had officially started.
Intervention, Ready to Start, Neighborhood #1(Tunnels), The Sprawl II, just some of the songs played during the almost two hour set. The music quality in that big of a space was great. Some bands are said to be not good live, but that is not the case here. The screen behind the band flashed live video of the band members, as well as video to go along with the songs. Other special effects included lighting, weird things happening with the live video to make it seem like there were multiple of a single band member, and an interesting snow like substance flashed over. It was not until later in the night where the cameras turned on the crowd and the objective was to find your face.
After intense looking, I finally found the party. There I was. On the screen in front of a huge crowd. Boy was that fun! You could only wonder how many people could recognize you.
Rebellion was the last song (for the moment), and at that point, anyone who had been previously tired, or “taking a break,” struck up again with wild waving of the hands, and intense jumping around. One man in front, and to the side of me, began getting a bit out of control and it was all I could do but move out of his way. For fear of being whacked in the face was coming closer. The feeling that the concert was over was not a good one. I wished it could go on forever. But as the song came to an end, I accepted the idea, and savored the last moments.
The clapping began and never did stop. At least until the band came back on after what seemed like five minutes, for an encore. Two more songs, and the concert did finally close with probably Arcade Fire’s most famous song, Wake Up. Again the crown went wild. The lights went wild. The band went wild.
Getting out of large spaces with millions of people is tough. It took about ten minutes for our group to make it back to the car and head in our next destination. Rimsky’s, a café on 12th and Alder, serving coffee drinks and scrumptious desserts to late night goers.
Even if you know it is coming, you are always surprised. We sat at the table that moves up and down. It is not until your elbows reach your chin that you realize that the table had moved right up in front of you. Visiting the bathroom is also a must. A man, not real, sitting in a kayak above your head greets, and sits with you while you do what needs to be done. Raspberry Mousse, and a Sundae were ordered, and it was just our luck that the waiter surprised us with yet another delicious dessert for free.
The night had ended. Driving home was sad, but I suppose it never was going to last. I did have other things to look forward. Such as toga day for seniors at school the next day. Remembering this night will not be hard. I only hope that it can happen again someday. With Arcade Fire or another band.
Rimsky-Korsakoffee House
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Sun: 7:00 pm - 12:00 am
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