Arcade Fire - 2011-09-01 - Edinburgh Castle, UK

As soon as this show was announced at the start of the year, it was obvious it ticked all the boxes for turning into something special. It was due to be their final show in the UK for some time and it was a new venue for the band. Given these circumstances, a fair number of Arcade Fire friends acquired tickets and everyone started making their own arrangements for a late-summer pilgrimage to what is undoubtedly the jewel in the Scottish crown.

Come the day of the show and everyone made their way up to the castle in order to get a first sight of the venue. What was unexpected was that the venue was completely open down one side, as a walkway had been created to allow tourists to come and go from the castle itself. And being the band that they are, the Arcade Fire obligingly posed for photos with fans as they went about their sound check. They even performed the rare track "Cars and Telephones" at the request of a fan. Unfortunately, I missed most of this, but I will get to record a sound check one day!

Come show time, our small group ended up to the right of centre of the stage, close to the right-hand speaker stack - not the ideal spot for recording, but it was a great spot to watch this amazing band from. I knew I'd still have a half-decent chance of capturing something decent due to the proximity of the speakers and hoped the crowd around me were there to watch rather than sing. And so it was, thankfully.

From a personal point of view, the show itself was excellent, yet it seemed to be missing something to take it to the next level - a rare song or a guest appearance or a cover version. Just something different. What we got were the same songs as the previous night in Manchester, albeit with a different running order. Wake Up was still mid-set though and I hope the band soon realise the error of their ways with this one.

After the show, some people commented about the lack of enthusiasm from the Edinburgh crowd, especially in comparison to previous shows by the band in Scotland. From my point of view though, it was perfect - little audience noise and no jostling for position during the bouncier songs. The Arcade Fire are a very visual band and there is always something happening on stage to grab your attention. I'm sure that is why many in the audience just stand and stare as they perform - people are in awe of what they are witnessing. I know that's how I feel anyway.

As for the recording, it's actually pretty good! I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I've already described where I was stood, so the right-hand channel has therefore got a very slight gain with regards to the music, with the left-hand channel picking up slightly more crowd noise. It's hardly noticeable though and actually adds a good stereo mix to the sound; hence I decided to leave the balance as it is.

Enjoy! :-)

Arcade Fire - 2011-09-01 - Edinburgh Castle - FLAC
633MB RAR archive, FLAC format

Arcade Fire - 2011-09-01 - Edinburgh Castle - MP3
175MB RAR archive, variable bit rate MP3s (min. 245 kbps)

Setlist:

01. Ready To Start
02. Keep The Car Running
03. No Cars Go
04. Haiti
05. Rococo
06. Speaking In Tongues
07. Intervention
08. Suburban War
09. Wake Up
10. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
11. The Suburbs
12. Month of May
13. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
14. We Used To Wait
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
16. _encore break_
17. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
18. Rebellion (Lies)

(Photo courtesy of musicscramble.co.uk)

(Download links updated on 27th January, 2013)