It was going to take one helluva show to top the Ryan Adams gig last week, but Arcade Fire pulled out all the stops in front of a 7,000-strong crowd at the Alexandra Palace in the finale of their European tour last night. The eclectic Canadian ensemble have fast become the darlings of international indie in the aftermath of the tremendous success of debut album Funeral, but despite commanding a devout and massive following they have thusfar managed to evade a seemingly inevitable mainstream explosion. Which, of course, is the mainstream’s great loss.

Probably the biggest surprise to me was the scale of the concert given the limited space. Not that Ally Pally (as the venue is irritatingly known) is small by any means, but I definitely wasn’t expecting the elaborate visual onslaught that the band brought with them. Multi-coloured flourescent rods lit the front of the stage whilst the backdrop became a psychodelic canvas of live and pre-rendered imagery, and an assortment of porthole screens afforded the audience a better view of proceedings from the Palace’s annoyingly flat floor.

Musically, Arcade Fire must be one of the most accomplished outfits around. 10 musicians entered the stage and, not content to be pigeon-holed, most of them took turns playing each other’s instruments. The imposing husband-and-wife team of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne led by example, sharing vocal duties and between them grappling at least 7 or 8 instruments (Butler on the guitar, bass, keyboards and mandolin, Chassagne on drums, accordion and keyboards), whilst other band members took time out from playing to tackle each other and brawl mid-song (partially demolishing a drum-kit) and snapping countless drum-sticks during regular bouts of seemingly epileptic percussion.

On-stage antics aside, perhaps what separates Arcade Fire most from the musical rabble is their ability to do on stage what most bands can only aspire to in a studio with a producer and team of overaccomplished session musicians. The additional presence of pipe organ, violin, double bass, French horn, hurdy gurdy and megaphone (to name a few) in the band’s live performance combine with guitar, keyboards and drums to produce a rich, multilayered aural feast that defies convention, breaks ground and, quite simply, overwhelms. They are quite literally that good.

Opening with “Black Mirror”, the band played a whirlwind hour-and-a-quarter set that more than covered the best of both Funeral and latest album Neon Bible, including “Tunnels”, “Laika”, “Power Out”, “Rebellion”, “Keep The Car Running”, “Neon Bible”, “Intervention” and “Black Waves”, as well as the gentler “Ocean Of Noise” and “Une Anee Sans Lumiere”. I don’t think I could have asked for a better selection.

Quite simply, the Arcade Fire roadshow is stadium-ready, but their sound is perhaps a little too refined for simpler commercial tastes. Which is probably a good thing, come to think of it.

Here’s “No Cars Go” from Neon Bible. The version I filmed fucked out for some reason, and I’m really pissed about it because the sound quality on this one’s not that good. But at least you get a sample of the show.

I’ve only ever heard amazing things about Arcade Fire’s live performances and thankfully I can now confirm everything I’d been told. If you get the chance, this is one band that everyone should see.

PS. My photos are fucked as well. Seriously pissed. Not sure if the problem’s with my camera, laptop or SD card. The ones above are pillaged from the ‘net, but the Neon Bible stage layout was the same on Monday night.