Last week Arcade Fire, erm The Reflektors, sold out their two intimate Bushwick warehouse shows in under 10 seconds, give or take. Held at 299 Meserole over the weekend, attendees lucky enough to have gotten a golden ticket were told that "formal attire or costume is mandatory!" It's been nine years since we first saw them at CMJ, and these shows were a step back to that time—a smaller venue, an intimately fun party, and not as much disconnect between band and audience. You know, like this...
But then again, that totally makes sense for an up and coming band, such as The Reflektors. They arrived in a white stretch limo wearing their oversized caricature masks, as they had the night before, and thoughtfully walked the length of the line, posing for photos with fans on their way in. Once inside, those who knew from the Friday night crowd that there was a decoy stage headed to the true stage's location, and waited there for about 90 minutes for the band to start—a long enough wait that the heat caused many to complain (the previous night's crowd described the venue as "a sweatbox"). And when they did come on, it was James Murphy who introduced them again, this time in a tiger mask.
As with the night before, the band's set included mostly material from Reflektor. The only two songs from their expansive back catalog were "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)," which they introduced as a cover by a Merge Records band.
Towards the end of the night, Win Butler apologized to anyone who bought tickets from scalpers, but noted if there was anyone there who paid $5000 to get in that they're working with Partners in Health, a hint that donations should be made to them.
We dispatched photographer Sachyn Mital to the scene last night, click through for his photos of The Reflektors (née Arcade Fire) and their costumed fans.
