Mixed reviews, angry fans, venues far from full, Arcade Fire’s new world tour obviously didn’t get off to the start they expected. Singer Win Butler, who was stalked by sexual misconduct allegations this summer, will find the public in Quebec in a month, on December 3, at a Bell Center that still has thousands of tickets available. A look back at the chaotic final weeks of the group that was once the pride of Montreal.
• Also read: Feist Quits Arcade Fire Tour Following Allegations of Win Butler Attacks
• Also read: Arcade Fire kicks off Dublin tour despite sexual misconduct allegations
• Also read: Sexual misconduct allegations: Arcade Fire’s Win Butler accused by four people
Scandal Splatters Arcade Fire
On August 27, three days before the start of Arcade Fire’s world tour in Europe, the renowned American medium Pitchfork detonated a bombshell: the singer of the group Win Butler is said to have sexually abused four people. In the collected testimonies, several events are said to have taken place in Montreal. Win Butler responds to these allegations by stating that they are all consensual reports. His wife Régine Chassagne supports him. The tour continues as planned.
Mixed reviews in Europe
During the tour’s first two concerts in Dublin, Ireland, some viewers, struck by local media, said they were unaware of the recent controversy. Others admit to going to the show a little late because they didn’t get their ticket refunded. Videos of these concerts show a very enthusiastic audience, as in the group’s good years. In the media, on the other hand, we can read several lukewarm, even very negative reviews. The Financial Times gave it a two star rating out of five and wrote that the “once great” group is now suffering from “a slow puncture”.
Feist and Beck leave the boat
In Europe, after just two opening performances for Arcade Fire, Canadian singer Feist announced that she was retiring from touring. In a lengthy post on social media, she specifically mentions that “staying on the world tour means I defend or ignore the harm done by Win Butler, and leaving would mean I’m judge and jury.” » After several weeks of radio silence, Beck announced that he would not be taking part in the North American portion of the tour. Haitian group Boukman Eksperyans is called to the rescue and takes care of the first parts for the rest of the calendar.
Many tickets available
While many expected Arcade Fire to cancel their tour this summer, the band decided to go ahead, hell or high tide. For Pop Montreal founder Dan Seligman, who has worked closely with the group, this decision comes as no surprise given that such a tour costs “millions and millions of dollars.” However, the musicians could lose money with this story, because most of their concerts in Europe were not sold out. Worse still, many viewers try to resell their tickets. In Toronto, Ticketmaster’s website had more than 1,000 tickets for the December 1 show available for resale. In Montreal, people want to resell almost 800 tickets for the concert on December 3rd. The task will be difficult for them, because at least 2000 tickets are still available in the Bell Center.
What’s next for Arcade Fire?
In Europe, early echoes of the band’s tour start in August talked about musicians playing disembodied and not interacting with each other. Some pessimistic observers even went so far as to say that the band could very well break up after this tour. If the members of Arcade Fire ever want to release another album and tour again, they’ll have to wait a very long time for Dan Seligman. “Because it’s going to be a little stressful for them. As for the city of Montreal, which was so proud of Win Butler’s gang, it’s almost heartbreaking. “The group was part of the city’s mythology, just like Leonard Cohen and Celine Dion,” says Dan Seligman. What happened hurts collectively. »