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Music

Unexpected Live Moments: Catching Shark Attack Play SappyFest

We didn't think that we'd be seeing Arcade Fire when we filed into that field, but the best surprises are unexpected.

Photo courtesy of Evan Pooley

"Shark Attack? Who the fuck?" I asked, looking at the SappyFest 6 schedule under the mainstage tent on Bridge Street in Sackville, New Brunswick. It was Friday night, July 29, 2011. There was a nonsensical band bio in the program and Shark Attack was taking a real long time to set up. "Sharks? Are they from Vancouver? What the hell is going on?” I repeated. Friends and strangers within ear-shot eye-rolled, saying smugly, "Oh? You've never heard of Shark Attack before?"

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The main tent is always in the middle of the road at SappyFest, an indie-rock festival in the middle of nowhere. The street slopes down to the stage like a natural auditorium. I'm five-foot-two and chairs lined the perimeter of the tent so I stood on one to see. There was a lot of elaborate gear. Looked like a big band. I wondered if I had enough time to get another drink. But the tent was so full and as the words, "What is actually happening?" fell out of my mouth, the opening bars of "Ready to Start" swallowed the entire town. Holy God. Shark Attack was Arcade Fire.

There had been rumours: Arcade Fire was opening for U2 the next night in Moncton and earlier I thought I saw Win Butler playing pick-up basketball. I knew it was possible and I didn't believe.

But then, there they were: Will Butler, Regine Chassange, the whole goddamned circus playing "Neighbourhood #2" for no more than a thousand people in rural eastern Canada. It was so surreal. It felt huge: almost one year to the day since Arcade Fire released Suburbs and just a few months after a surprising Grammy win for 2011 Album of the Year. At this point, Arcade Fire was the biggest band in North America and it felt like they were waving coloured ribbons, moving between the lights, high-fiving the audience and playing "Rococo" just for me. It was just for us.

I pulled Aaron Mangle (Cousins) and Megan James (Purity Ring) up on the chairs beside me. We all looked at each other in disbelief. This was actually happening: “No Cars Go,” "The Suburbs," "Month of May," "Neighbourhood #1,” “Haiti” and “Rebellion (Lies).“ It actually happened.

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SappyFest has always pulled one over on us by booking the most innovative, unique, on-the-cusp acts: Eric's Trip, Sloan, Holy Fuck, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, Cousins, Calvin Johnson, Chad Vangaalen, The Underachievers, Julie Doiron and so many more. Sappy creates memories so scorching they leave scars. Arcade Fire is one of those memories: the surprise was too much.

Photo courtesy of Evan Pooley

Some people knew. There was a contractual thing that prevented Arcade Fire from playing under its own name, something to do with the U2 show, but surprise or not, I think everyone was in awe. Arcade Fire had so much energy. Butler told jokes. They all seemed so appreciative. Surburbs launched an international career after 2007’s Neon Bible was received quietly despite that the Springsteen-inspired “Keep the Car Running” foreshadowed their now-iconic ’80s-pop direction.

Suburbs is something of a masterpiece. It’s almost painful in its portrayal of collective isolation and troubling individualism. Vincent Morisset’s horror video for “Sprawl II” still gives me chills; the synths make me feel weird. Are we all so fucking dead inside that we can close ourselves off and fill the world linoleum? Non, je refuse. I am not dead. Arcade Fire ended with “Wake Up” on the small grassroots stage and everyone in that fucking tent was truly alive.

Adria Young is still shocked - @adriayoung