Sexual misconduct allegations: Arcade fire in chaos

Mixed reviews, upset fans, far-from-full venues, Arcade Fire’s new world tour clearly didn’t get off to the expected start. Win Butler, the singer targeted this summer by sexual misconduct allegations, will find the Quebec public in one month, on December 3, at the Bell Center, where thousands of tickets are still available. A look back at the last chaotic weeks of the group that once made Montreal proud.

• Also Read: Win Butler Quits Feast Arcade Fire Tour After Assault Allegations

• Also Read: Despite allegations of sexual misconduct, Arcade Fire embarked on a tour of Dublin

• Also Read: Sexual misconduct allegations: Arcade Fire’s Win Butler has been accused by four people

A scandal splashes the training

On August 27, three days before the start of Arcade Fire’s world tour in Europe, the famous American media pitchfork dropped a bombshell: the group’s singer Win Butler faced four sexual misconduct allegations. Among the evidence gathered, several incidents occurred in Montreal. Win Butler responded to these allegations saying that they are all consensus reports. His wife Regine Chassagne supports him. The tour will continue as planned.

Mixed reviews

During the tour’s first two concerts in Dublin, Ireland, some audience members interviewed by local media said they were unaware of the recent controversy. Others admit to not being able to get a refund for their ticket so they’ve been put off going to the show a bit. Videos of these concerts show crowds as enthusiastic as in the group’s heyday. In the media, on the other hand, one can read many lukewarm, even very negative reviews. The Financial Times gave it a rating of two stars out of five, writing that the “once great” band now suffers from a “slow puncture”.

Feist and Beck leave the boat

In Europe, after just two opening shows for Arcade Fire, the Canadian singer announced her retirement from the Feast Tour. In a long message on social networks, she specifically stated that “staying on the world tour means that I support or ignore the harm caused by Vin Butler, and leaving means that I am judge and jury.” After several weeks of radio silence, Beck announced that he would not be participating in a North American tour. The Haitian group Boukman Experience is called to rescue and will take care of the first parts for the rest of the calendar.

Tickets are available

While many expected Arcade Fire to cancel their tour this summer, the band chose to press on, come hell or high water. For Pop Montreal founder Dan Seligman, who has worked closely with the group, the decision comes as no surprise, as such a tour costs “millions and millions of dollars.” However, musicians may lose money in this story, as most of their concerts in Europe are not sold out. Even worse: many spectators try to resell their tickets. In Toronto, more than 1,000 tickets are available for resale on the Ticketmaster site for the show on the 1st.^er December In Montreal, people want to resell about 800 tickets for the Dec. 3 concert. The Bell Center still has at least 2000 tickets available, so they will have a difficult task.

What is the future of Arcade Fire?

In Europe, in the first echoes of the group’s tour in August, there was talk of the musicians playing in a disjointed and clumsy way with each other. Some pessimistic observers went so far as to say that the band might well break up after this tour. For Dan Seligman, if the members of Arcade Fire ever want to release another album and tour again, they’ll have a long wait. “Because it puts pressure on them. For the city of Montreal, which is so proud of Win Butler’s gang, one can almost talk about heartbreak. “The group is part of the city’s mythology, like Leonard Cohen and Celine Dion, Dan Seligman said. All that happened collectively hurts. »