Arcade Fire Play a Pair of Songs on ‘Colbert’
By this point people have figured out that the Reflektors are, in fact, Arcade Fire, but the band stuck with the name last night on The Colbert Report, where the Canadian ensemble performed a pair of songs and Win and Will Butler answered (and sometimes parried) questions from Stephen Colbert about being the Reflektors and Haiti, where Arcade Fire recorded part of their new album, Reflektor.
Colbert told the brothers that he only knows two Canadian bands: Bachman Turner Overdrive and Arcade Fire, asking, “Which are the Reflektors more like?” Will Butler replied, “I just love ‘Taking Care of Business.'”
Q&A: Win Butler Reveals Secret Details of Arcade Fire’s ‘Reflektor’
After a quick discussion of “Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” – which included Colbert singing the chorus – he said, “I’m just glad you’re not like Arcade Fire, though. Those guys: kind of pretentious.”
Colbert also asked whether the band favors having people pay attention to their lyrics or “getting them on the dance floor to shake that ass?” Win Butler fielded that one: “I guess ideally you’d be shaking your ass with a little tear in your eye,” he said.
When it came time to perform, the band started the song “Normal Person” with a feint, as people wearing large Arcade Fire heads mimed performing around Colbert’s anchor desk before the camera shifted to the actual band members rocking out on the performance stage. Arcade Fire stuck around for another new song, “Afterlife,” playing on a darkened stage as the glittering lights of a disco ball revolved around the room.
Arcade Fire’s Colbert appearance is just their second TV gig as they prepare to release Reflektor on October 29th. The band also performed on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, and played shows last Friday and Saturday in Brooklyn.