Much has changed in Arcade Fire's world since the band was last in Japan. Back in February 2008, the Canadian six-piece, still propelled forward by the momentum created by its debut "Funeral," a record that attained perpetual cult status through nothing more than its sheer brilliance, was winding up promotion of its followup, "Neon Bible."
The record was solid with spectacular moments, but the 18-month tour itself became something of a fraught affair: illness either blighted shows or forced their cancelation entirely, and the impression was of a band besieged by stress, in danger of imploding.
Frontman Win Butler, in particular, seemed ill-equipped to cope. Irritable interviews and petulant behavior — he smashed his guitar to pieces when performing on TV program "Saturday Night Live" — were so commonplace it moved the normally sanguine Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips to launch into an uncharacteristic tirade on the band.