Arcade Fire added a little twist to those geographically inspired covers they've been peppering into the encores of their current Reflektor tour, playing the same song in two cities but for different reasons. During the band's first show at Chicago's United Center on August 26th, Arcade Fire busted out a performance of "Who Do You Love?" by Bo Diddley, since the rock pioneer was based out of the Windy City. Then, at their August 29th concert at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre, Arcade Fire played the same cover again during the encore.
Why the repetition? "Who Do You Love?" was also a staple of Ronnie Hawkins, who was a rockabilly legend in the Ontario city and whose version of the track – on which he's backed by the Hawks, who soon became the Band – was one of Hawkins' defining singles. He even joined the Band to perform the Diddley classic in The Last Waltz. Arcade Fire: rock historians. The fake band that performs side stage before Arcade Fire deliver the encores also provided a regional favorite, "Picture My Face" by Ontario's own Teenage Head.
At their second concert in Chicago, Arcade Fire welcomed guest Mavis Staples to the stage during their to perform the Staples Singers' "This May Be The Last Time" and the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time." It's been a guest-filled week for the group as they also brought out David Byrne, Buster Poindexter and Marky Ramone during their gigs in Brooklyn.
The only city not to enjoy a geography-inspired cover on the Reflektor tour: Bangor, Maine, although that fake band did tease the Ramones' "Pet Sematary," a nod to the Pine Tree State's famed author Stephen King. Up next for the world's coolest cover band: An August 30th tour-ending homecoming gig at Montreal's Parc-Jean Drapeau.
