Arcade Fire‘s Regine Chassagne and Win Butler are part of a group hoping to open a restaurant in a down town neighbourhood of Montreal.
The Montreal-based indie rock band earned global attention with its Album of the Year win at 2011’s Grammy Awards,
The Montreal project would also include a small concert venue, a grocery store and a café. But the plans have come up against local opposition and by laws and building codes that require applications for exemptions. Work has already begun on the building
Borough officials at the meeting stressed the group will need to control the noise level. City councillor Steve Shanahan said although those behind the project have a certain star power it doesn’t mean they are getting special treatment.
“We’re going to take a look at the citizen’s needs, we’re going to take a look a the by laws, and we’re going to see what we can do to make things better,” Shanahan said.
No one representing the band or other investors was at the meeting. If the objections can be worked out, the new establishment will provide a destination for Arcade Fire fans from around the world, and add to the improving fortunes of the formerly faded neighbourhood.
Meanwhile, the band’s documentary, Reflektor Tapes, was released this week after premièring at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows the band through the process of writing and recording their most recent album, Reflektor, in Haiti, Jamaica, London and Montreal. It mixes concert footage with the effort to create a new sound incorporating the rhythmic influences of their new surroundings.
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