Spoon and Arcade Fire both made their debuts at the legendary Madison Square Garden last night, and it was a night to remember.

Spoon played first and ran thru their hard hitting fan favorites in a blistering hour long set. Front man Britt Daniel is a star on stage, along with unmistakable scorching vocals, Daniel plays the rhythm guitar with such force on stage that he resembles the likes of Bobby Weir and Keith Richards. Highlights included fun classics like “The Underdog,” “Don’t You Evah” and “I Turn My Camera On” which all showcase Spoon’s ability to play there nearly perfect brand of rock/dance/pop. Other harder rockers like “Written In Reverse,” “Got Nuffin” and “Don’t Make Me a Target” proved Spoon has a dynamic enough sound to fill arenas.

Arcade Fire took the stage next and launched into “Ready to Start,” a fitting opener from their newest album “The Suburbs”. They played a good amount of the new album, which did hold its own with their older classics, but the material from Funeral is still when this band really shines. Win Butler and crew are doing some much on stage, that sometimes it almost feels more like a theatrical performance, than a typical rock show. Even ranging from what looked like 8-12 people on stage at any moment, and with the members of Arcade Fire switching instruments on nearly every song, they still somehow come off as an extremely cohesive collective. They often create a rather complex wall of sound with very loud and hard beats, that builds and builds until it seems as if all the band members are actually screaming AT the audience (be it with their instruments or their very own Arcade Fire style of chanting). Win Butler puts on quite a show, spending a good amount of the evening jumping and straddling the amps at the front of stage, as well as taking a quick venture onto the railing in front of the audience. At one point, Butler made a sly MSG reference, reminding Knicks fans in attendance of Hakeem Olajuwon blocking John Starks in the NBA finals at the Garden years ago. There was a momentary friendly “boo” coming from the crowd but the band immediately relayed that energy into the forceful intro from “Power Out” and all was forgiven. Highlights included both the staples “Tunnels” and the previously mentioned “Power Out”, as well other favorites like “No Cars Go” and “Crown of Love” and an epic “Sprawl 2” off the new album. All in all, Arcade Fire has enormous presence on stage, the band has something to say and says it with conviction.