Pitchfork

The Arcade Fire pour every ounce of their hearts and souls into their live performances, but doing so comes with a price. Screaming and yelling and banging on instruments night after night for months on end is pretty physically grueling, and eventually, it's going to catch up to you (bodies being cages that keep you from dancing with the one you love and all).

Alas, yesterday (Saturday, March 24) in Oslo, Norway, Win Butler finally succumbed to the illness that has been dogging him for months, and the Arcade Fire decided to cancel the rest of their European tour. In an entry titled "heavy heart" posted in his diary on the band's website, Butler explains that he "ha[s] been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last 3 months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go." (Read the full text of the diary post below)

Win's brother and bandmate Will Butler also weighed in on the situation in his web diary, saying "Win is sicker than a brick", and listing a "specific regret" for each city the band will be missing on the rest of the canceled tour, from Oslo to Lille, France. He also gives opening act Electrelane their own apology.

Hopefully, Win will be nice and healthy in time for the North American leg of the tour, which is set to kick off April 26.

Get well soon!

Thanks to reader Martin Øiaas for the tip.

Win Butler's post:

"heavy heart"

Hello Friends,

I am backstage at the venue in Oslo and I just had to make the very sad decision to cancel the rest of the European tour. I have been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last 3 months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go. Last night I kept yelling at the monitor guy because I didn't recognize the sound that was coming out of the monitor as my own voice, and it took me until the second song to realize that the sound was coming from me. Today I can barely speak, or make any sound, so finishing the shows is no longer possible.

I have had several doctors advise me to cancel shows weeks ago, and I have been trying to push through, but for my own health and safety I need to have sinus surgery so I can get better and start the recovery process. We are all very sad, because we were very much looking forward to playing these shows, and we could not imagine canceling a show unless it was physically impossible to do. We apologize to the fans that have been waiting to see us, and we promise to try and come back as soon as it is humanly possible...

We would like to thank everyone who has been coming to the shows, and the outpouring of love and support for our music that we have felt. Wish me luck with the doctors,

And see you soon

luv,

Arcade Fire dates:

03-25 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega #
03-27 Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhoff #
03-28 Munich, Germany - Elserhalle #
03-31 Lyon, France - Transbordeur #
04-01 Cologne, Germany - E-Live Music Hall #
04-02 Utrecht, Netherlands - Vredenburg #
04-04 Brussels, Belgium - Halles de Schaerbeek #
04-05 Lille, France - L'Aeronef #
04-26 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre
04-28 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
05-01 Atlanta, GA - Civic Center
05-02 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
05-04 Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall
05-05 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
05-07 New York, NY - United Palace
05-08 New York, NY - United Palace
05-09 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall (High Line festival)
05-10 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
05-12 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard
05-13 Montreal, Quebec - Arena Maurice Richard
05-15 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05-16 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05-18 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-19 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-20 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
05-27 Portland, OR - Schnitzer Concert Hall
06-01 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
06-02 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
06-22-24 Pilton, England - Glastonbury
07-07 Balado, Scotland - T in the Park
07-08 Naas, Ireland - Oxegen Festival
07-13-14 Barcelona, Spain - Summercase
08-25 Reading, England - Reading Festival
08-26 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival

# with Electrelane