Arcade Fire goes big at Orpheum.

• Position: ENTERTAINMENT - Sound recording review

Byline: Scott McLennan

COLUMN: MUSIC REVIEW

BOSTON - Apparently the band Arcade Fire did not get the memo about downsizing, as the indie-rock combo from Canada swelled its ranks from its regular seven members to 10 for its performance Thursday at The Orpheum Theater.

In contrast to much of what is considered small-scale rock 'n' roll of the sort this band is typically aligned with, Arcade Fire offered songs with big orchestration and did so in the most elaborate of settings, with creative video and lighting effects enhancing the band's engaging 90-minute concert.

But to its credit, Arcade Fire's sharp, literate songs never seemed overwhelmed, and the band retained the kind of hand-crafted charm that keeps it firmly in the realm of underground champs, even as the ensemble gains critical praise and fan fervor.

Arcade Fire specializes in taking intimate musings and inflating them with huge melodic swells and impassioned vocal deliveries. Singer Win Butler, for instance, applied a jittery edge to the show-opening "Black Mirror," nicely accentuating the band's ability to throw an expression of dread against a completely assured musical backdrop.

With the second tune, "No Cars Go," the band showed that all 10 members on stage were crucial to the sound, as the two-man horn section and two violin players carved intricate patterns into the song's airy arrangement.

While the violins and horn players stayed in place, the six other members of Arcade Fire moved about swapping instruments and highlighting the ensemble nature of the group. Regine Chassagne, Butler's wife, was the most fun to watch as she moved about from hurdy gurdy, to accordion, to drums, to keys, to lead vocals.

In his more anchored role, typically handling bass or guitar duties...