930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: Vas Deferens on January 27, 2007, 06:12:00 pm
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Listening to it right now...looks like another amazing album!
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do you have the full album or just the 5 song leak with the radio version of intervention?
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where can i find the 5 song leak?
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HOW
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i only have that stupid radio feed of intervention...it is beautiful...SHARE THE LOVE
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i downloaded it through bittorrent. just do a search on google or yahoo for "the arcade fire - neon bible torrent"
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ooooh nevermind, just found it on soulseek. it looks delicious.
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if anyone needs it just im me on aim at "im i dare"
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For the BitTorrent-challenged, there are several links to the full album at http://www.ateaseweb.com/mb/index.php?s=a33f2a3c83a282b2d2f8144ce1b0cf73&showtopic=234996848&st=80 (http://www.ateaseweb.com/mb/index.php?s=a33f2a3c83a282b2d2f8144ce1b0cf73&showtopic=234996848&st=80)
I think it's awesome.
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http://senduit.com/8f5a54 (http://senduit.com/8f5a54)
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just got it from soulseek, so far, excellent, powerful.
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this is why I love this board... thanks :)
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Wonder why it's not on oink yet. Is it not up to par with their anal standards?
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yeah. the leaks arent all the same bit rate so its not allowed to be posted on oink or indietorrents.
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They're 160kbps and transcode. Ergo, no oink.
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Thanks for posting that, Joe. This is a great album.
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Wow.
Just...wow.
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does anyone know if thats the final cut? i thought it was really good, but i didnt think the mix was the best.
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Anyone know the actual release date?
EDIT: Never mind, it's March 6th. Big day for music, that, at least for me. Maria Taylor, Bright Eyes (EP/single), and The Arcade Fire, with Badly Drawn Boy at the club. Can't get much better than that.
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thanks for the link joe. the cd sounds amazing!
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recap of their show in london (set list, etc for those wanting a preview of what to expect in MYC and/or montreal)
http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/26152 (http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/26152)
Chris Martin checks out Arcade Fire
Second London show starts dramatically
Arcade Fire continued their week of intimate London gigs with their second show at St John's Church tonight (January 30) and were atched by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
As previously reported, the band kicked off a week of gigs to showcase new album 'Neon Bible' last night (29).
Beginning the show right in the middle of the sold out audience, the band performed 'Wake Up' without amplification to give the show a unique start.
Moving to the main stage, the group then played a host of new songs including forthcoming single 'Keep The Car Running', 'Black Wave/ Bad Vibrations', 'Intervention', '(Antichrist Television Blues)' 'No Cars Go', which appears on the band's 2003 debut EP but has been re-recorded for 'Neon Bible'.
However it was during first album anthem 'Rebellion (Lies)' that Arcade Fire left their biggest impression, with frontman Win Butler diving into the crowd to deliver his vocals stood atop a chair, halfway down the church's aisle.
The singer's venture seemed to be inspired by the reverential effect the venue had on the crowd, with Butler joking they were "acting like they were in a church".
He later compared the contrast between an applause and mass-like silence to a Japanese audience.
"You're very polite, your parents would be very proud," he explained, before asking had "anyone one come with their parents?"
Following several raised hands he added: "Wow, your parents are cooler than mine!"
Concluding the set with 'Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)' from debut album 'Funeral', the band are set to complete their run at St John's tomorrow (January 31) before moving to Porchester Hall later this week (February 1,2).
The set in full was:
'Wake Up'
'Keep The Car Running'
'Black Mirror'
'No Cars Go'
'Black Wave/Bad Vibrations'
'Haiti'
'The Well And The Lighthouse'
'Ocean Of Noise'
'Rebellion (Lies)'
'Intervention'
'(Antichrist Television Blues)'
'My Body Is A Cage'
'Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)'
similar re-cap of first show: http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/26124 (http://www.nme.com/news/arcade-fire/26124) - check out footage of them busking outside after the concert. these guys put on a GREAT show!
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From http://www.arcadefire.net/ (http://www.arcadefire.net/) : NPR's All Songs Considered (http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/) will be webcasting the final show of the 5 night run at Judson's Memorial Church in NYC on Saturday, Feb 17th. Expect the webacast to start around 8:30 EST.
as announced elsewhere on this board: rumour has AF playing at DAR on Friday May 4... if true, pre-party at my place (baked brie and other yummies included!). p.s. to sonick: this canuckian's attempt to make up for dissing the hip :)
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it was in the Post today, so i'm not sure it's worthy of "rumor" status...better be real baby.
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J. Freedom mentioned in his on-line discussion about an upcoming Arcade Fire show at DAR about two weeks ago. I stared a thread about it but there were no responses. I'm sure it's credible information.
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i'm not in love with neon bible, but i'm sure it will grow on me. that said, i'm VERY excited they are coming to washington and am already worried about getting tickets/a good spot. how exactly does seating at constitution hall work? most of the shows currently on sale are listed with three sections, all the same price. it also says boxes are general admission. does this mean tickets do not correspond to specific seats? thanks.
(again, EXCITED.)
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Arcade Fire at DAR will be more than a tough ticket; it will be a very tough ticket. If they do not add dates and only do that sole date at DAR, getting tickets will not be an easy feat. But it will be a fantastic show nonetheless; if you can get in.
As for the boxes at DAR, I've only been there a few times, and have never sat in them, but from what I understand, yes, they are GA; meaning its first come first serve, and you share the Box with like 7-10 other people. The rest of the venue is regular seated, however.
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betty, renton: just 'cause a rumour comes from credible sources doesn't mean it's confirmed. until i see an official announcement from IMP, LiveNation, TicketMaster, etc it's still a rumour to me, albeit a credible one :)
kmb187: got to http://www.dar.org/conthall/seating.cfm (http://www.dar.org/conthall/seating.cfm) and click on the graphic for a high-res version of DAR seating map. all boxes are GA b/c each one contains 5 seats but you're not guaranteed any particular seat in the box. in other words, you buy a ticket to box 24 and you're assured a seat in box 24, but as to which one you get = first come first serve. boxes only represent a small fraction of total seating in DAR. all orchestra and tiered (side/back) seats are reserved/assigned.
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thanks for the replies about seating; that helps.
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The Arcade Fire's Neon Bible is a beautiful album. Loved every minute of it. I hope this DAR rumor is true, i need to see them live. If it was anything like the show that the strokes put on there last april, i'd be amazed.
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The date is confirmed in the Washington Post article.
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yeah, the date is confirmed. Only thing we haven't seen yet is when tickets go on sale.
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on another note, this band has the worst website of all time.
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i agree; it's impossible to find anything on there. generally, uskidsknow is a simpler/better resource. (and i think that's where the group sends visitors for tour dates, anyhow.)
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I'm excited to hear the new album! I saw them at the 930 last time and they were terrific!
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How did everyone make out? It seemed to sell out INSTANTLY and after a few tries I got row G in the orchestra.
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Row B...seats 105 and 107, it's telling me those seats are will call only. I can't believe this. I have never gotten seats this good for a seated show, ever.
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My wait time is approximately 7 minutes
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holy shiiiit, I kept getting the 'no available seats' message and just now 2 second row orchestra seats popped up. :D
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My fiancee managed to get Row A, seats 118-120. Awesome.
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Section C, Row D. Not bad! Orchestra would have been nice, but I'm just relieved to a) have tickets and b)be close enough to see faces.
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Multiple tickets seemed to go quick, but I had success just getting single tickets.
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Man, you guys lucked out. After multiple "no tickets available," I could only section M or N, all the way in the back.
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Got Orchestra section F seat 118 after waiting about 4 minutes! Best I've ever had at DAR.
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I kept getting the "none available" message...
At 10:05 I ended up with Row D, 114-116. All I can think is that a scalper had to return the tickets due to the will call and ID requirement on the first several rows.
Can't wait...the NPR recording sounded great.
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I got a Orchestra Row A :D :D
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2 x SEC-K row N
2 x SEC-L row L
I'd like to blame the TM "captchas", wherein K=X,
D=0, and I=1. 80% of the time, every time.
Not great, but I wasn't having any luck getting 4 tickets together. Being in the building is better than outside the building.
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After failing to get anything trying to get 4 tix, I was able to get two in orchestra row F. Interesting that the first 7 rows are Will Call only to try to reduce scalping of the prime seats. Just like they did at Judson Memorial Church in New York. (The Valentine's Day show in New York was great!)
Only seems like singles are available now.
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:-(
Started Trying right at 10 am
did not get anything
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i'm just happy to get tix :)
section T, row H....*sigh*
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Section T is pretty good! I've had those before.
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i was lucky to pick up 2 in orchestra row EE. i've never been to DAR, but i've heard a lot of complaints about DAR. whats the deal with this place?
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Acoustics...
Originally posted by bizou311:
i was lucky to pick up 2 in orchestra row EE. i've never been to DAR, but i've heard a lot of complaints about DAR. whats the deal with this place?
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Eventually got two in Box 28
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ok cool !!@ did you get tix?
Originally posted by mbg73:
Section T is pretty good! I've had those before.
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Yeah -- Section N, Row K...back corner. Worst I've ever gotten at DAR, but it's better than nothing.
ok cool !!@ did you get tix?
quote:
Originally posted by mbg73:
Section T is pretty good! I've had those before.
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I'm too broke from buying my Bonnaroo ticket :(
I'm sure there will be plenty of extras on craigslist before the show if I decide I wanna go.
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Originally posted by allmy$to930:
All I can think is that a scalper had to return the tickets due to the will call and ID requirement on the first several rows.
Either that or Ticketmaster doesn't tell the truth about which tickets are offered first.
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I got Orchestra row A at 10:18 on the phone! Not in the center sections, however. I tried online from 9:57 on, but could only get Sec M, in the back. Crazy system, huh.
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I'd bet on that. I had section M, all the way in the back, at 10 AM. Looks like all the orchestra seats came up a few minutes later. Not really surprised, though.
quote:
Originally posted by allmy$to930:
All I can think is that a scalper had to return the tickets due to the will call and ID requirement on the first several rows.
Either that or Ticketmaster doesn't tell the truth about which tickets are offered first.
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All I was able to pull were pairs in sections in the back and obstructed view on the sides so I said fuck it. For me it's not worth it to go to DAR unless you pull orchestra or box seats, no matter how much I like the band (in this case I like 'em a whole lot).
I think I'm almost blind from trying to read the fuzzy letter codes over and over.
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the GF and i were hitting away at ticketmaster, only singles came up. managed to get one in row B, other than that it all tiered.
we might have an extra single or two, if anyone needs a single ticket at cost please PM me. might take me a day or two to respond, gotta see if my friends want one or two.
TM definitely doesn't always put the best tickets on sale right away. my theory is that for shows that won't sell out right away, they want the fans - who are going to buy anyways, and will be the first in line - to snap up the crappy seats ("they'll take anything").
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Originally posted by allmy$to930:
I kept getting the "none available" message...
At 10:05 I ended up with Row D, 114-116. All I can think is that a scalper had to return the tickets due to the will call and ID requirement on the first several rows.
Can't wait...the NPR recording sounded great.
Ooh, we'll be concert buddies! I'm in Row D, seat 110. ;)
I put my order in within seconds of it going on line, but initally all I got was orechestra-row HH. In a different browser, I tried again and got Section D. So I went back to the row HH, but the time limit had expired. I tried again and, after a 2-minute wait, came up with orchrestra row D. Whew! I thought I was amazingly lucky, but I see a lot of people here got tickets in rows A, B, etc.
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Originally posted by kcjones119:
I think I'm almost blind from trying to read the fuzzy letter codes over and over.
Am I the only one who has a hard time with those? I must have entered the wrong letters four times!
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i did too and sometimes it said it was wrong when i hit enter after instead of clicking the "submit" button.
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DAMMIT, I'm in snowy upstate New York with a lodge full of crazy Italians from Queens (wife's family) and had no ability to get to a computer until now. Sigh... Oh well. If anyone will have an extra, please let me know as I'll surely buy it. I love the new album.
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Row F
I was fortunate to get in right away.
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this sucks i got my order in at 10:02 and got HH.
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Pulled up 4 in Section M, off the break. Didn't like 'em, so I decided to roll the dice and try again. After some maneuvering, copped row G in the orchestra. Nice . . . . I finally listened to Neon Bible in its entirety. Wasn't thoroughly impressed. I'm still sinking in the Funeral CD, which I like way more . . . . What do y'all think is the best track on Funeral??? (I finally bought the CD off recommendations from board posters here.)
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What's the view like from Box 28?
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Anyone know if Section B is a good location or not? The description says it's obstructed view but I'm not sure if that's actually the case. The only shows I've seen at DAR have, at least until now, been in the Orchestra section.
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I think my tickets are way in the back...and I was on ticketmaster at 10:00..but just like everyone I was getting the no seats crap. haha Then I just panicked and bought a single seat....then finally got two together.
They were amazing on SNL I'm more excited than ever. Can't wait to buy the album.
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just watching SNL right now, they sound really good
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It's a good thing we were able to buy tickets before SNL aired.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWP3jkNf0TU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWP3jkNf0TU)
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such a good performance. i can't wait to see them live!
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dar appears to be sold out!
see you fools in the front row muahaha
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alex - are you surprized?!? this show sold out right away, pretty much... i pulled a few singles between 10:10 and 10:15, but no pairs were left by then - as close to an instant sell-out as one can expect.
oh yeah, i remembered that i did indeed get one pair yesterday during the onsale - Orch row A seats 10-12, which are at the very far edge and were marked "obstructed view". i threw them back, which in the end was the right thing to do since i can't go to the show at all and might have to eat the row B single that i did end up buying :eek:
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they rocked it so hard on SNL. and i loved how they put them in the digital short!
wish i had tickets to this real bad :(
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Originally posted by sweetcell:
alex - are you surprized?!? this show sold out right away, pretty much... i pulled a few singles between 10:10 and 10:15, but no pairs were left by then - as close to an instant sell-out as one can expect.
It took alot longer than I expected, to be honest. I was still pulling single tickets late Saturday just out of curiousity.
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Originally posted by Alex:
Originally posted by sweetcell:
alex - are you surprized?!? this show sold out right away, pretty much... i pulled a few singles between 10:10 and 10:15, but no pairs were left by then - as close to an instant sell-out as one can expect.
It took alot longer than I expected, to be honest. I was still pulling single tickets late Saturday just out of curiousity. [/b]
and complete utter boredom!!!
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nah, it was just curiousity.
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Ticketmaster originally gave me (obstructed view) Box A tickets; another person I know had the same situation with Box V. Now that I think of it, it's strange, considering the boxes are numbered and not lettered. Ah well, I didn't take them, anyhow.
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Can someone fill in the holes...I heard the tail end of Kornheiser asking listeners to give him 2 tickets for the Arcade Fire show.
I assume he's trying to keep his kids happy?
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He asked the other day too. I assume it's b/c of the kids but he did say (talking to the others in the studio) "They're a Montreal group, have you heard 'em? They're pretty good."
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For the record, Philly tickets sold out in about 10 minutes today, but it seemed pretty easy to get them on first try. Unfortunately, even though they said there was a 4 ticket limit, the drop down only allowed two. So I got two, and then went in to get 2 more. I checked a few minutes later out of curiosity and the drop down allowed 4 tickets, but it was sold out by then. I guess two sets in different sections is better than no tickets. I hate paying twice for the "Processing Fee". Oh well, at least you can have a drink inside of Tower Theatre.
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Originally posted by thegazelle:
For the record, Philly tickets sold out in about 10 minutes today, but it seemed pretty easy to get them on first try. Unfortunately, even though they said there was a 4 ticket limit, the drop down only allowed two. So I got two, and then went in to get 2 more. I checked a few minutes later out of curiosity and the drop down allowed 4 tickets, but it was sold out by then. I guess two sets in different sections is better than no tickets. I hate paying twice for the "Processing Fee". Oh well, at least you can have a drink inside of Tower Theatre.
I was able to get 2 orchestra row OO tickets at around 10:05, my girlfriend got lodge tickets a minute or two later. How's the tower theatre for a show? I can't wait.
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There were still single seats at 10:40 am...I know because I tried...
Originally posted by thegazelle:
For the record, Philly tickets sold out in about 10 minutes today, but it seemed pretty easy to get them on first try. Unfortunately, even though they said there was a 4 ticket limit, the drop down only allowed two. So I got two, and then went in to get 2 more. I checked a few minutes later out of curiosity and the drop down allowed 4 tickets, but it was sold out by then. I guess two sets in different sections is better than no tickets. I hate paying twice for the "Processing Fee". Oh well, at least you can have a drink inside of Tower Theatre.
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Kornheiser pulls down seven figures a year and can't be bothered to dish out $200 for a pair on eBay....?
He is clearly as big an ass as generally believed.
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Kornheiser is an old school kind of curmudgeon who probably hasn't even thought about ebay as an option.
If he does like Arcade Fire, then that is just one more reason for me to like him.
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I got two for Philly, left orchestra row RR. Much easier than the DAR show was.
Tower is a great venue. Saw Radiohead there last year. Great sound and definitely a more conventional music venue than DAR. It's not actually in Philly, but in Upper Darby. Area is slightly sketchy...
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Tower Theatre is very convenient on their subway, but I had to leave Sufjan Stevens early to catch the last train.
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I'm excited to see them in Berkeley at the Greek for 2 nights! hehe...
Originally posted by amnesiac:
I got two for Philly, left orchestra row RR. Much easier than the DAR show was.
Tower is a great venue. Saw Radiohead there last year. Great sound and definitely a more conventional music venue than DAR. It's not actually in Philly, but in Upper Darby. Area is slightly sketchy...
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Originally posted by paul3mac:
[ [/qb]
I was able to get 2 orchestra row OO tickets at around 10:05, my girlfriend got lodge tickets a minute or two later. How's the tower theatre for a show? I can't wait. [/QB][/QUOTE]
I think Tower is a great place. A few notables were David Byrne and Belle & Sebastian. I like the sound and even though there's seating, it's not as restrictive as DAR. People dance and party, so it's solid. Plus the views are pretty good. One weird thing that happened (not sure what show it was)--we walked in between the opener and the headliner and nobody so much as glanced at us or our tickets. They were never scanned, torn, anything. Now that's service!
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Originally posted by Joe M.:
I'm excited to see them in Berkeley at the Greek for 2 nights! hehe...
do you happen to have the password for that show? double happy since the greek theatre is general admission.
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Okay, New York just has this insane worshipful love for Arcade Fire this year. They had those four church shows that sold out in minutes; recent appearance on SNL that was all rock n' roll-y, and an insanely long article in the Sunday NY Times this week.
March 4, 2007
One Very, Very Indie Band
By DARCY FREY
The New York Times
Damn, this church is getting hectic, what with Régine in the organist??s alcove coaxing the backup singers to let loose ?? Sing like really hungry wolves! Like you??re sending a desperate alarm to the other wolves! ?? and Win down in the sanctuary trying to keep the upright double bass and tenor sax from veering toward smooth jazz, and Jeremy picking through dozens of black-metal shipping crates to make sure the equipment??s all there ?? Win??s dobro, Régine??s hurdy-gurdy, the glockenspiel, the accordions, the giant Asian cymbals and the neon Jesus sign ?? everything packed up tight and ready to be shipped off to London for the start of the band??s yearlong world tour. It??s a snowy January night just outside Montreal, and each time the front door opens, gusts of frigid air blow through the nave: Hey, close the. . . . Oh, it??s Liza! Hey everybody, Liza??s here! Earlier, the church got so crowded that Sarah had to record her violin part (Régine: Make it weird, like a ghost violin, a sci-fi violin, a violin from outer space!) squished into the sound booth while Richie took his guitar into the stairwell because someone was playing a Mexican reveille on the trumpet and there was a French horn warming up in the kitchen.
When the members of the Arcade Fire, a Montreal art-rock band led by Win Butler and his wife, Régine Chassagne, were trying to find studio space to record their second full-length album, they took an inventory of their instruments ?? the hurdy-gurdy and the accordions, but also the baby-grand and upright pianos, the organ and the harpsichord, the xylophone and the Caribbean steel drums. Then they considered the acoustics that would best suit their music ?? a kind of surging, post-punk rock with dense orchestrations cut through with painful and, at times, quite beautiful noise collages. Finally, they discussed their ambition to record their rousing, emotionally charged songs with the entire band playing live, though the band has seven permanent members and swells, when strings and horns are added, into an antic carnival orchestra. With the men in suspenders and vests and the women in dresses and lace fingerless gloves, and everyone employing yelps, hand claps, megaphones (for vocal distortion), motorcycle helmets (so they can drum on each other??s heads) and the occasional snare drum tossed high into the air, an Arcade Fire show has the feel of a Clash concert infiltrated by Cirque du Soleil.
Given its outsize musical ambitions and unabashed theatricality, the Arcade Fire could have filled a three-ring recording studio. The place it ultimately found to record ??Neon Bible,? the band??s follow-up to its successful and surprisingly poised 2004 debut album, ??Funeral,? was a 19th-century redbrick church in a small farm town an hour outside of Montreal. The church already had a stage in front, a hundred-foot ceiling that returned rich, live-sounding reverberations and a rear balcony that could be turned into a glassed-in sound booth. Once they bought the place, moved in their equipment and hired two engineers, all they had to do was convert the basement into bedrooms and hire Liza (Win??s brother??s fiancée??s younger sister) as their cook so they could live out there for most of last year, working roughly three weeks on, one off, sometimes playing through the wee hours to get their meticulously arranged and recorded songs just right. (??Neon Bible? will be released March 6.)
The church-turned-recording-studio, the year of living undergraduately ?? those were merely the latest unexpected events that have transpired since the Arcade Fire started playing hole-in-the-wall clubs in Toronto and Montreal four years ago, then put out ??Funeral,? an album that, largely because of word-of-blog and a gushing review on pitchforkmedia.com, the influential music Web site (an album ??at last capable of completely and successfully restoring the tainted phrase ??emotional?? to its true origin?), would go on to sell 750,000 copies, which is a lot for an album that was recorded for $10,000. Once ??Funeral? was released, the small gigs started selling out, only to be replaced by larger gigs that sold out too, and before long the Arcade Fire was touring North America and Europe and playing to rapt audiences in Japan and Brazil. Most of the band members are in their mid- to late 20s, but the keyboardist and bass player, Will Butler, who is Win??s younger brother, had to ask his professors at Northwestern for permission to miss class so he could appear with the band on Conan O??Brien. Fortunately, he??d graduated by the time David Byrne wrote them a fan letter and joined them onstage for a cover of his song ??This Must Be The Place,? and David Bowie (who??d been giving ??Funeral? to his friends) asked them to cover ??Queen Bitch? at one of their shows and made a surprise appearance in a white suit and straw hat. After the band opened three arena-size shows for U2 in Montreal and Ottawa, Bono and his mates pronounced the Arcade Fire their favorite new act.
??It was crazy, hilarious, totally surreal,? Will says.
??Weird times!? Régine sings.
??Somewhere along the line we became the band that was supposed to save rock ??n?? roll,? says Richie Parry, who also plays upright double bass.
Wild, sudden success for a band is often the moment Puccini takes over the script (often, too, the moment a band is inspired to make a second album, about the burdens of wild, sudden success), but the Arcade Fire has managed to avoid any gestures toward the operatic. ??I can definitely say that playing with David Byrne was one of the most weird, wonderful and lucky things we??ve experienced as musicians,? Richie says. ??Onstage that night, we were all making eye contact with each other ?? you know, something so impossible and far away that we were all of a sudden holding in our hands.? The musicians seem to have strengthened their collective immunity to hype by resolutely doing what they want: they turned down the chance to tour with R.E.M. so they could continue performing their full-length shows; they refused to play Britain??s ??Top of the Pops,? on which bands traditionally lip-sync their material, until they were permitted to play live; and they resisted the entreaties of several major record companies, made over a series of lavish dinners, to leave Merge, the independent label that released ??Funeral.?
??For ??Neon Bible,?? we met with a lot of dudes, but honestly it wasn??t that interesting,? Win says. ??Merge is like the labels used to be, based on someone??s tastes and interest in music ???
????instead of statistics and marketing,? Régine says.
??If you look at the Web sites of a lot of the majors,? Win goes on, ??they??re selling everything ?? hip-hop, country, Disney soundtracks. It??s the throw-a-lot-of-garbage-at-the-wall ???
???? and-see-what-sticks strategy,? Régine says ??But at least we got to stay in some nice hotels, didn??t we? And we ate good food for a month! And we didn??t lie to anyone either: Right from the start, we made it clear we??d never sign with them. I mean, why would we??
Even now that the Arcade Fire has been consecrated as Canada??s most celebrated musical export of the moment (Time Canada put the band on its cover), its members still seem to navigate by a compass calibrated toward whatever will bring them the most subversive fun. When it came time to release material from ??Neon Bible,? instead of following some professional marketing strategy, they used laptops and iMovie to create a video for YouTube in the style of a late-night, self-help infomercial ?? ??call now!? ?? then set up a toll-free number where callers could press one button to hear music and another to leave messages, some of which were posted on the band??s Web site. ??It was sort of a joke about viral marketing, and viral marketing at the same time,? Win says. ??Did it work as real marketing? I have no idea.? To try out new material in performance before heading to London, the band played two benefit gigs ?? one at Richie??s old high school in Ottawa (in a reversal of adult-world protocol, you had to be in high school and show a valid under-age ID to get in), the other in a church basement in the Polish neighborhood in Montreal where most of the band members live.
??Hey, did someone remember to invite the guys from the pirogi shop??
??Yeah, I told them we were playing across the street, and they said, ??That??s our church!?? I put them all on the guest list.?
??Did they come? Did they like the show? God, at one point I was climbing all over the piano. I wonder if they got mad.?
??No, no, they loved it!?
Despite the satisfaction it takes in upending rock-business convention, however, the Arcade Fire has shrewdly kept control of its affairs ?? paying for both albums itself, buying its own studio to record the second album and retaining the rights to all the master recordings; the band distributes its music by setting up licensing deals (with Merge in North America, with Universal in Europe). ??The idea of someone else owning what we do is insane when we did all the work,? Win says. And for all their iconoclastic spirit, the musicians are not unmindful of the considerable power they have accumulated. One day in January, the band??s personal assistant??s car was towed from the lot of a Tim Hortons doughnut shop, even though she was inside buying a dozen glazed at the time. Upon hearing news of this affront, the guitarist Tim Kingsbury suggested they post the matter on arcadefire.com and get free doughnuts for life. ??You know,? said Jeremy Gara, the drummer, ??I??d like to use that technique to bring down Bell Canada.?
Now, as the huge church windows frame rural darkness and some swirling tornadoes of snow, Liza announces, ??Dinner??s ready!? and a general clatter (??Awesome! . . . We love you, Liza!?) erupts as the band members head toward the kitchen with its ceiling streamers and its long, candle-lit table already stocked with baskets of bread and bottles of merlot. Win wants to know how long it will take to get a new passport, because after the six-month ??Funeral? tour there are no pages left in his old one. Will is musing on the ethics of putting video games on the band??s expense account, and Sarah Neufeld, the violinist, points out that some groups on tour rack up a grand per night just on booze. Marika Anthony-Shaw (violist for the live shows) asks if Sarah??s planning to take her violin on the plane as carry-on, because there??s no way Marika??s going to check her viola, not after what happened at that notorious show: Win, whose full-throttle playing can explode into confrontation, heard the band??s previous drummer mess up his part and screamed ?? perfectly in time to the music ?? No! No! No! No! which caused the drummer to erupt in fury and hurl his drums across the stage, catching Marika with the high-hat and snapping the bridge of her viola in two. (??Dude!? said a surprised Win. ??It was part of the moment!?)
Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Will Butler, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara, Sarah Neufeld ?? all of them crowding together, massaging one another??s shoulders like actors in the school play and grabbing for empty plates so that Liza can dole out steaming ladles of pasta from her ginormous pot ?? this is the Arcade Fire, born in Montreal, soon to play London, New York and 5,000-seat venues in Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, Oslo, Stockholm and Berlin, perhaps the biggest sensation right now on the world indie-music scene.
A week later, in the East London recording studio where the Arcade Fire was unpacking and about to rehearse for its sold-out five-night stand at (appropriately) a church-turned-concert-hall just off the Thames, space was getting tight. All those black-metal crates from the Montreal church were laid out on a cramped soundstage, and wouldn??t you know, Régine couldn??t find the cord for her hurdy-gurdy. While she anxiously rummaged through the boxes, Win tried to talk her down; surely the technical crew could find a replacement. But the cord was really the least of the musicians?? concerns: although they had been rehearsing since completing ??Neon Bible? in the fall, they hadn??t toured in more than a year; aside from playing to a bunch of high-schoolers and the guys from the pirogi shop (and playing a little chaotically too), they had performed almost none of the new material live; the band was now 10 separate musicians in search of an arresting group persona for their 11 new songs, which differed musically and lyrically from anything they had done before.
??Some people get so rabid at our shows,? Richie said. ??They get these cathartic experiences. And they??ll say it too: ??We saw you that time at so-and-so; it was the best thing we ever saw!?? which does give me a twinge of pride. That??s what I always wanted at a rock show ?? to sweat and cry and scream a lot. But with this new material, we may have to back off a bit. We don??t want to be shticky, and an improvisatory spirit will help us get around that. The trick is keeping open. You know: What fun thing can we do tonight??
??Maybe we??ll need to be less confrontational,? Tim said. ??Or maybe we??ll need to be more confrontational. Or maybe just less obviously confrontational.?
??Clearly our performance style has to change,? Win said. ??If you just say, ??This is our thing; this is what we do,?? then it is shtick. So, yeah, we may be less intense with this material, although I suspect we??ll always be pretty intense.?
Win is six-foot-five, with coat-hanger shoulders and messy blond fly-away hair shaved to punk perfection around the ears. At 26, he has large, penetrating eyes and not even the shadow of a beard. Although he sings at times with a tight-throated, high-pitched fervor that brings to mind David Byrne with the Talking Heads, when he instructs the band, he tends to gather his thoughts in silence, then lay them out in quiet, commanding lines: ??You need to tighten those runs and bring them down an octave or you??re going to sound like Pat Metheny,? he??ll say to the string and brass players. Meanwhile, Régine, who is 30, with quick brown eyes and a pile of curly dark hair that reaches only to her husband??s sternum, will riff excitedly on an idea for a guitar solo (Let it hang between the breaths of the melody ... like an ?? I don??t know ?? like an airplane ... make it really fourth dimension!) and then, frustrated by her failures of metaphor, will rise onto her stockinged toes to dance the line of a lazy guitar lick that lingers behind a song??s principal melody and ?? body suspended, then tripping forward ?? catches it just at the end. Most everyone associated with the Arcade Fire talks about the band??s ??democratic? and ??communal? spirit; even the temporary string and horn players relish their autonomy and the chance to experiment creatively with their parts. ??We??re trying to bring something to people that we can do only as a group,? Richie says. ??If it works, that can ?? hopefully ?? balance any personal frictions that arise from a band made up of personalities that are so strong it can sometimes make you a little crazy. Most of the time it does. There??s also a genuine lack of egotism in this band that serves us well; people get out of the way of an idea that??s working. So it is an open democracy and a creative space. But at the end of the day, Win is very much the leader of this band ?? because of his strong personality, and the fact that he was founder and writes most of the songs. Win is King and Régine is Queen, and we all figure out the rest.?
Win, who was raised in the Houston suburbs and arrived in Montreal after four years at Phillips Exeter and one at Sarah Lawrence, grew up playing guitar and listening to Radiohead, the Pixies, the Smiths and the Cure. Régine, who was born in Montreal of Haitian parents, was studying jazz singing, playing mandolin in a medieval ensemble and doing compositional experiments with 15th-century music when the two met at McGill University.
Win: ??We met in the school cafeteria. A week later I went to see her singing jazz. It was immediately obvious to me that she was a real singer. I even left before she was done. I didn??t need to see the rest; it was so obvious we needed to play together.?
Régine: ??I remember he came one night to hear me sing, but he left before it was over ?? I thought he didn??t like it! And when I saw him later, I asked what he played, and when he said, ??Oh, some guitar, a little piano,?? I thought: Bo-ring! Everyone plays a little guitar and piano! But right away, I was struck by the maturity of his songs. This was not just some dude noodling around on his guitar trying to impress me.?
Win: ??We were coming from such different worlds, but when I played my stuff for her, right away she had ideas ?? for accordion, for all this weird medieval stuff.?
Régine: ??I was from another planet. I didn??t even know what an ??indie?? band was ?? it sounded so vague and mysterious. But Win wrote really good, catchy melodies (though with fairly typical chord changes, I thought), and right away I had all these ideas I wanted him to try: strange progressions, beats, instruments. And: enough with the acoustic guitar!?
Win: ??We started playing together and went on a date that same night. It wasn??t like, this could work. It was more like, this does work. And we haven??t been apart for more than a week since.?
The Arcade Fire sound ?? catchy pop melodies and thick dissonances; raw, imperfect rock with flawless symphonic arrangements ?? originates with that pairing of Win??s indie roots and Régine??s classical training. But the exhilarating spectacle the band creates for its live shows arises from the conflagration of energies, the barely controlled chaos of seven precocious musicians, all of whom play multiple instruments (sometimes swapping between songs, sometimes swapping within songs) and who generate countermelodies, sonic textures and onstage interactions that are part riotous play, part unnerving provocation. There??s Richie, who plays bowed double bass and taught himself an idiosyncratic electric guitar (he appears to be wringing the neck of a dead chicken) and embraces the use of police sirens and megaphones; and Will, the technically dextrous, highly tactile keyboardist, who often leaves the ivories to bait Richie onstage, grabbing his friend??s double bass or drumming on his head with sticks or enacting various scenes of mock-torture; and Jeremy, the amply-tattooed heavy-metal enthusiast, who pummels the drums (or the piano when Régine takes a turn on percussion) with such ferocity that Win sometimes looks back and thinks Jeremy??s arms are going to snap right off.
Despite its exuberant, sometimes triumphalist sound, ??Funeral? looked at the world lyrically through introspective and, at times, quite mournful eyes ?? its songs were about family, relationships and the tenuous bonds of community. With ??Neon Bible,? Win and Régine have taken on larger themes, writing elliptical narratives about the ambivalence of faith, the challenge of living with fear and the possibility of apocalypse. Musically, their writing has evolved as well: in addition to several numbers that, like their previous work, tilt toward bombast, ??Neon Bible? includes a hymn (??Intervention?), some blues (??Antichrist Television Blues?), even an Appalachian-inflected ballad (??My Body Is a Cage?).
When the time came to record ??Neon Bible,? the new material tested the band??s endurance and ingenuity. Although one song, ??Black Wave/Bad Vibrations,? was a pure studio creation, a Frankenstein of overdubs, for all the other songs the band passed up the safety net of digital technology and recorded the so-called bed tracks with the band playing on the church stage and onto analog tape, thereby forcing everyone to commit to the intensity of a live performance from the start of each take to its end. ??Not many bands record like that anymore,? says their engineer, Markus Dravs, who worked with Bjork in a similarly improvised live-in space in the Spanish mountains and was Brian Eno??s house engineer for four years. ??But they embraced the chaos. They were like, Let??s everybody play in the room and throw mikes at it and see how it sounds! Let??s jump off a cliff and see what happens at the bottom!? On one song, the final vocal was the first one recorded: The band set up on the church stage; Win went outside onto the back steps with headphones and a mandolin and sang into the night.
After the musicians completed the initial tracks for each song, they proceeded to layer the album with some ambitious new sounds. For ??The Well and the Lighthouse,? they wanted to distort the sound of Régine??s voice on the choruses, so Dravs figured out how to create a Buddy Holly-style tape delay of enormous proportions by feeding her voice again and again through the 24 heads of his sound deck, which kept extending the gap between the original vocal and its strange, degraded echo until he achieved the aural equivalent of a stadium full of spectators doing the wave. (Dravs: ??This band??s very good at knowing what they want; they just haven??t read enough manuals.?) For ??My Body Is a Cage? and ??Intervention,? Win and Régine heard in their aural imaginations the sound of a mighty organ, so they rented the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church in Montreal with its 500-pipe instrument; after an engineer miked the entire place, Régine recorded the parts in a series of single takes (though there was a half-second delay between depressing the keys and the overwhelming sound it generated) while the band tracks played into her headphones. For ??Black Mirror,? ??Keep the Car Running? and ??No Cars Go,? Win and Régine wanted a fuller sound than could be achieved by their own ragtag orchestra, so they went to Budapest (no union rules and a good rate on the Canadian dollar) and recorded their arrangements with a 60-piece orchestra and a military choir.
Four years ago, when the Arcade Fire first started performing its songs from ??Funeral,? it took the band six months to create the kind of show that eventually brought it such renown. Now, with a highly anticipated album about to come out, a year of tour dates lined up and one night to go before they were to begin their five-show run in London, the musicians were still groping their way forward ?? trying to find portable (and performable) ways of recreating the symphonic richness of ??Neon Bible? by reworking vocal approaches and instrumental arrangements and improvising new bits of theater. ??I don??t think we??ve found our footing,? Richie said when the band finished rehearsing in the East London studio. ??The old numbers know themselves as live songs, but the new ones still feel like young calves on weak legs.?
??Yeah, that was rough,? Will said. ??The logistics get hard when the band swells to 10 or more.?
??O.K., so we were sweaty and jet-lagged,? Jeremy said. ??But, ??bad rehearsal, good show.?? Isn??t that what they always say??
Outside St. John??s Church, in a lovely, tucked-away Georgian square, the line started forming at 4 o??clock for the 8 p.m. show, and when the audience finally filed into the majestic, high-ceilinged church and faced a stage packed with musical equipment, several megaphones on tripods and a red-velvet curtain draped in back with the projected image of a neon bible, Richie said he could feel it in his bones: ??Seems like the crowd is as nervous as we are. This is a crowd with really high expectations; they want that cathartic experience. But they??re a little ahead of themselves; they don??t know the new songs; they don??t know how they??re going to get excited. You know: This will be awesome! But the unspoken message is: Hope so!?
The Arcade Fire ?? all 10 of them ?? entered from the back of the sanctuary (anything to break that barrier between performer and audience), and walked up the aisle, Win smiling and clapping and gesturing for everyone to get up on their feet. Right away the band ripped into the new material, going full-tilt at four new songs in a row, but even with Win attacking the vocals with his dangerous, stone-faced visage; and Régine holding her red-laced fingers up to the corners of her eyes like Cleopatra as she sang; and Will running back and forth beating a snare drum and throwing it up, end over end, something was missing the mark. The energy coming from the stage seemed to dissipate among the crowd; the sound was all low-register drums and bass, drowning out those obsessively arranged horns and violins; and when songs ended, the audience clapped enthusiastically, if a little too respectfully. Win acknowledged as much from behind his mike: ??I guess it??s our own damn fault for playing in a church,? he said. ??How are you? Good? Yeah, everything??s going good with us too: jet lag, antibiotics. ...? They played a 60-minute show and left the stage looking almost as uncertain as they did at the start.
As they were filing out of the sanctuary, however, the band briefly conferred, then took a spontaneous turn and headed for the church door. ??Come outside!? Régine yelled to the crowd. And while the audience trailed after them onto the stone steps, the band collected around a megaphone and sang an unrehearsed acoustic version of ??Wake Up,? its most popular song from ??Funeral.? On disc, ??Wake Up? is anthemic ?? U2 plays it over the loudspeakers before its shows; Madison Square Garden uses it to jazz up the crowd at Rangers?? games. Here, in the secluded, lamp-lit square, with their breath visible in the wintery night air, the musicians gave it an unexpected intimacy; with an accordion, a dobro and a tambourine, they looked like a circle of carolers, and before the first chorus ended, the band had the crowd in a sing-along.
If the Arcade Fire is confident about anything, it??s the value of a good piece of stagecraft and the ways that playing with it, riffing with it night after night before an audience, eventually helps the music begin to live and breathe. So the following night, instead of walking straight to the stage, the band started its show with its encore, gathering in the middle of the crowded sanctuary to reprise its acoustic performance of ??Wake Up.? After the crowd reveled in this seemingly spontaneous gesture, the band members took the stage with purpose in their step. ??We had a little problem last night with people thinking we were playing in a church,? Win said to the crowd. ??People were quiet. A little too respectful. I??m here tonight to say: This nonaggression shall not stand!?
A few days earlier, not long after the Arcade Fire had arrived in London, Win was sitting in the lobby of the band??s hotel, talking about the music he??d listened to growing up and how inspiring it was to watch his favorite artists evolve ?? Dylan giving up his Woody Guthrie imitation to find a mode of expression all his own, the Clash trying to sound like the Ramones and, in the course of failing, becoming unique. ??Expression is where you define yourself as an artist,? he said. ??And expression always has to change.?
Régine walked in, and for a moment the two started talking, worrying over some details about the following night??s show. Then Win said: ??When we were working on ??Neon Bible,?? I had this dream ?? well, it was a nightmare, really. I had this image of being in a boat in the ocean in the middle of the night. I could feel the boat going up and down, but it was so black out there; I couldn??t see anything.?
??I had that experience, too,? Régine said avidly. ??I was backpacking once, going from France to Corsica at night, and I was at the top of a giant boat at 2 in the morning, everything so black, and me feeling so small. I remember thinking, If I fall in, I could so easily disappear!?
??It??s funny how the word ??fear?? can mean so many different things,? Win went on. ??There??s a natural fear that??s about self-preservation ?? ?
???? yeah, the fear that makes you want to protect yourself and fight what??s coming in,? Régine said. ??But then there??s the fear that??s bigger than yourself and makes you want to do things, be inventive.?
??That??s the fear that ?? rather than working to support the way you already are ?? makes you want to change.?
Just then their assistant manager walked into the lobby and told them they??d better quit talking: they had a rehearsal in half an hour, and five shows to do that week.
Darcy Frey is a contributing writer and the author of ??The Last Shot,? and has written for the magazine on music, science and the environment.
<img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/02/27/magazine/04arcade600.1.jpg" alt=" - " />
Banded Clockwise, from top left: Will Butler, Win Buler, Richard Reed Parry, Regine Chassagne, Sarah Neufeld, Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara.
By DARCY FREY
Published: March 4, 2007
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And today, in "Critic's Choice CDs"
March 5, 2007
Critics?? Choice
New CDs
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
ARCADE FIRE
??Neon Bible?
(Merge)
Arcade Fire is like the band that kept playing as the Titanic sank. This Montreal post-punk group specializes in ecstatic refusal, an odd mix of despair, contempt and uplifting idealism. Rejecting the rock scene, it has created its own mini-utopia, where men wear suspenders and musicians are sincere and proudly nerdy. Arcade Fire is now one of the most revered indie acts around, thanks to ??Funeral,? its hypnotically raging 2004 debut.
??Neon Bible,? the phenomenal follow-up, will challenge the band??s attempts to stay cult-size. It is regal and beautiful, with mournful anthems and bombastic orchestration that suits the urgency of the lyrics. At the very least this will be the most successful apocalyptic rock symphony ever recorded in a Canadian church. The album blasts life in the 21st-century West: consumerism, reality television, victim chic and the ??holy war.? ??Don??t wanna live in America no more,? sings Win Butler, the band??s Texas-raised frontman.
Arcade Fire mines classic U2 and Bruce Springsteen far better than the Killers recently did. And Arcade Fire didn??t lose its own voice in an attempt to sound bigger and grander. There are still plenty of its trademark noisy crescendos and old-fashioned accents like harp and hurdy-gurdy. ??My Body Is a Cage? begins with a spare Appalachian melody, then shoots skyward with pipe organ and a gospel choir. ??Set my spirit free,? Mr. Butler moans.
He wonders: How do you fill a spiritual void when you distrust organized religion? How do you escape fearsome times without wallowing in vacant escapism? He doesn??t have any answers and wastes energy on easy targets like MTV. But the shimmering music transforms bleakness into a ??vial of hope,? and for now that??s enough. SIA MICHEL
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsu-CJI-pjY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsu-CJI-pjY)
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Originally posted by Bags:
And today, in "Critic's Choice CDs"
March 5, 2007
Critics?? Choice
New CDs
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
ARCADE FIRE
??Neon Bible?
(Merge)
Arcade Fire mines classic U2 and Bruce Springsteen far better than the Killers recently did.
Interesting. I thought I was the only one who heard some Springsteen in them (Arcade Fire that is; couldn't care less about the Killers).
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Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
Originally posted by Bags:
And today, in "Critic's Choice CDs"
March 5, 2007
Critics?? Choice
New CDs
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
ARCADE FIRE
??Neon Bible?
(Merge)
Arcade Fire mines classic U2 and Bruce Springsteen far better than the Killers recently did.
Interesting. I thought I was the only one who heard some Springsteen in them (Arcade Fire that is; couldn't care less about the Killers). [/b]
you know, i was listening to the new album yesterday and thought the same thing on at least one song. . sounds like bruce springsteen.
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I've tried listening to this band, and they just don't cut it for me.
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Originally posted by Jack Black, Caucasian American:
I've tried listening to this band, and they just don't cut it for me.
thanks for your positive contribution to the group.
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Arcade Loaf: Montreal's most operatic indie band is constantly being compared to Springsteen, but they're much closer to The Boss' more theatrical contemporary
Mike Doherty
National Post
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Arcade Fire's Win Bulter is finding the epic drama of his band's new album being likened to Bruce Springsteen at his most anthemic, but could the quasi-religious fervour of much of the disc be directed at a Paradise closer to ...
Judging by the number of times he has been name checked in the music press in recent months, you would think Bruce Springsteen was the most important rocker on the planet. From mega-sellers (The Killers) to critical darlings (The Hold Steady), a raft of young artists is said to have been inspired by The Boss. They've either named albums after his (like Badly Drawn Boy's Born in the U.K.), used elements of his aesthetic or both.
But for all the Jersey rocker's influence, these bands and many more reach beyond Springsteen's marriage of blue-collar grit with fist-pumping anthems. Between Brooce and today's indie rockers, a large and unexpected presence looms: that of Meat Loaf.
Starting with 1977's Bat Out of Hell, the stage veteran, along with composer Jim Steinman, popularized a brand of apocalyptic, theatrical rock that is making a comeback, from Muse's universe- spanning epics to The Flaming Lips' cosmic existentialism to the dark, cinematic glam of Kasabian. Startling as it may seem, a striking comparison can be made between Meat Loaf's critically reviled debut and The Arcade Fire's brand-new Neon Bible, now receiving hosannas from congregations of zealous music writers. The similarities begin, fittingly, with The Boss.
"When I saw Springsteen at the Bottom Line in New York," recalls Steinman, "I was blown away. I remember saying to Meat Loaf, 'God, he's doing what I?m doing!' "
On 1975's Born to Run, which ends with the 10-minute Jungleland, Springsteen showcased a theatrical presentation of Americana, which he then more or less abandoned. Springsteen's label boss, Clive Davis, rejected Steinman's songs as being too bizarre, but he and Meat Loaf soldiered on. With help from producer Todd Rundgren and Springsteen's own pianist and drummer, they took operatic rock to absurd heights with Bat Out of Hell (which has since sold around 40 million copies) only to outdo themselves with1993's immensely overblown Bat Out of Hell 2.
Steinman, reached at his Connecticut home yesterday at 2:15 a.m. (like bats, he's nocturnal), may have written hits for the likes of Bonnie Tyler and Air Supply, but he's also a Wagnerian at heart who likes to challenge his audience. His modus operandi is not just to throw the kitchen sink into his work, but also to chuck the pipes in after it, set it on fire and then add strings.
You can hear elements of Bat's orchestral grandeur on Neon Bible. The New York Times' claim that "the Arcade Fire has managed to avoid any gestures toward the operatic" is belied by the album's opening song: Black Mirror sounds like the Rolling Stones' Brown Sugar as re-imagined by the Phantom of the Opera, underpinned by a menacing low rumble. You can't get much more Sturm und Drang than this.
Steinman cites "extreme passion, or fever" as a necessary element in good rock music, and the Arcade Fire's lead singer, Win Butler sings with a dramatic fervour that recalls Meat Loaf's desperate romanticism. Butler's lyrics are shot through with end-of-the-world apocalyptic imagery: "World War III, when are you coming for me?", he warbles on the eerie Windowsill.
Steinman's oeuvre looks ahead to a quasi-Biblical rock 'n' roll apocalypse: "I find heaven and hell, light and dark, to be eternally exciting conflicts," he says. "From the time I was a little kid, I loved religion for its accessories. I used to go to St. Patrick's cathedral [in New York] just to hear the music and liturgies."
Most of Neon Bible was recorded in churches outside of Montreal; what with its shivering strings, big reverb and 500-pipe church organ, the album is as gothic as the lettering on Bat Out of Hell's cover. All the same, the Arcade Fire are hardly reverent: On Saturday Night Live last month, Butler shattered an acoustic guitar.
The guitar-smashing Pete Townshend was himself an influence on Steinman: "I had never seen violence so beautifully portrayed," he says of seeing The Who for the first time. "There's a great fun in destroying things and tearing them down, and it's also politically the essence of rock 'n' roll."
Significantly, the Arcade Fire, together with bands like The Hold Steady and even The Killers, are apt to write in character, or about events outside themselves. "If I was teaching songwriting," says Steinman, "I would say: 'Stop looking inward.' I can't imagine Wagner sat down and said, 'Let me start a four-part epic cycle about my personal life buying female underwear.' He had a much different mission."
Wagner wrote about the twilight of the gods; Meat Loaf sings about "killers on the bloodshot streets," and Win Butler sings about falling bombs --it's all very dire, but it works only if you can enjoy the music viscerally. Hence the exhilarating rhythms and sweeping arrangements that accompany both Meat Loaf's finding paradise by the dashboard light and Win Butler's ode to going where No Cars Go.
Canadian musicians (aside from Celine Dion and Rush) have mostly shied away from the grandiose. Nonetheless, Bat Out of Hell first reached platinum status here, and Meat Loaf has claimed, "More people in Canada owned Bat Out of Hell than owned snowshoes" (which is not really that many, but you get the idea).
If Neon Bible's hugely uplifting closer, My Body is a Cage, with vocals by a choir of fallen angels, crashing drums that could set a whole army marching and, of course, the pipe organ to end all pipe organs, is any indication, the Arcade Fire could give Steinman a run for his money.
As for the songwriter, he played little part in this year's Bat Out of Hell "threequel," The Monster is Loose, but fear not: He's writing new songs for a musical version of the first two albums, to premiere in London in 2008, complete with 3-D animation. Steinman likens it to a musical version of last year's apocalyptic film Children of Men.
"The first review of Bat Out of Hell said I'm way over the top," he recalls. "But how are you going to see the other side if you don't go over the top?"
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=d26b477d-3528-4d94-bcc6-dfb0a25ca7cd&k=63823&p=2 (http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=d26b477d-3528-4d94-bcc6-dfb0a25ca7cd&k=63823&p=2)
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You're welcome.
Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
Originally posted by Jack Black, Caucasian American:
I've tried listening to this band, and they just don't cut it for me.
thanks for your positive contribution to the group. [/b]
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I think they sound like Eddie and the Cruisers.
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Neon Bible debuts at number 2 on the Billboard Charts. Funeral peaked at 131.
Did anyone see that one coming??!?
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Indie is the new mainstream.
Originally posted by Graace:
Neon Bible debuts at number 2 on the Billboard Charts. Funeral peaked at 131.
Did anyone see that one coming??!?
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Originally posted by Graace:
Neon Bible debuts at number 2 on the Billboard Charts. Funeral peaked at 131.
Did anyone see that one coming??!?
I'm being honest when I say this but yes, I predicted #2. I shoulda poasted my prediction....
For what it's worth, it wasn't that hard to predict. The hype was thick, everyone knew when it was being released, etc.
James Murphy is pleading for his fans to buy the new LCD Soundsystem "Sound of Silver" when it comes out next week on 3/20. He knows that in weeks when there are no blockbuster releases, 150K sales or so can sometimes be #1. He figures that if everyone who bought his first CD bought the new one in the first week then he could be #1. And he would find that fucking hilarious.
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I'll be in the front of Section J for the DAR show. Worst seats I've ever had there, but better than nothing. I actually had somone at an outlet that morning (I was busy and couldn't try for tickets myself), and she had to settle for two singles. The poor Record and Tape Traders employee said it was the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. Congratulations to all you lucky bastards sitting pretty at the front of the orchestra. :)
Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
James Murphy is pleading for his fans to buy the new LCD Soundsystem "Sound of Silver" when it comes out next week on 3/20. He knows that in weeks when there are no blockbuster releases, 150K sales or so can sometimes be #1. He figures that if everyone who bought his first CD bought the new one in the first week then he could be #1. And he would find that fucking hilarious.
Going up against the new Modest Mouse? I'd say he has little chance, but that's just my opinion.
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Has anyone gotten their tickets in the mail?
Might have been lost...ordered 2/24..still not here.
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The Arcade Fire are one of those bands that I file under "what's not to like??!!". I would guess that if you listed your reasons for not liking them and I listed my reason for liking them the lists would be the same.
I don't get the Springsteen comparions. I feel they are more apt for The Hold Steady, but, I never really listened to Bruce.
Originally posted by Jack Black, Caucasian American:
I've tried listening to this band, and they just don't cut it for me.
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Originally posted by Joe Marshmallow III:
Has anyone gotten their tickets in the mail?
Might have been lost...ordered 2/24..still not here.
I was about to say I have not recieved mine yet, but then I remembered I have will call because I got front row :D
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Originally posted by renton007:
I don't get the Springsteen comparions. I feel they are more apt for The Hold Steady, but, I never really listened to Bruce.
Listen to the pre-Nebraska material for a while and it becomes more obvious.
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Originally posted by Joe Marshmallow III:
Has anyone gotten their tickets in the mail?
Might have been lost...ordered 2/24..still not here.
I haven't gotten mine yet, either. Trying to remember how long it took for The Shins tickets to arrive...
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TM doesn't guarantee you'll have the tickets until something like 1-2 weeks before the show. The Arcade Fire show is still 6 weeks away. I wouldn't worry just yet.
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Originally posted by renton007:
The Arcade Fire are one of those bands that I file under "what's not to like??!!". I would guess that if you listed your reasons for not liking them and I listed my reason for liking them the lists would be the same.
I don't get the Springsteen comparions. I feel they are more apt for The Hold Steady, but, I never really listened to Bruce.
I'd say the Hold Steady are quite Springsteen-esque.
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I just heard one of their new songs. I think it was about Drving Around in a Car, or something like that. Sounds like "On the Darkside" by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band.
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Originally posted by Joe Marshmallow III:
Has anyone gotten their tickets in the mail?
Might have been lost...ordered 2/24..still not here.
just got half my order tonight, so expect ticket delivery today or tomorrow.
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ok sounds good... ;)
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got mine a few days ago, so take that in the positive sense that yours are coming soon
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Anyone else that is totally stoked about tomorrow night's show? Listening to "Neighborhood #1" right now and getting chills. Should be a very fun evening.
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this is my first arcade fire show.
they better be worth all the hype live.
should i keep my expectations low and not get too super excited? (i love them on record by the way.)
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Originally posted by bigyellow100:
this is my first arcade fire show.
they better be worth all the hype live.
if not, what? you're going to kick their asses?
i saw them last weekend in indio - they sounded amazing. i think you're pretty safe letting your hopes fly, they certainly lived up to the hype for me. i'm really kicking myself that i can't make this show. should be a great performance.
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Did I tell you guys already that this band just doesn't do it for me?
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Duly noted. And we care....we really, REALLY do.
Anyway, how about the National? I am only familiar with a couple songs, and I dig them, but are they a decent live band? I don't want to go through what I did with Viva Voce opening for the Shins. That was SO painful. Even after a walk, it still felt like they were on for an eternity.
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I have one National album. A bit like the Tindersticks. Some boardies will tell you they're better than Jesus Christ. They're good, but not great, at least on record. Better than Viva Voce, for sure anyway.
Originally posted by bearman:
Duly noted. And we care....we really, REALLY do.
Anyway, how about the National? I am only familiar with a couple songs, and I dig them, but are they a decent live band? I don't want to go through what I did with Viva Voce opening for the Shins. That was SO painful. Even after a walk, it still felt like they were on for an eternity.
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Originally posted by sweetcell:
Originally posted by bigyellow100:
this is my first arcade fire show.
they better be worth all the hype live.
if not, what? you're going to kick their asses?
[/b]
well i do fight a lot. i figure i can take at least 5 of them. dunno about that crazy percussionist though. he might be a little to fiesty to take at the same time.
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It will be my 7th time seeing them but I'm worried that their big sound might not translate very well with the venue (we'll see).
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I've only seen them at Coachella in 2005, and they exceeded my already high expectations at that time.
I have not been able to get into Neon Bible near as much as the first album though. I'm hoping the songs will be better live and thus improving the album for me.
And did I mention that I got front row for this show? :D
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Does anyone know if the 8 PM time for tonight's show at DAR is the time doors open, or if it's when they go on? I haven't been to a show at DAR in eons and I won't be able to get there til a little after 8... don't want to miss anything!
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7 pm -- Doors
8 pm -- National
9:15 pm -- Arcade Fire
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Haven't been to a show at DAR in a long time. Do they serve drinks? Can you drink at your seat? Can you have any kind of beverage at your seat? For a band like AF, are people going to be sitting the whole time? Anyone remember what parking is like in the neighborhood?
Very sorry if these have been discussed to death, but am just realizing that I can't fall back on my 9:30 or BC routine. I got that shit down to a science.
Thanks again Sweetcell for the ticket.
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yes, drinks are served - two bars upstairs, one downstairs. walk around to see which once has a shorter line.
no drinks at seat, must be finished in hallway/downstairs before entering the performance hall. gotta protect the pretty carpet in there.
i'd expect that everyone in the orchestra will be standing, and that the majority of people in the side (tiered) seating will be sitting... that's generally how things go for most shows. then again people are pretty excited aboutt his show, so everyone just might be standing.
parking: there is street parking, but it might fill up eventually on a friday night with a sold-out show. get there on the early side, and i'd recommend trying west of the venue, in the side-streets around the GW campus.
FYI, Orch row B seat 121 will most probably remain empty tonight. just sayin'.
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Holy. Crap.
Yeah, that is pretty much my summary. Here's the setlist:
Black Mirror
No Cars Go
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Haiti
Black Wave/Bad Vibrations
Neon Bible
Windowstill
The Well and the Lighthouse
Ocean of Noise
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)
Keep the Car Running
--------------------
Intervention
Wake Up
I made it to the front row, which made the whole experience pretty exceptional. Fun, fun, and more fun. Hope that everyone had a great time too.
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Wow!@!. It is possible to have an amazing time at DAR! Sound was flawless! This is probably the best Arcade Fire show I've seen AND the best so far this year.
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Just a stunning show. And not just by the Arcade Fire, the National kicked some serious ass. Made a fan out of a few people who hadn't even heard of them before Friday.
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Agreed. What a terrific show on all counts!
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A friend of mine who I was with has been having a really tough time as of late...hates his job, owed a ridiculous amount of money in taxes, etc. etc. etc. He didn't have a very good day yesterday, but by the time he walked out of that show he was on cloud 9. THey are so powerful. I was hoping for a good show, but was pleasantly surprised to get one that was fantastic. Bombay, what did you think of the show? Sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye afterwards, I turned around and everyone was kicked out of the venue.
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I agree 100% with the above comments. I was a little dissapointed with Neon Bible, but played live they took it to a new level. And the songs from Funeral were fantastic! First time seeing them and hopefully not the last. I was very impressed with The National too, I may have to buy some of their CD's.
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I thought they were really, really good. I don't know Neon Bible at all, but they convinced me I need it. The National rocked too. By the end of their set they definitely had the crowd on their side.
bearman - I'm glad your friend had a good time. It was pretty obvious, the way he was jumping around. :) I saw you right up at the stage. Slightly jealous, but I can't complain about my seat. Sorry I didn't hang around long after the show - It looked like you were going to be a while, so I left to hookup with some friends out front.
Great night.
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What a show. On the way in, I wasn't quite as hyped-up as I was hoping to be. However, The National was really great. I didn't know anything, and they had me completely hooked and into the show by the middle of the set. I loved the way they won over the crowd, too. The applause grew after every song, and it almost felt like we might get an encore at the end. Really strong songs.
I thought the Arcade Fire set was even stronger than the 9:30 show. I wasn't expecting that, mainly because of the venue. We had good seats, but they were made better when Wynn invited the crowd down. From that point on, the front of the floor felt like the club, and the energy was incredible. I am really starting to feel that these guys are something special.
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The nationals were pretty good. Arcade Fire was amazing. First time I had ever seen them live. Hope they come back to DC soon.
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Originally posted by phillidan:
the front of the floor felt like the club, and the energy was incredible
Exactly what I was thinking. Win said (to paraphrase) "OK, I'm going to apologize to all the security people now, but everyone come on down to the front. These people need to fucking dance!"
My only criticism was that it seemed to take a few songs for the sound guys to get everything just right (though this seems to happen at almost every show). Black Mirror sounded pretty muddy.
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Originally posted by eros:
My only criticism was that it seemed to take a few songs for the sound guys to get everything just right (though this seems to happen at almost every show). Black Mirror sounded pretty muddy.
Gotta agree there. The sound certainly wasn't flawless at the beginning, levels were way off, and there were several feedback incidents throughout the set. It was sounding pretty good by the end though.
Great, great show though! Lots of great audience energy up front. I was really glad I had my row D seat. It really made a difference. Best DAR show ever (at least for me).
I'm sad I missed the National, but I've seen them before and will see them again (soon even). DAR shows always start earlier than I'd like. I didn't leave work until 7pm. By the time, I got to DAR it was ~8:15. I spent the next half hour or so unsuccessfully trying to sell my extra ticket and missed the whole National set. :(
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Damn it! I wish I'd looked at this thread sooner. I was thinking about going down and looking for an extra but thought my chances were slim. Hope you were able to get rid of yours.
Originally posted by sweetcell:
FYI, Orch row B seat 121 will most probably remain empty tonight. just sayin'.
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that was the most spiritual thing ive ever experienced. and it was only the second time in my life where something surpassed my expectations.
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Originally posted by DarthEd:
Gotta agree there. The sound certainly wasn't flawless at the beginning, levels were way off, and there were several feedback incidents throughout the set. It was sounding pretty good by the end though.
Great, great show though! Lots of great audience energy up front. I was really glad I had my row D seat. It really made a difference. Best DAR show ever (at least for me).
I'm sad I missed the National, but I've seen them before and will see them again (soon even). DAR shows always start earlier than I'd like. I didn't leave work until 7pm. By the time, I got to DAR it was ~8:15. I spent the next half hour or so unsuccessfully trying to sell my extra ticket and missed the whole National set. :(
Ed, were you and a lady friend standing behind the drunk dude reclining on the seat?
What a brilliant show. I saw them once in a large venue in the UK and this far surpassed that show (not that the other show was bad by any means). The lights/video really added a lot to the experience.
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no cars go....live...is.....amazing.
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Looking at the setlist, I have to say that the run from "Windowstill" to "Keep the Car Running" was damn near flawless. "The Well and the Lighthouse" is fantastic, "Ocean of Noise" is just unreal. I know I'm in the minority, but I actually prefer Neon Bible to Funeral. It has finally sunk in after seeing them live. Not that Funeral isn't fantastic. But agreed, this band IS something special.
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this show fits easily into the top 3 shows i've ever seen. i have never, ever seen a seated venue that into a rock show. i was floored at how amazing they worked a room like that. there was a ton of stuff going on but never once was it distracting. this was one of the few shows that i consider an 'experience' rather than a concert. amazing.
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Just chiming in in agreement with the kick-ass-ness of that show. I somehow scored Orch B, 109 after buying seats side stage. I was really impressed by The National and will try to make it their 9:30 show next month. The new album is killer.
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Originally posted by bigyellow100:
that was the most spiritual thing ive ever experienced. and it was only the second time in my life where something surpassed my expectations.
Exactly. And I agree with all other posters about how unbelievably awesome this was. I have friends who couldn't get tickets and I feel bad...I mean I really feel bad for them that they missed this.
This show restored my faith in music. Arcade Fire is the real deal. And I was oh so skeptical/cynical of all the hype for the past few years that I robbed myself of seeing them sooner.
I'm so glad to come back here and see so many people who felt the same way.
And yes, I agree with whomever said No Cars Go was the song of the night. I am still reeling from that. Just Wow.
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Looks like we got lucky, 'cause they didn't play Wake Up at the Philly show! muwahaha!
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Originally posted by allmy$to930:
Ed, were you and a lady friend standing behind the drunk dude reclining on the seat?
No, I was there solo (although there were ladies on either side of me, they were with other guys) and my seat was closer to the inner aisle than where the drunk dude ended up. He started over by me though, then moved up a row, and then eventually ended up more in the middle. What a waste of a good seat! He could have gone outside and got hammered if that's all he wanted to do.
"No Cars Go" was excellent, but I was more impressed by "Windowsill." The album version never made much of an impression on me, but their live rendition turned that around for me. They really were amazing. I'm still on a concert-going high two days later.
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Originally posted by eros:
Originally posted by phillidan:
the front of the floor felt like the club, and the energy was incredible
Exactly what I was thinking. Win said (to paraphrase) "OK, I'm going to apologize to all the security people now, but everyone come on down to the front. These people need to fucking dance!"
My only criticism was that it seemed to take a few songs for the sound guys to get everything just right (though this seems to happen at almost every show). Black Mirror sounded pretty muddy. [/b]
I'm really beginning to regret keeping my seat for the whole show. I was at the front of Section J, which is just right of center in the back, right above the box seats. When everyone starting pouring down onto the floor, I gave some serious thought to heading down there, but figured that I wouldn't be able to make much headway towards the stage and would end up with a much worse view than what I had. It sounds like I would have had a better time had I hit the floor.
The show was indeed pretty amazing, though. Neon Bible took a while to grow on me, but I came to absolutely love quite a few tracks over the past couple weeks, and hearing them live was mindblowing. The Funeral songs were really good (especially "Neighborhood #1"), but a few of the Neon Bible songs were just spectacular. "Intervention" may be my favorite song on the album, so I was pretty ecstatic when they launched into it during the encore. And yes, "No Cars Go" was crazy good, as was "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" (another Neon Bible favorite of mine).
I noticed the sound issues at the beginning as well. I'm just glad they got them mostly cleared up before "No Cars Go". :)
And I wish I hadn't missed The National. I'd heard good things about them and was rather looking forward to their set, and from all accounts it seems they were rather awesome. :(
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Originally posted by earth intruder aka j. marshmallow:
Looks like we got lucky, 'cause they didn't play Wake Up at the Philly show! muwahaha!
Before they played it they had a little group meeting on stage and you could see one of them say "Should we play Wake Up?" I thought it was just them kind of pretending they weren't planning on playing it, but maybe it's not a regular part of the set?
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The encore was supposed to be "(Antichrist Television Blues)" and then "Intervention". But instead they changed it to "Intervention" and then "Wake Up". That was definitely not planned out, and we were indeed very lucky!
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I was surprised that they didn't play Antichrist, but Wake Up was a nice alternative.
Loved the show. It's a whole different dynamic being in a theatre like that, but the only thing that was a bummer was not being able to have a drink while watching. Was very glad that everyone in my section stood the whole show, and I had an aisle seat so had plenty of room to do my thing.
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It was religious, I swear. Arcade Fire fans are CRAZY, and they're just proof that this May is PHENOMENAL when it comes to damn good concerts. I saw Bjork twice, and again tomorrow night (and again and again), and I'm seeing the Arcade Fire again tonight in NYC.
I'm just...shocked at how great that show was. I only wish that Regine would've done "In the Backseat"! I've been waiting to hear it live again since 2005!! Whatever, I still left the show one happy black man!
Side note: WOW to the Neon Bible songs live! "Intervention" is nothing short of amazing. "Windowsill" makes me tear up...and I wish he'd have pulled out "My Body is a Cage".
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ix: are you the black guy in left Orchestra BB or CC at the United Palace show, wearing a shirt that says "Why would you free Michael Jackson?"
If that was you, you are one crazy dude!
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YES!!! That was me! ("Why Free Michael Jackson?" shirt...dancing my ass off, etc.)
I was in Orchestra BB at United Palace and Orchestra DD at Radio City!!!
Are you going to the Apollo show tomorrow/Arcade Fire tonight?
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This show now tops my list of best shows I've been to (not that it has much competition). It was definitely the best audience I've ever seen in DC; everyone was so into it. I was VERY happy with my seat in box 13, especially since I'm too short to see well when everyone's standing on the floor. (I feel horrible for people in the obstructed view seats; there were definitely some things on the stage that got in the way.) The entire thing was just unbelievable. After seeing the NC setlist, I was really nervous they wouldn't play Wake Up; I'm so glad they did. And I hope Win was serious when he said they'll be back soon!
The only thing that could have made it better is meeting the band; I missed Win when he was signing things out by the bus. Oh well.
(There's a recording of the show on dimeadozen. It's pretty good, too.)
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If anyone ends up with an mp3 of the show, or a place to download it, could you post it? I would love to hear it again.
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Unfortunately, I am not going to either the Apollo show or AF tonight. I don't live in NYC but I came up to the Bjork show on Saturday.
I noticed you when you came in (I was in Orch DD) and I laughed when I saw your shirt 'cause the "Why" in the shirt was handwritten as well as the "?". I noticed you again when the white folks started to sit down and you were dancing to Wanderlust! (which is not a dancy song, btw...lol). Did you notice everyone was looking at you, but you didn't seem to care! LOL!
Wait, did you also go to the Arcade Fire DC show? If you did, then you are probably the black guy going crazy in front, center??!
Originally posted by ixkpd-bk:
YES!!! That was me! ("Why Free Michael Jackson?" shirt...dancing my ass off, etc.)
I was in Orchestra BB at United Palace and Orchestra DD at Radio City!!!
Are you going to the Apollo show tomorrow/Arcade Fire tonight?
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i hate all of you who were able to make this show. not fair that i got roped into out of town travel. you all suck (apparently AF, live, definitely doesn't)
on a more serious note, i'd definitely appreciate getting that MP3 too. i don't have a dimeadozen account.
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Originally posted by earth intruder aka j. marshmallow:
[QB] Unfortunately, I am not going to either the Apollo show or AF tonight. I don't live in NYC but I came up to the Bjork show on Saturday.
I noticed you when you came in (I was in Orch DD) and I laughed when I saw your shirt 'cause the "Why" in the shirt was handwritten as well as the "?". I noticed you again when the white folks started to sit down and you were dancing to Wanderlust! (which is not a dancy song, btw...lol). Did you notice everyone was looking at you, but you didn't seem to care! LOL!
Wait, did you also go to the Arcade Fire DC show? If you did, then you are probably the black guy going crazy in front, center??!
YEP!!!
That was me, too! Front and center @ Arcade Fire! Begging them to play "In the Backseat"!
And yeah I was dancing my ass off during Wanderlust, and it *IS* a song you dance to! I mean she specifically says "united in movement", plus the beat is really dancy/industrial! Wow, people were looking at me? I didn't notice! Even though I guess being the only black guy freakin out at indie shows helps a bit!
I had a blast though! It was awesome, and I really cant wait for the rest of this tour to progress!
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The person who posted the torrent asked that it not be shared in compressed format. Do you still want it if I upload it as flac?
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(Sorry, accidentally hit quote instead of edit.)
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Originally posted by kmb187:
The person who posted the torrent asked that it not be shared in compressed format. Do you still want it if I upload it as flac?
yes, i'd be most happy with flac (in fact prefer it as such).
fyi, if you hit "quote" instead of "edit", just hit your browser's Back button - you don't have to include a "sorry my bad" reply :)
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Originally posted by sweetcell:
fyi, if you hit "quote" instead of "edit", just hit your browser's Back button - you don't have to include a "sorry my bad" reply :)
I didn't notice I had done it until after I'd posted and was returned to the thread.
It's uploading now... slowly.
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no audio recording was allowed at the show. any postings including links to audio files will be deleted.
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I wasn't exactly sure what the policy was that night. There were signs that said no audio/video recording or photos, but DAR didn't even check bags. They didn't care about cameras or... anything. Weird.
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Originally posted by kmb187:
I wasn't exactly sure what the policy was that night. There were signs that said no audio/video recording or photos, but DAR didn't even check bags. They didn't care about cameras or... anything. Weird.
i was present at the security meeting with the tour rep and the supervisor of the DAR staff. no audio recording was allowed. it's unfortunate that the policy was not enforced.
for future reference, the great majority of bands do not allow "professional" cameras (long or removable lenses, high end digital), audio, or video recording. if you are ever unsure of the policy, ask the door staff.
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This might be a stupid question, but I've always wondered this...why allow cameras at all if you can't bring in one with a removable lens? What's the difference if a photo is taken with a fancy point and shoot digital camera vs. one with a removable lens? Sure, the quality on a disposable camera or cell phone won't be great, but you can get some pretty decent shots on a digital camera without a removable lens. My guess is that it allows the band to control which press is snapping pics since they are more fussy about the equipment they use.
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i guess it's the promoters/organizers trying to reach a balance between letting attendees take some sort of a souvenir vs. making sure no one makes money selling the photos and/or recreates the experience too closely (thus discouraging fans from buying tickets to future shows)
why non-removable lenses? it's an arbitrary cut-off that's easy to make. short of barring all cameras, the only other way would be to mandate maximum specs (no cameras with an F-stop below 4.0, no optical zoom above 3x, no ISO emulation above 800, etc etc) - near impossible to enforce since you'd need to inspect each camera.
while you can get some damn fine pix from a point-n-shoot digicam, they're not print quality for the most part. the vast majority of their CDCs (the electronic plate that turns incoming light into 1's and 0's) aren't sensitive enough so contrast will always be off. making the on-the-spot adjustments that a pro is used to making can't be done quickly with a snappy-cam. the flash is too weak. and reaction time on consumer digicams is horrendous - press the button, picture is taken a second or more later. pro equipment = reaction time in the milliseconds.
the lines between pro and non-pro equipment are rapidly being blurred and eventually there will be no difference - it will all come down to user's ability and placement (pro photogs get pit passes, can go on-stage or on the wings, etc) - at which point we might not be allowed to bring cameras at all (or maybe just disposable ones - who knows).
once upon a time i used a several thousand dollar professional camera for work. after using that machine, i haven't been able to bring myself to buying a consumer cam... just too much of a downgrade. the slow reaction time and crappy zooms are what really get me.
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well since all religion is a fraud, this show did indeed qualify as a religious experience.
i guess if you like your shows with all of the over-the-top qualities of a broadway musical instead of, y'know, memorable songs, it was close to perfect. yes, "tunnels" and "wake up" and "keep the car running" are good, maybe close to great songs, but the rest are pale imitations of those. and that just leaves the spectacle, and sure, there's energy, but that shit couldn't be more contrived. just because there are lots of people jumping around banging on and blowing into things doesn't make it cathartic or important. it's just even more calculated. and i know that the drums weren't live on at least two songs and i wouldn't be surprised if there were more backing tracks used in addition to that.
that crazy televangelist woman on the video screens before they came on couldn't have been a more apt intro...
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Originally posted by bearman:
The encore was supposed to be "(Antichrist Television Blues)" and then "Intervention". But instead they changed it to "Intervention" and then "Wake Up". That was definitely not planned out, and we were indeed very lucky!
Ahh man, I love Antichrist Television Blues. It's probably my favorite from Neon Bible. Wake Up is still a good way to go and made a fantastic finish to an amazing event.
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Originally posted by bearman:
This might be a stupid question, but I've always wondered this...
sweetcell was pretty spot on. bascially, you need to draw a line somewhere. for most bands that line is with removable lenses. everyone knows that there are cameras with fixed lenses that can take amazing pictures and clunky old slrs with removable lenses that take crappy ones, but it's just not worth the time, effort, and knowledge required to examine every camera. so, an arbitrary decision is made.
some artists request no photography at all, which is getting harder and harder to enforce as digital cameras get smaller and smaller. enforcing no video is becoming difficult as well since most digital cameras also have video capabilities and large memory cards are getting cheaper.
a "no pro" policy allows the fans to snap some shots for personal use and theoretically keeps the high end stuff out. everybody wins.
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Originally posted by thatguy:
some artists request no photography at all, which is getting harder and harder to enforce as digital cameras get smaller and smaller.
I would say virtually impossible, unless you plan on taking away everyone's cellphones at the door.
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Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:
I would say virtually impossible, unless you plan on taking away everyone's cellphones at the door.
it has been requested. it was not enforced. that's getting a bit ridiculous. we just told everyone coming in that we would take them if they used them.
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No one has mentioned this yet, but I absolutely love watching Sarah Neufeld when she plays the violin and dances at the same time...and she's very cute too! *sigh*
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Originally posted by earth intruder aka j. marshmallow:
No one has mentioned this yet, but I absolutely love watching Sarah Neufeld when she plays the violin and dances at the same time...and she's very cute too! *sigh*
I thought it was funny how almost all of the band are dressed in 19th century field worker outfits, except for Sarah, who dresses like an Atlantic City hooker. C'mon, halter top, short-shorts and heels? Love that.
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Originally posted by earth intruder aka j. marshmallow:
No one has mentioned this yet, but I absolutely love watching Sarah Neufeld when she plays the violin and dances at the same time...and she's very cute too! *sigh*
Yeah. She's nice. Got some nice close-ups of her at the show. Regine's kinda cute, too. In a Natalie Merchant sorta way. Regardless, they can both get it. Simultaneously, if they so prefer. :D
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I must live in a weird part of the country where Arcade Fire proselytizing and evangelizing are outlawed. Are they REALLY that good? Really? Doesn't this whole thing smack of flavor-of-the-month? Does anybody really think they'll be around in three years? They seem to me like a European-American Sly & the Family Stone who read David Eggers and drink a lot of tea. Really? The Arcade Fire? "The Neon Bible?" "Funeral?" You're not all distracted by the multiple members and the weird instruments are you? If that's the case, then where's all the love for Mercury Rev?
This reminds me of a couple years ago when life experiences were rated thustly:
3. The greatest love you've ever experienced.
2. Total consciousness with the universe.
1. The new Wilco CD.
It sounds a lot like "Kid A" doesn't it? And "Kid A" is all very well and good but I preferred Radiohead when they released "The Bends." You know, back when they'd release songs with stuff like melodies and tunes.
Brian
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Originally posted by Brian_Walalce:
They seem to me like a European-American Sly & the Family Stone who read David Eggers and drink a lot of tea.
That's why we love em!
Seriously, they are one of a few bands I know where I cant think of a really horrible song that they have in their catalogue. Yeah, some songs may not have the initial blowup that others have (like how "Ocean of Noise" can seem totally boring on a first listen, compared to songs like "No Cars Go" or "Intervention", but when you really get into it, it's REALLY well written, and it's got a lot of force behind it...
And hey, Funeral was one of the most emotionally charged, well written, and just overall fulfilling records of this decade. It all boils down to just recognizing talent when you see it. Get with it!
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I do not care for The Arcade Fire. They insist upon themselves.
Peter: But, since we??re all going to die, there??s one more secret I feel I have to share with you. I did not care for The Godfather.
Lois: What!
Peter: Did not care for The Godfather.
Lois: Uh!
Chris: How can you even say that dad?
Peter: Didn??t like, did not like it.
Lois: Peter, it??s so good, it??s like the perfect movie.
Peter: This is what everyone always says, whenever someone says?
Chris: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino?
Peter: I?
Chris: You never see? ROBERT DUVALL!
Peter: Fine, fine actor, did not like the movie.
Brian: Why not?
Peter: Did not? couldn??t get into it.
Lois: Explain yourself, what didn??t you like about it?
Peter: It insists upon itself, Lois.
Lois: What?
Peter: It insists upon itself.
Lois: What does that even mean?
Chris: Cause it has a valid point to make, it??s insistent!
Peter: Cause it takes forever getting in, and you spend, you spend like six and a half hours, and then, you - I can??t even get through, I haven??t even seen the ending.
Chris: You??ve never seen the ending?
Stewie: Ah, how can you say you don??t like it if you haven??t even given it a chance?
Lois: I agree with Stewie, it??s not really fair.
Chris: Outrageous.
Peter: I??ve tried on three separate occasions to get through it, and I get to the scene where all the guys are sitting around on the easy chairs?
Lois: Yes, it??s a great scene, I love that scene.
Peter: It??s not a great scene, I have no idea what they??re talking about, it??s like their speaking a different language. That??s where I lose interest and fade away.
Chris: They??re speaking Italian!
Lois: The language they??re speaking is the language of subtly, something you don??t understand.
Peter: I love The Money Pit. That is my answer to that statement.
Lois: Exactly.
Peter: Well, there you go.
Lois: Whatever.
Chris: I like that movie, too.
I love The Fratellis. That is my answer to that statement.
Brian
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Originally posted by phillidan:
If anyone ends up with an mp3 of the show, or a place to download it, could you post it? I would love to hear it again.
Can't be much different than this approved recording of the New York show from earlier in the tour (courtesy of NPR, PBR, AF, and some venue in NY):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/asc/live/20070217_asc_arcadefire.mp3 (http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/asc/live/20070217_asc_arcadefire.mp3)
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might have missed it, but i didn't see the WaPo review posted here... seems to confirm the life-altering qualities of the show:
Arcade Fire: A Live Wire At Constitution Hall (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/05/AR2007050500995.html?nav=rss_artsandliving/music)
By J. Freedom du Lac
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 6, 2007; Page D01
Arcade Fire ringleader Win Butler is a big man with big ideas -- a towering presence at 6 feet 5, with a penchant for making epic, exalted music. There's an undeniable grandeur and a thrilling vastness to the songs Butler performs with his Montreal-based band, but it's no empty bombast: In the studio and especially in concert, Arcade Fire's emotional music plays as deeply meaningful, soul-stirring art.
Friday night, performing at Constitution Hall, the indie-rock idols aimed for immensity, as always, and had little trouble hitting their mark. The 10 musicians played everything from guitars and drums to violas, xylophones, hurdy-gurdies and even a miniature pipe organ while whipping up a crescendoing super-size sound that tended to take the enraptured audience skyward.
Given their construct and the impassioned intensity and freneticism with which they were played, nearly all of the 15 songs sounded capable of providing rock-and-roll catharsis, if one were in search of such a thing.
And who wasn't? A ticket to an Arcade Fire show represents the possibility, if not the probability, of being transported -- of transcendence. It's the reason tickets to the 3,700-seat venue sold out in less than an hour. It's also why the band is becoming increasingly known as one of the most vital live acts in contemporary popular music -- a sort of modern-day art-rock answer to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, whose galloping music was echoed in Arcade Fire's superlative set-closer, "Keep the Car Running." (The Talking Heads are another important touchstone.)
While the music was lofty, the lyrics weren't all inherently uplifting. "Mirror, mirror on the wall / Show me where them bombs will fall," Butler sang during the opening "Black Mirror." Performing "Windowsill" midway through the 80-minute concert, he yelped: "I can't breathe! I can't sleep! World War III, when are you coming for me?" Both songs are from Arcade Fire's new album, "Neon Bible," a thematically bleak set about a world that's apparently on the verge of an apocalypse.
Butler didn't blame anybody by name for the current state of affairs, but he didn't really have to, emphatically singing: "I don't want to live in America no more!" Though he was born in Texas and prep-schooled in New England, the 27-year-old artist now lives in Canada with his Haitian-born wife, Regine Chassagne, with whom he formed Arcade Fire.
The lyrics tended to swim in an ocean of beautiful noise, with Butler's quavering, David Byrne-like vocals enveloped by the swirling sound and fury of a maniacal band that embraces discord and thrives on changes.
As the music surged and swelled during "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," from Arcade Fire's lauded 2004 debut, "Funeral," the tempo accelerated until the song was transformed into a disco-rock number. The very next song -- the pulsating "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" -- seemed to end with Butler playing a power chord on his electric guitar . . . then resumed with a striking coda: a maelstrom of sound during which the musicians bashed away at their instruments, not to mention various other inanimate objects.
Another song, "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations," opened with Chassagne singing somewhat impishly before the tune shifted dramatically in tempo and key. Butler then resumed his primary role as lead vocalist -- though it's worth noting that everybody in Arcade Fire is a vocalist, as the full band shouts lyrics at certain points, sometimes into microphones, sometimes into bullhorns.
Of course, sometimes, not even that's enough vocal muscle to fulfill Butler's grand vision. For the encore, after a muddied version of the churchy "Intervention," Butler instructed the crowd to help him sing the night's final song, which opened with a gigantic Led Zeppelin-like drum stop. And then suddenly, on cue, members of the audience, who had flooded the concert hall's aisles at Butler's behest, began singing, "Oooh oooh oooh oooh." It was the lead-in to "Wake Up," a gloriously bitter anthem that provided a perfectly mighty ending to Arcade Fire's latest big night out.
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Thanks, Vansmack. I am listening to it now.
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Originally posted by Brian_Walalce:
Doesn't this whole thing smack of flavor-of-the-month?
Considering how many people are still head over heels in love with Funeral and include it on their "Albums of the Decade" lists, the past two and a half years make for one hell of a long month.
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Even if you're not a fan of the Arcade Fire, you can't put them in the same boat as Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, or really even the Shins. I think they're WAY beyond flavor of the month at this point.
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They played "In the Backseat" and COLD WIND :eek: at the first Berkeley show!
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Originally posted by wanderlust aka j. marshmallow:
They played "In the Backseat" and COLD WIND :eek: at the first Berkeley show!
They did "In the Backseat" at the Radio City show in NYC earlier in May.
But Cold Wind...yessssssssss!
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They played HEADLIGHTS LOOK LIKE DIAMONDS :roll: in Berkeley, 2nd night!
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Wow, they're really digging deep on this tour...all the way back to 2003! How special! ;)
Originally posted by wanderlust aka j. marshmallow:
They played HEADLIGHTS LOOK LIKE DIAMONDS :roll: in Berkeley, 2nd night!
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I wish I can kick yo ass right now!
Originally posted by nkotb:
Wow, they're really digging deep on this tour...all the way back to 2003! How special! ;)
Originally posted by wanderlust aka j. marshmallow:
They played HEADLIGHTS LOOK LIKE DIAMONDS :roll: in Berkeley, 2nd night!
[/b]
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well... at least win butler didn't steal your basketball
i wish i had seen these blogs while they were still up (http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2007/06/arcade_fire_a_b.html)