Mark your calendars / Arcade Fire

[joz]

thanks vansmack...was confused for a second there.  should've known that you weren't in the dc anymore from some of your other posts.
 
 with regards to the smoking policy at last night's show, i'm a smoker and it really didn't kill me that i couldn't have a smoke during their set.  although it was kind of annoying that i had to go down into the oppressively hot and smoky backbar along with 30 or so fellow lepers (cough...i mean, smokers) just to have a C.  
 
 my friend did see a staffer blast someone on the way out of the show who was lighting up just before they exited the club (literally feet from the door).  that's a little excessive...i mean, what were they going to do, throw her out?  the show was over.  there are definitely a few staffers who have that holier than thou attitude.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by joz:
  my friend did see a staffer blast someone on the way out of the show who was lighting up just before they exited the club (literally feet from the door).  that's a little excessive...i mean, what were they going to do, throw her out?  the show was over.  there are definitely a few staffers who have that holier than thou attitude.

Now you see, that's funny.  When that happens in CA, the staff doesn't have to say anything because at least 5-6 concert goers will ask the smoker "Seriously, would it have killed you wait 5 feet instead of blowing your smoke for the rest of us to walk through?"
 
 Now you have to be 20 feet away from the door of the place before you can light up.
 
 It's all in the perspective.

[brennser]

brennser, you think it was worth the painting labor? it was cool bumping into you.  

nice seeing you again Sal! as for whether your deal with the devil was worth it, heck there are worse things you could have been asked to do in return for a ticket  

[snailhook]

not to piss on anybody's parade, but...
 
 i thought the arcade fire were good, maybe even approaching very good, but certainly not brilliant, transcendent, nor even close to the best show i've seen recently. i suppose with all the ridiculous hype i've been hearing/reading for the past month or two, it was bound to be at least slightly disappointing. i think the talking heads comparison is more apt regarding win's vocals, but the band itself doesn't sound too much like the talking heads. i did get a broken social scene vibe, and to be honest, i'm not sure how i feel about all these bands recently who have six to ten  members (73 if you're the polyphonic spree) all doing mostly the same thing. perhaps i'm old and jaded, but i think neutral milk hotel and olivia tremor control pioneered this approach and perfected it. what i missed last night were memorable melodies.
 
 this isn't to say that i thought the arcade fire were bad; i enjoyed their set but had trouble fathoming why so many think this band is doing something interesting and moving. i wasn't moved at all, except during one song.
 
 i saw the last half of final fantasy, and i actually enjoyed his set. i don't think his looping of the violin was a gimmick at all and he used it to great effect. his singing sounded very delicately british at times and i liked when he screamed/yelled into the violin pick-up. i could see potential if he had an actual band to flesh out the sound.
 
 as for the smoking policy, we must have had roughly 30 signs placed throughout the inside and the outside of the club. as doorstaph, i take great pride in not intimidating patrons and will never be rude to someone smoking inside when they're not supposed to, unless they refuse to put out the cigarette. people forget these trivial things. i always deal with that at the warehouse next door, which has a no smoking policy at all times.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by snailhook:
  not to piss on anybody's parade, but...
 
 i saw the last half of final fantasy, and i actually enjoyed his set. i don't think his looping of the violin was a gimmick at all and he used it to great effect. his singing sounded very delicately british at times and i liked when he screamed/yelled into the violin pick-up. i could see potential if he had an actual band to flesh out the sound.
 

did he have OCD?  that screaming was a bit bizzare, and he was doing all sorts of compulsive stuff during the arcade fire set, it was making me uncomfortable ...

[snailhook]

hahaha, maybe he did have OCD. i like outsider art, and that guy has potential. i think he'll get somewhere if he abuses that violin and sings tales of his depraved fantasies.

[thatguy]

whenever a band requests a no smoking show, we post tons of signs inside and outside the club.  we also tell the bag checkers to remind anyone thst has a pack in their bag, or anyone coming to the door smoking.  the coffee bar will tell people if they buy a pack.  we take up all of the ashtrays.  when all of this fails, we politely inform anyone smoking of the policy, including those 5 feet from the door.  we often offer the backbar as an option, but sometimes you'll have to go outside.
 
 personally, i hope we go no smoking soon.  all of my clothes smell like smoke, and i find the smell offensive.

[helicon1]

Originally posted by thatguy:
 
 
 personally, i hope we go no smoking soon.  all of my clothes smell like smoke, and i find the smell offensive.

Three cheers for a non-smoking venue! Crowded shows will instantly become more tolerable.
 
 I understand there will be people against such ban. But think about it, a music venue is the sort of place where smoking isn't a must and I'm sure it would not detract from the atmosphere.

[kurosawa-b/w]

I thought the show was incredible. I've been trying to think of how to characterize it. I think I enjoyed it because it seemed like the band played because they had to. As if it was some elemental compulsion to make music to express themselves. There was an urgency to their playing. I loved every minute. Laika's craziness was a highlight. I also thought the whole encore was truly excellent. I was pretty close to the front and was entertained by the bass player's moves. I look forward to seeing them again!
 
 And I really enjoyed Final Fantasy, too. It's not easy to loop sound layers live and carry it off. With a self-depricating sense of humor. The shouting was a nice surprise. I'm glad the crowd was so respectful and into it. The whole show definitely raised my opinion of DC crowds.

[pablohoney]

Originally posted by thatguy:
  the coffee bar will tell people if they buy a pack.  

that is actually totally untrue. my friend and i bought packs separately at the coffee bar and neither of us were ever informed that there was no smoking.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by pablohoney:
  that is actually totally untrue. my friend and i bought packs separately at the coffee bar and neither of us were ever informed that there was no smoking.

Well that's it.  I say we take thatguy and the rest of the staff behind the woodshed and rough 'em up a bit!  Who's with me?

[myuman]

The set list on stage had this order... but there was some tweaking though. Wake up, Headlights, Laika, No Cars, Haiti, Intervention, 7 Kettles, French Song, Power out, Rebellion, Backseat.  Encore: Crown of, and Neighborhood.

[dtqjr]

Originally posted by thatguy:
  personally, i hope we go no smoking soon.  all of my clothes smell like smoke, and i find the smell offensive.

Word Up!

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by helicon1:
   

Originally posted by thatguy:
 
 
 personally, i hope we go no smoking soon.  all of my clothes smell like smoke, and i find the smell offensive.

Three cheers for a non-smoking venue! Crowded shows will instantly become more tolerable.
 
 I understand there will be people against such ban. But think about it, a music venue is the sort of place where smoking isn't a must and I'm sure it would not detract from the atmosphere. [/b]

umm, i'd politely disagree ... but we've had this discussion before, heavy drinking = smoking, its just that simple ... i wouldn't go to a random show on a tuesday night if i knew i would have to run down to the backbar to have a cigarette, and i know many people feel the same way ... it's a club, people smoke, most people either realize this as a fact of life or go to really cool places like clarendon ballroom or montgomery county, woohoo!
 
 thatguy, i agree, signs were everywhere and it should have been obvious, i just didn't catch it when i walked in, not a big deal.

[thatguy]

Originally posted by pablohoney:
   

Originally posted by thatguy:
  the coffee bar will tell people if they buy a pack.  

that is actually totally untrue. my friend and i bought packs separately at the coffee bar and neither of us were ever informed that there was no smoking. [/b]

ok.  two experiences make my statement totally untrue.  how about this: "the coffee bar is supposed to tell people if they buy a pack, but is often manned by humans, who are by their very nature imperfect and forget to do things sometimes."