Arcade Fire’s CD Funeral got a lot of hype last year. Pitchfork named it number 1 in its 50 Top Albums of 2004. Heady stuff. Just try and keep my wallet away from something like that — it can’t be done. What does this have to do with books? The CD made a best books of 2004 list. How is that for hype? Anway, after several listens I was on record as saying that I just didn’t get it.
Then, last week a last minute offer to see the band materialized. So I went, and I get it now. It was easily the best show that I have seen in the last year, at least. Possibly a top 5 show ever. I’ve tried a million times to lay off the hyperbole - but this time I mean it. This band was so good live, it may have ruined other live shows for months to come.
The group had 7 people on stage, at least 5 played multiple instruments, which is always cool. Every song was BIG and lavish. Each song was a monument to sincerity. Holden Caulfield would have loved these guys, as there wasn’t a phony in the bunch. Each song was wrung out for maximum emotion and honesty. And I know how cheesy that sounds, but it’s true. The band left nothing on stage on a cold night in the ATL.
Sadly, I caught them towards the end of this tour, so neither you nor I will get a chance to see them for some time. Buy this CD.
March 6th, 2007 at 8:59 am
[...] I’ve been waiting for today to roll around for a few long years. Today Arcade Fire’s new CD is finally released into the wild. I’m heading out at lunch with friend and driver, Shaft, to get my own copy. We may have to eat in the car. I mention it here because the album has been tastefully named after the John Kennedy Toole novel, The Neon Bible. Their last album made a 2004 best books list (you can read about it in this post where I also bust out a Holden Caufield reference). I have also managed to work the band into a post about 9/11 that featured a video of the band singing with David Bowie. I’m a little shameless in my enthusiasm is what it comes down to. Additional reading: The NYT Sunday Magazine fawns over the band and TTT’s Frank says (paraphrasing) - believe the hype. [...]