How The Arcade Fire Enlivened my Idea of Indie Rock

So, I just saw "The Arcade Fire" at the Great American Music Hall yesterday evening in this fine town of San Francisco. Now generally I am not an indie rock fan, most bands appear to my ears as a single wall of sound, and I am a person with a more percussive ear -- preferring solo or bare accompaniment most of the time. Even when I first heard their "Funeral" CD (the almost ubiquitous #1 album from every respected rock magazine) I was not all that impressed. I lumped it into the category of most of the other music I was hearing at the time. But, i'm an open man, and I can admit when I was wrong, and was I sooo wrong.

The concert was more a spiritual experience then a hip indie show in a hip indie city. The band had 8 or so people on stage -- violins, stand-up bass, keyboard, multiple drums, accordion, melodica, even at times a steel drum (the carribean one), and a motorcycle helmet. It was a shock and a welcome to see people having so much fun and energy, and I was largely reminded of who must of been one of their most signifcant influences -- the Talking Heads. In fact, they even kind of looked like the Talking Heads:  a combination of artsy and nerdiness which I greatly respect, and am extremely attracted too (women of San Francisco, take note). Now, being a humongous David Byrne fan (who left a recent concert in my hometown of Gainesville, Florida riding a bike -- oh, how I love thee), and respecting Talking Heads as much for their ethos as their music, that's a pretty good influence to have. In fact, they even paid homage to the Talking Heads with a cover of the centerpiece of my "happy mix cd" -- "Naive melody (This must be the place)", where they brought in the steel drum to substitute for the synthesizers.

The energy and abandon and mellifluous "oohs" that The Arcade Fire build up, and then break down, is a thing of beauty. Having played a marvelous show, they initially returned for one encore, and then a second; both encased in only swirling flashlights they had handed out before the show. Then, and this is where my respect overfloweth, they ended the second encore with another great build-up into a chorus of accapella chants. However, they didn't leave it at that:  as the song was ending and they were leaving the stage they grabbed random instruments on their way out (tambourines, drumsticks, etc.) and played them as they kept singing the infectious melody. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is an exit. A piece of a concert experience that is generally over-looked. But this is where i feel the difference comes: you have your bands, and then you have your art-rock bands -- those who factor in the whole experience (the look, the setting, lighting, entrance, exit, etc.). I believe that is what separates the good ones from the great ones, not stopping at the music, but enabling the beautiful music one can create to transcend an audience and lead them to a lighter, happier space. and, for that, you kings (and queens) of Canada, you princes (and princesses) of Montreal, I bow down.

( il gato )