'i'll dig a tunnel, from my window to yours...'

i had the distinct pleasure of seeing the arcade fire live in d.c. at the 9:30 club last evening, and my lord did they rock. it was quite a spectacle- there were accordians and violins and plastic horns and members of the band climbing on amps and speakers and up onto the balcony to hit things with drumsticks, and everyone sang, and they paraded through the audience at the end...really incredible, the whole thing. they switched instruments on a song by song basis; it seemed the stage was constantly alive with movement and ingenuity. i am always excited to be in the presence of musicians who seem geniunely psyched to be on stage, and these guys were just going at it full force.

not to mention that their album, which is their first and is called funeral, is absolutely magnificent. from the mounting excitement of "neighborhood #1 (tunnels)" to the amped-up chanting of "rebellion(lies)" to the final eerie beauty of "in the backseat", it's a wild ride through a healthy spectrum of emotions, so zealously melodramatic that it's actually cathartic. win and regine's voices lilt this way and that through sweeping verses, one effortlessly complementing the other; the rest of the band backs them up with bursting, inspired choruses; it's just craziness. the best kind.

the camera wasn't working so well, so this isn't quite the picture to do the whole thing justice, but it will simply have to do.


the arcade fire...kickin' arse in d.c.


their tour is almost over, but i can't imagine it'll be long before they're out again. the band will be on conan o'brien sometime this week(perhaps tonight? oops.) "we're filling in for maroon5," win announced, and the audience laughed. "no, i'm fucking serious. they couldn't make it or something, so they called us. but we have to play maroon5 songs. that's the deal."