Beautiful Tragedy with Arcade Fire

So... all my close friends know me as a music junkie. I'm not your quintessential music snob with a bad haircut and tight jeans who name drops only the most obscure bands you've never heard of. No, I happen to like bands who very few people have heard of, but who quite a few people end up hearing about by the time the wave has run it's course.

I've been among the first I knew to hear a lot of different bands, long before they made the big time. I had been to shows with Sublime and No Doubt back in 1994, I was listening to Rage against the Machine back in 1991 when my brother introduced me to "the awesome band who opened up for Skankin' Pickle". So... even to this day, I'm proud of being the one who turned all my friends onto Lily Allen, Maximo Park and a few others.

Now, this is only to give background to my experience with Arcade Fire. I have well over 1,000 different artists in my music library, but in all honesty, I can only handle a regular rotation of a few dozen at one time. One of the bands who I haven't been able to get enough of these past few years just happens to be Arcade Fire.

Admittedly I wasn't the first among friends to find this gem of a band. In fact, I came across them on KCRW recognizing the name I'd heard dropped in a prior conversation. The DJ referenced the track as being on HBO's Six Feet Under soundtrack. So yeah, they'd already been "discovered" when I first heard of them in late 2004.

Being the junkie I am, even though I come across hundreds of bands within a year, I am not big on going to shows as much in my old age. I couldn't get enough of the shows when I was 16-19, but now... I'm just too lazy I guess to pay $20 - $50 to see a band whose album I downloaded for free. Mosh Pits are so 20th century. It takes a LOT to get me out the door to see a show, and that's what happened for me with Arcade Fire - it was my first show in 18 months, and I'll tell you about that later.

Now, what is it about Arcade Fire that makes me such a rabid fan boy? Well, most people on first listen do not appreciate all there is to enjoy about them. Then again, we all can think of acquired tastes that have become personal favorites. Some people describe them as an "emo" band in that their tunes all have an emotional and at times anthem-like feel, but it's not the masochistic whiny dashboard confessional stuff (which I liked at a very dark, lonely time of my life) nor is it the angst fueled screamo that appears to have little to no artistic value and causes 14 year-olds to dye their hair black, wear eyeliner and get a tattoo.

Arcade Fire can be best described as a band that has incredible depth to their music and lyrics and an unconventional style that is very much their own. A few examples of these differences:

1. The Band usually has no less than 10 musicians on a song, and have been known to bring in dozens more on other tracks.

2. The instruments are not what you'd expect to hear in a band considered by many critics to be the "next big thing" but you grow to LOVE the accordion, the hurdy-gurdy, the music box, and the violins that appear throughout the tracks.

3. The vocals also have their own sound, one that quickly grows on you despite the initial lack of familiarity. The female vocals are stunningly complimentary, and hold strong on their own in the other tracks.

4. Don't get me started on the Lyrics... do yourself a favor and read them.

I've been elated to see them growing in popularity over the past couple of years. They've made appearances on Conan, SNL, and Letterman. They played at Coachella and the Sasquatch festival. They've opened up for U2, and in fact there's plenty of Videos on YouTube showing them sharing the stage with David Bowie, Bono, and David Byrne. To get a taste of what they're like live, here's their Letterman Performance.



So anyhow... the question stands. Why do I love them so much more than the countless other bands I've come to really love over the past few years?

Affinity.

First, these guys are from Montreal. I spent two years between 1996 and 1998 living in Montreal. This is where I learned to speak French, even though it's in my heritage. If you've never been to Montreal, you don't know what you're missing. The city is a unique cultural crossroads where European and North American cultures are more mashed up than you imagined possible. The place is incredibly diverse, it makes New York City look like white suburbia when it comes to the the cultural exposure you can take in. As a missionary, I came across a broader spectrum of individuals than most people come across in their lifetime, and so I can appreciate what it's like to come across something unfamiliar yet something I find appealing with time. Montreal is home to one of the most highly anticipated Jazz Festivals and so you'll even see that Jazz influence in their work. I was out there the same time these guys were, because the 5th song on Funeral (Neighborhood #4, Lights Out) is about an ice storm that I lived through when I was there in January of 1998.

From Wikipedia: Millions of trees were brought down by the weight of ice around the affected areas. As many trees were damaged or fell by the heavy ice, the maple syrup and orchard regions suffered heavy blows and massive losses in the storm; Quebec's maple sugar industry, the largest in the world, was devastated. As another example, 5,000 trees in Montreal's Mount Royal Park had to be cut, 80% (140,000) of the rest were damaged to different degrees and had to be trimmed, a large number severely.The mountain park looked more like a logging camp than a nature oasis for many weeks.

Critically, about 1,000 steel electrical pylons (said, in Quebec, to be the most solid in the world) and 35,000 wooden utility poles were brought down, further damaging power supply and hampering the return of electricity. Teams were brought in from places such as Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, along with teams from the United States, and the Canadian Forces to help restore power to affected homes in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

Three weeks after the end of the ice storm, there were still about 700,000 people without electricity. Estimates of material damages reach around $2 billion Canadian for Quebec alone. Overall estimates are around $4-6 billion US for all the areas affected.

The Video for this song:



The Arcade Fire manages to incorporate French into a good percentage of their songs, and so if you can understand French, then yeah, the music speaks to you. Their lyrics are very thought provoking, and their message is something that touches me personally. They don't necessarily have an anti-global warming agenda, or a pro choice agenda, but they do have an amazing message on personal spirituality. To quote one of their songs:

Now I'm overcome
By the light of day
My lips are near
But my heart is far away
Tell me what to say
I'll be your mouthpiece

So... without boring you any further, I went to the Show this last Tuesday. It was fantastic considering that I almost didn't get to go because my confirmed ticket was not so confirmed on the day of the show. My friends searched for a scalped ticket, and as I parked my car the mile away it was from the venue, I came across two little angels who were going to the show and somehow were prompted to ask me if I needed a ticket. They sold me their spare ticket straight up, and for 1/2 the price the scalpers were asking.

It was the best live performance I've been to since the Beastie Boys played a 3 hour set at Lalapalooza in 1994.

Now here's the tragedy; I've known I was going to this show for the past month. My roommates are aware of my love for this band, bug I don't try to indoctrinate them with my music. They're into their cookie cutter R&B and other pop music and I let them be. Doubtless they think I'm a little crazy with my offbeat tastes, but it doesn't bother me when they're all liking the same thing a year or two down the road.

When I came home from a barbecue on Sunday evening, my roommate had his girlfriend over. Her cousin had come to town to visit, and she incidentally had some friends that she was going to pick up at the airport to take to a Barbecue on Memorial Day. She invited her cousin (my roommate's GF) and my roommate. Casually, she mentioned that they're in a band called the Arcade Fire, and that there came to town to play in a few shows.

WHAT?!! So it turns out, The lead singer and his younger brother are Mormon. I check it out online, and yes, it's confirmed. I start reading the lyrics and some it makes more sense to me now... and then it hits me. Montreal, Mormon, Same time... I really must have come into contact with some of the band members at the close to 100 Sundays I spent in Montreal. So I'm all excited, thinking that this is going to be the coolest thing in the world to get to have a real, no frills barbecue amongst friends with my newest favorite band right there, who just happen to be Mormon. Now I feel like these guys are my family.

Well, my roommate and his girlfriend, not having heard of the band, thought it not worth the 45 minute drive to Venice Beach to go to some barbecue on Memorial Day. What'd they do instead? I can't remember, and I don't think they do either. How tragic is that.

Well, at least I got into the concert.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs: