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#41 - Arcade Fire - Neon Bible & Wake Up
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Maybe it's the amazing weekend I had, or maybe it's the green-grey combo of a misty Portland afternoon. Either way, I'm feeling sentimental.

We don't all like bands that we're "supposed to". I don't like the Smiths for example. But there are bands that even if we don't like, we respect because we can recognize why everyone else likes them. The Arcade Fire, easily one of my favorite bands, undoubtedly deserves respect no matter what your opinion of them is and this video should only provide further evidence of why.

Now most bands worth listening to don't do these kinds of things (see the last blog on P-Funk). They're complacent...boring even. Most make good, or great, music. Few push the medium as an art. Arcade Fire does. And guess what? They don't do it in that kitchy, gimmicky kind of way (which is part of my problem with Gogol Bordello despite their kick ass shows). They do in an honest way...just to see what happens.

The elevator scene speaks for itself, so we don't need to go there. It's all of the above and then some. The version of "Wake Up" though is...get this...it's actually moving. I get warm and fuzzy when I see it. Usually a powerful, noisy song, this version is stripped down to a simplified sing along with more than enthusiastic fans who are involved in the experience as much as the musicians are. It's that moment, that simple moment, where everyone's singing, the lights are low, and there is a general contentedness in the air, that makes shows worth going to. It's what we want from bands like Arcade Fire and are lucky to get.

These kind of performances are organic. Erykah Badu has called her fans reflections of her gift, and this particular performance uses Badu's words as it's mantra. The audience is a part of the experience and is feeding back the same energy that the band is giving them. At the risk of sounding extra mush ball Oprahesque, it creates a temporary feeling of community, of humanness, and of life. Welcome to art.

I told you I was feeling sentimental.