Arcade Fire

We got there early!

On Monday, I went to Red Rocks with ten other music lovers for the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem concert. I almost couldn't believe I was actually going because I bought the tickets so long ago. The show was really great and despite a storm warning, the weather was perfect. Seriously, it was one of the best live shows I've seen in a long time. Both bands sounded great, but my heart belongs to the Arcade Fire. They were so fun! I can't believe I've never seen them live before.

Actually, what I can't believe is how long it took me to become a fan. Way back when Funeral was new in late 2004, so many people recommended it to me and said it was something I'd love. I think I bought it on one of my CD buying binges at Sonic Boom because it was on sale. It sat unopened and unloved for a few months before I tried it out. It's hard to believe now, but when I finally put it on, I didn't think it was anything special and would only occasionally put it on as background music. What was I thinking?

It wasn't until I was driving my new car from Seattle to Laramie in August 2006 that I finally really listened to the album. As you might know, radio between Eastern Washington and Southeastern Wyoming is pretty scarce, so I relied on the few CDs I'd grabbed at the last minute to get me through two days of driving alone through the west. This is how I burned out on Death Cab's Plans album. Anyway, as I was driving east out of Spokane and the sun was setting, I can remember turning up the volume on the car stereo and really listening to Funeral for the first time and being absolutely blown away. I've been in love with the Arcade Fire ever since and can't believe I wasted two years I could have been listening to them. Neon Bible is amazing, of course, but Funeral is my first love and you don't get over that.

It's hard to describe a concert. I took lots of pictures, but not many turned out well. I have a really hard time holding still enough when not using the flash, so lots of them came out blurry. The best of them are on my flickr. Cass's turned out a lot better, and she put some good ones up on Wyoming Beat.

I only recorded one clip, but it's from one of my favorite songs: