Sunday, October 7, 2007

Arcade Fire at Randall's Island

I went into New York yesterday to see the Arcade Fire concert at Randall's Island (with Les Savy Fav, Blonde Redhead, LCD Soundsystem, and Wild Light (only one of which I've even heard of -- I haven't been keeping up with my mp3 blogs lately).

In any case, the bus line to get there was insane; I arrived at 4:30, an hour after starting time, but still waited five hours to see the Arcade Fire come on. So worth it, though. They started with "Black Mirror," one of my favorites from Neon Bible, and I realized that even though I was there alone and felt a bit awkward, sitting on the grass on the sidelines just wouldn't do it, so I made my way up to where I could really hear. And it was fantastic.

I almost cried during "Neighborhood #2." I couldn't even believe I was seeing human beings actually make this music. It seems like it comes from something bigger than just a few young people who worked in obscurity to write songs about dead family members way back when; but even as they sang this grand, unforgettable anthem, there was something humble about their faces up on the big screen.

I left during the first encore, trying to beat the rush, worried about getting back to the train station in Harlem in time for my train, so I had to listen to "Wake Up" (the second encore) from the bus line. Really, listening to "Wake Up," live, would have been worth waiting around in Harlem for a late-late train, but because I was alone, I chickened out. I totally hate myself for it, though!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

you weren't alone! you had 25,000 friends with you. twas a great show.

Media Maven said...

Did you hear any of the other bands? They're all pretty good. What an awesome show!

Kristen said...

jen - You're right, there were 25000 kindred spirits there. & it was awesome.

media maven - They all seemed pretty good, though I had never heard any of them before. LCD Soundsystem in particular, was good. It was a lot of fun.

Fletch said...

STILL waiting for them to hit Phoenix again. I've yet to see them live. Glad you loved it.

Kristen said...

This was my first time seeing them, and I hope you get to see it soon, too!