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5.20.2007Arcade Fire at the Chicago Theatre
 As some of you may or may not know, Twisted Wife and I have been in dire need of a vacation. My first plan was to take her for a romantic Valentine's Day in NYC to see one of our favorite bands, Arcade Fire, at one of three warm up shows for their tour. This plan was quickly thwarted when scalpers bought most of the tickets and turned around and made a hefty profit on eBay... the dicks.Quickly Plan B was put into action. This consisted of me bitching right alongside all the 14 year-olds that didn't get tickets to the NYC shows on every forum I could find. When I was done whining, I put Plan C into action. I went to all the fan sites and found out if the band would be coming anywhere near Kansas City. The closest city was Chicago. However, the show wasn't until May. This presented an interesting problem. How could I get everyone to put off Valentine's Day until May? This question consumed my waking hours until I finally realized that I was going to have to brainwash my wife into believing Valentine's Day was May 18th. It worked without a hitch. Twisted Wife and I had a glorious "Valentine's Day" weekend getaway in Chicago. We went sightseeing (including a very entertaining ghost tour), ate a lot, slept in and saw an amazing concert at the Chicago Theatre. Arcade Fire: May 18th at the Chicago Theatre There are some people that genuinely enjoy music. They can go to almost any show and walk away feeling that they have seen something good. They're satisfied with just seeing live music. I am not one of these people. There are also people that go to shows specifically to dissect every song and find fault at every possible turn. They are the ones that were on the Net shortly after the show, posting the set list and reviewing each song by performance, entertainment value and technical merit. I am not one of these people. I am the guy who rates the shows I have seen. I have a Bottom 10, Bottom 5 and Bottom 3 mental list, as well as a Top 10, Top 5 and Top 3 mental list. Without any hesitation, this show is in the Top 3 list. And, surprisingly, it only took two songs into their set to get there. From the moment the band walked down the center aisle and stepped on stage until the end of their second encore, every single song deserved the standing ovation it received. This band showed how ten amazing musicians can make extraordinary music, and put on a show reminiscent of the Southern Baptist tent revivals and Sunday morning evangelical TV that their songs are quick to point to as the root of all evil. Everyone in that theatre left as a convert, a believer in music's true power to make you feel alive. It was, arguably, the best show I have ever seen. 
posted by Jim at 10:13 PM
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