2 posts tagged “concert”
Nearly two days have passed, and I'm still on a high from having seen Arcade Fire. Which is pretty much how I expected to feel afterward, but it's nice to have a lingering feeling of excitement.
I piled into a car full of fellow theatrebrats early Wednesday afternoon, en route to Asheville, NC, an arty little city tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains. I haven't been to Asheville in a couple of years, and I hadn't ever spent time in the town with people my age, so this was almost like visiting to the city for the first time. Thank goodness there are still opportunities for first times.
The ride up was fun, and much more engaging than what I'd prepared myself for. I brought a small stack of magazines and books (for a 24-hour trip; what's wrong with me?), but never had more than 10 minutes available to check out and dive into reading. Theatrefolk love to talk and thrive on the energy we receive from each other, so our communal vibes made relatively short work of the drive across the state and up the mountains. We stopped for lunch in Advance, NC, to visit the parents of our intrepid driver. They raise horses, so after eating we went outside to spend some time with the animals. They are beautiful creatures.
By the time we arrived in Asheville, we were hungry again, so we had dinner at The Early Girl, a quaint restaurant nestled into Asheville's downtown. Time was killed in Malaprops, a local indedpendent bookstore, and before we knew it, it was time to head to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium for the show.
The National opened, but none of us were familiar with them nor were we interested enough to investigate, so we spent their set walking around, getting beer and settling in. None of this took very long, so we were all ready for Arcade Fire by the time the intermission began.
My seat was in the mezzanine, so I watched the band open the show with "Black Mirror" from my seat, but after that song, they told people to come down closer to the stage, at which point, I sprinted toward the front of the space and planted myself in the midst of those who did similarly. Armed with impossibly high spirits and a 3 days-old cameraphone, I sang along with pretty much all the songs (except the French lyrics that I don't know) and took blurry photos which I immediately sent to Flickr during the show.
And today I'm back to my life, not that that's a bad thing. I now am officially permanent at my place of employment, which is a huge relief to everyone in my life, including myself.
I'm feeling antsy to get out of town again...
I piled into a car full of fellow theatrebrats early Wednesday afternoon, en route to Asheville, NC, an arty little city tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains. I haven't been to Asheville in a couple of years, and I hadn't ever spent time in the town with people my age, so this was almost like visiting to the city for the first time. Thank goodness there are still opportunities for first times.
By the time we arrived in Asheville, we were hungry again, so we had dinner at The Early Girl, a quaint restaurant nestled into Asheville's downtown. Time was killed in Malaprops, a local indedpendent bookstore, and before we knew it, it was time to head to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium for the show.
The National opened, but none of us were familiar with them nor were we interested enough to investigate, so we spent their set walking around, getting beer and settling in. None of this took very long, so we were all ready for Arcade Fire by the time the intermission began.
And today I'm back to my life, not that that's a bad thing. I now am officially permanent at my place of employment, which is a huge relief to everyone in my life, including myself.
I'm feeling antsy to get out of town again...
I swear, if it happens again, I am going to pledge to become a huge Annuals fan.
If what happens again, you ask? If the band attempts to upstage the headliner, that is. Last night, Raleigh's Annuals opened for Montreal's The Dears at the Cat's Cradle. I was introduced to both bands last year, and have become a big fan of The Dears, after having heard their song "Whites Only Party," from the Gang of Losers album. I've become fond of the fairly simple melodies to which songwriter Murray Lightburn attaches political/social observation and wistful nostalgia for young love, gained and lost. Many compare Dears to Morrissey and The Smiths, and such comparisons are apt, but there also exists a tendency to explore cinematic anthems and sonic tropes of shoegaze that is much more explicitly delved into by Annuals.
If what happens again, you ask? If the band attempts to upstage the headliner, that is. Last night, Raleigh's Annuals opened for Montreal's The Dears at the Cat's Cradle. I was introduced to both bands last year, and have become a big fan of The Dears, after having heard their song "Whites Only Party," from the Gang of Losers album. I've become fond of the fairly simple melodies to which songwriter Murray Lightburn attaches political/social observation and wistful nostalgia for young love, gained and lost. Many compare Dears to Morrissey and The Smiths, and such comparisons are apt, but there also exists a tendency to explore cinematic anthems and sonic tropes of shoegaze that is much more explicitly delved into by Annuals.
Annuals are usually compared to Arcade Fire, but there is a strong Beach Boys/Brian Wilsonesque pop influence as well. Light, bouncy melodies find themselves at home just as well as the youthful discomfort and frustration one expects from young songwriters. All of their songs become anthems, filled with catchy tunes, but also untold energy and fierce attacks.
This is a band to watch.
The Dears are also worth watching, but they would much rather be listened to, and with this I find no fault.
This is a band to watch.
The Dears are also worth watching, but they would much rather be listened to, and with this I find no fault.
