I was thinking...

I was thinking the other day about how maybe I was a little unfair about the Of Montreal review I wrote. I decided that, no, I wasn't, my opinion is my opinion is my opinion and there's very little I can do to sway that (if this sounds incredibly selfish please refer to the beginning of the story where the audience learns that I'm an only child, and therefore selfish by nature...and well, you know, choice...). I did realize how it might be perceived as unfair to others for me to complain about the songs that weren't played, especially considering this was my fourth time seeing them and have probably heard all the songs I wanted to hear at least once, the exception of course being the "The Past is a Grotesque Animal", which I am still a little surprised about its absense being that it is one of the more popular and most talked about songs off their new album.

I came to the realization that I might be acting unfair when, in anticipation for the Arcade Fire concert I recently bought tickets to (serious anticipation - the show is in three months!) I caught myself daydreaming about what the concert might be like. Seeing the YouTube footage of them playing two new songs live on SNL didn't help matters any, but that's not the point.

The point is, I already know that we're going to get the entire new album live, and probably only a handful of older songs. Some of the sets I've seen don't even include "Wake Up", which used to be how they opened every show for quite some time. Granted, they've been doing the lobby performances, and I think "Wake Up" is getting played there, but still...

*Cue random memory dream sequence:*

I will always remember the thousands and thousands of screaming Arcade Fire fans singing along to that song in the 108 degree heat at the 2005 Austin City Limits festival...

*now snap out of it, retain position on soapbox*

...and now the odds are higher that I won't even hear the song at all, and I'm okay with that. I really am. I've been lucky enough to see them twice on the Funeral tour, I have a DVD copy of (most) of the Jackpot show, and thanks to YouTube and Torrents, a seemingly endless amount of other live audio recordings and video footage that I can listen to or watch at any given time. I have not, however, ever seen them play any of the new songs live, and that honestly excites me.


This sort of reminds me of being a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan back in the day in two ways. The first being that I never got to hear them play my favorite song of theirs, and still one of my favorite songs ever, "Soma", any of the times that I saw them, and yet not once was I upset about it, nor did I complain. I just went to the show, rocked out, and had a ball.

The second way is that I saw that band live 5 times, which I thought was normal until I started meeting Pumpkins fans that never got to see them (keep in mind I spent a lot of time on Pumpkins message boards, where you can meet some really freaky superfans that put me and my obsession to shame). Suddenly, my twisted perception came into focus, and I got to realize that I was lucky to be there for that many of their shows. Not everyone got to see them at the Granada (though not everyone paid as much to see them at the Granada as I did, but that's another story...), not everyone can say they were there in Chicago at one of their final shows (I almost wrote ever...oh man Billy, you fucking jackass...), and I should just be thankful that I was there.


So why do I feel the need to complain about sets now? Why do I forget, still, that maybe I'm lucky to be a part of these, in the grand scheme of things, insignificant moments in life? Yeah, the Arcade Fire playing the Jackpot was hands down the highlight of 2004 for me, but the world keeps on turning regardless of where they play.

Then I remember that music matters more to me than others, and while that may not be enough justification for you, its plenty for me.