Superblast!

Arcade Fire playing Obama benefit in N.C.

The sort-of American dudes and dudettes in Arcade Fire are stumping for Obama again, this time in North Carolina. The Canadian band will be playing at least two shows in support of the candidate. The best part? They will be joined by local legends Superchunk, who hardly ever play live anymore, but are still smoking awesome.

You Democrats down in N.C. can catch this dreamteam May 1 at Greensboro's Coliseum Complex Pavilion Parking Lot, and May 2 at Carrboro's Town Commons. Free!

Arcade Fire playing Obama benefit in Ohio

Canada's Arcade Fire are meddling with U.S. politics, by playing a benefit gig for presidential hopeful Barack Obama in battleground state Ohio. The primary's Tueday, but the show's on Saturday. It's cool, AF frontman Win Butler was born in the U.S.A., but he (sensibly) moved to the Canada.

Arcade Fire spotted in Oz, NZ, Japan

Lucky peeps Down Under and in Japan, take heed. You are about to embark on a sacred journey. Your mission: See Arcade Fire, then retrieve the Golden Fleece and slay Grendel or whatever.

1/18 - Auckland, New Zealand - Mt. Smart Stadium
1/20 - Gold Coast, Australia - Parklands
1/25 - Sydney, Australia - Olympic Park Showgrounds
1/28 - Melbourne, Australia - Flemington Racecourse
2/1 - Adelaide, Australia - RA&HS Showgrounds
2/3 - Perth, Australia - Claremont Showgrounds
2/7 - Osaka, Japan - Namba-Hatch
2/8 - Nagoya, Japan - Diamond Hall
2/11 - Tokyo, Japan - Studio Coast

Win Butler v. Nottingham

This seems reasonable: After being hit in the face with a bottle thrown from the crowd during a Halloween performance in Nottinghman, Arcade Fire's Win Butler told the audience that the band will "never play Nottingham" again.

Bruce Arcade Springsteen Fire -- Live!

That's what I'm talkin' about: Arcade Fire added another member to their lineup last night in Ottawa -- frakkin' Bruce Springsteen!!!
The band joined the Boss onstage for his "State Trooper," (apparently the first time the E Street Band's performed it since 1984!) and their own Springsteen-esque "Keep the Car Running".
Wow!

Review: Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem @ Roy Wilkins

9/30/7, St. Paul, MN: There's not much left to be said about the Arcade Fire live experience: They play hard and deliver a fun show, whipping the crowd into an almost religious fervor. They have conquered the club circuit, and are moving on to bigger (but not necessarily better) venues.

Roy Wilkins Auditorium is a bad place for a rock concert. Just a big, dumb, out-dated arena with shitty sound (but very fast lines at the concession stands). But Arcade Fire is at a strange place -- they're too big for even a multi-night stand at a club, and not yet popular enough to be an arena band.The Canadian dectet overcame the hockey game-like atmosphere of the venue and, aided by some nifty stage props, dropped a terrific 1.5 hour show, drawing equally from their two LPs. How Was the Show has got some song details.

Openers/touring partners LCD Soundsystem would've been an impossible act to follow for most bands. The VERY LOUD dance-rockers delivered a killer show nearly as high-energy as their performances in smaller venues. Highlights were the gorgeous single "Someone Great" and the barn-burning "North American Scum." Frontman James Murphy brought the funny, giving goofy partial introductions of all the LCDers. As an added treat, the band was joined on several tracks by various Arcade Fire members, who acted as sidemen here and there.

Arcade Fire/LCD on hot wax

Yowza! You know Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem are doing a limited tour together. But it gets better, the pair are teaming for a limited edition split 7" that will only be available at the shows and on their respective sites. The 45 features LCD redoing Joy Division's "No Love Lost" and Arcade Fire covering Serge Gainsbourg's "Poupee de Cire" (which, as you may recall, was also covered by Belle and Sebastian a few years back). Double A-side, we presume.

Don't forget those dates:

9-17 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
9-20 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
9-21 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
9-24 - Seattle, WA - Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion
9-26 - Lehi, UT - Waterfall Amphitheater at Thanksgiving Point
9-28 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
9-30 - Saint Paul, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium
10-03 - Louisville, KY - Waterfront Park
10-05 - Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion
10-06 - New York, NY - Randall's Island

Review: Arcade Fire @ Greek Theatre, L.A.

5/29/7, Los Angeles: Montreal's Arcade Fire are truly on fire, as far as sales and critical kudos and what-not. On the second night of a two-night stand at the beautiful Greek, the ten-some (dectet?) got off to an unusually slow start (worsened by the venue's seriously low volume). Likewise, the crowd seemed curiously aloof for the set's first section. Whether it can be blamed on tour ennui, or the unusually chilly SoCal evening, the band's usually explosive live show was simply great instead of MIND-BLOWING. Things picked up about halfway through and the crowd duly responded.

Highlights included the half-dozen or so songs from their full-length debut Funeral, while a number of the newer tracks from Neon Bible don't seem to have quite the same impact. Stage banter was kept to a minimum until singer Win Butler recounted the band's recent trip to "The Price is Right." Later, after jumping down into the crowd, the band beckoned Butler back onstage with a hearty "Win Butler! Come on down!!!" and a glockenspiel take on the show's theme. It was fun. For all there semi-pretentious doom and gloom, Arcade Fire can be really FUN. Alas, they were just sorta fun on this night.