silver cello

went and saw the arcade fire at constitution hall in washington DC last night. the journey there and back was arduous, to be sure, but the time spent while we were there was priceless.

we arrived just in time to see the opening act, the national. this was the first time i've attended a concert NOT hanging out with my friends. because the hall doesn't do general admission, we ended up with seat at all corners of the auditorium. at first, it was a bit of a bummer. i was up in the balcony, toward the right, so i got a good view of the entire stage from afar. reminded me of the bill graham civic auditorium, but smaller (i think) and with seats and carpeting in front of the stage. really nice venue. security was very strict about sticking to the seat on your ticket and not bringing anything but bottled water back into the hall. after purchasing a drink, a snack, and a t-shirt, i felt a little better. retail therapy's great.

then the arcade fire went on. i had forgotten about the intense feelings that being a great band induces within my heart. it had been too long. regardless of your opinion about their music, the arcade fire undeniably puts on an AMAZING show. highlights included the neon poles at the front of the stage which turned out to be cameras which projected the bandmates' at a live show with faces while they were performing onto these large circular screens on the back curtain. the violinists pranced in their hip red shoes while they pulled their bows across the strings. two guys kept time, hitting drum sticks on everything on stage, except the people. i think at one point, one of them waltzed with a tall lamp. the glimmering silver cello, initially a decoration, was actually played with passion. there were eight people on stage and the musical synchronicity, the performance coordination, the physical energy that they each put into the show was overwhelming. the entire auditorium was packed. everyone was out of their seats, dancing, singing, reveling in the moment. the songs that had been on repeat in our mp3 players for the last year were now being given new life and new meaning. the lead singer even invited everyone to forget security and dance in the orchestra area. i was dancing and cheering in my little 3 ft x 3 ft space, drunk on the spirit of the music. arcade fire played two crowd-pleasing songs for their encore, then closed the night.

we ended our night in DC in dupont circle, at kramer's bookstore and their 24 hr cafe, indulging in thai buffalo wings, smoked salmon quesadilla, steamed mussels, lobster ravioli, moroccan tangine lamb, and grilled atlantic salmon. perfectly delicious.

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on a side note, i still understand few of words arcade fire sings in their songs. but it's beautiful because the sound patterns of the lyrics work with their voices and their music. their music reminds of certain precious times in my life. i'm guessing it'll be even more wonderful once i figure out what the lyrics are.