My First Blog -Magic at the Greek

I am a blog virgin. This is my first blog ever. Sure, I've written half assed attempt postings on myspace, but those are not real blogs. I really never felt that I was cool/smart enough to have a blog. I thought, what the hell would I write about and who in the hell would want to read it! But last night, I experienced something so amazing that it inspired me to write about it. So here I am, writing my first blog. I secretly hope it becomes an addiction...

I've been to many great concerts in my three and a half year in LA but nothing like the Arcade Fire show last night at the Greek Theatre. Sure I'd seen them at Coachella, but when you are out in 100 degree weather, fighting for an ounce of shade and a cold glass of beer, and there are so many bodies running around in gold Lemay ridiculousness, it's hard to concentrate on any band, no matter how great they are.

Initially I entered the show annoyed as Tony and I spent 30 minutes in traffic just trying to park. Once we finally wedged our car between a Honda Element and a giant tree amongst a sea of cars, we sprinted to the theatre, our hearts tearing every time we hear the crowd applaud wildly. We finally arrived at our seat in row 7A (which was only a few rows back from the stage and the closest I have ever seen a band at a venue of that size) immediately I forgot about how tired I was from my work day and how I hated moving an inch every 5 minutes just to park our damn car!

The 10 members of the Arcade Fire were the most mesmerizing people I have ever witnessed. Each member was wildly running around stage switching off instruments, yelling into bull horns, smashing down on organ keys, banning on drums, and singing as though their lives depended on it. The entire crowd could sense that every ounce of energy this band had was being poured into each song. The energy was so strong that you felt as if you were going to cry at any point because you were witnessing something incredible that wouldn't be created exactly the same again.

Now, excuse me while I get even more hippie here but just being in the outdoors, surrounded by trees and engulfed in a full moon made this show incredibly magical. There was this weird mesh of smells that filled the air too that added to the experience. The fresh and clean smell of soap, mixed with nutty pine trees and of course the pungent scent of weed coming from the people behind me. All those smells together oddly reminded me of my family's camping trips and how the simplicity of being in nature with great people made me so happy. All of this came back to me and made me so delighted that Tony had dragged me out to a show I thought I was "too tired" to go to.

This was a once and a life time show that one could not shake off. The bands energy was like a drug that made it's way into the blood stream of the audience. Even the numb hipsters and industry snobs in row 7A were dancing. A true testimate to this is Tony, who no matter what show he attends never does more than cross his arms and bob his head. Tony was dancing, singing and clapping with the rest of us who were letting their inner band geek shine on.

I hope everyone can experience a show like this in their lifetime. It was the type of show that motivated you to your core. It made you wish you hadn't had quit your "oh so uncool" violin in 7th grade only to waste your talents at Suzuki Book 5. It made you want to go find bits of shrapnel and start a modern day jug band. It gave you faith, that in a world where so much shit music is shoved down your throat on a daily basis, somewhere in the universe exists talented, innovative musicians who had found their own way with out compromising their own musical style and still"made it."