Announcing TRYOUTS for a new alternative rock band to be named ARCADE FIRE. Must be able to play 6-9 instruments including a healthy mix of wind, percussion, and strings. n.b.: "play" can include tossing and breaking, but only after you have established your sure range. Audition includes several rounds of instrument roulette. [Note: if you only play one instrument--e.g., violin--you had better tear that shit up.] We are looking for young people who are physically distinctive, especially from a distance, which means: a) great hair; b) a sharp jaw line; c) exquisite fashion sense (and preferably all of the above). Must be able to move nimbly around a crowded stage with a mess of cords and guitars and whatnot. Strong vocals required--how else will you be heard over all those goddamned instruments? Must generally appeal to the post-graduate crowd. Deep ambivalence toward the U.S. preferred. Between eight and twelve band members will be chosen. No recordings, please.
Wow! It looks as if you were in range to be hit by a falling tambourine or drum, should one be accidently thrown in the wrong direction. Luckily they are far more coordinated than I. Maybe they could team up with Cirque Du Soleil.
I saw the Sunday show in Chicago, and it was great stuff. Not quite as great as when I saw them in the smaller venue in Champaign, mind you, but still fantastic.
Posted by: Danorama | 21 May 2007 at 11:33 AM
that's me with the accordion.
Posted by: anne | 21 May 2007 at 12:26 PM
Danorama: This photo is ripped from the NYT (no lay cameras allowed in the Chicago show). But the nice thing is they are wearing the same outfits as they did last night (we were there Sunday too, back in the 'plush booths.')And Anne: the woman with the accordion is definitely the queen.
Posted by: dhawhee | 21 May 2007 at 05:32 PM
And then there was the time when Prof. Hawhee just had enough and started openly mocking hipsters. Next up: a blunt discussion of the arete (or lack thereof) of graduate students who used to listen to Coldplay but stopped because Chris Martin hates p2p. This is going to be awesome.
In other news, is that woman in the background really wearing denim short shorts?
Posted by: Omri Ceren | 21 May 2007 at 10:13 PM
Omri: I didn't mean to mock too much! Let the record show that I LOVED every second of the show in chicago--it was positively mesmerizing.
And actually it's kind of a denim short set, and it looked really great. She's a killer dancer.
Posted by: dhawhee | 22 May 2007 at 04:00 AM