Barack'n'roll with Arcade Fire
Guest blog
By Jillian Mapes, Assistant Managing Editor
March 1, 2008 | 2 p.m.
I was incredibly relieved when my Hello Kitty alarm clock went off this morning at 7:17 a.m. Staring at the metal grates of my roommate’s top bunk, all I could think about the whole time I pretended to be asleep was that I felt just like a young tyke on Christmas Eve. This, however, is better than any holiday – this is Arcade Fire.
Out the door before 8 a.m., it is hard for me to believe that the Obama campaign has organized tomorrow night's free concert, which features five members of indie rock legends Arcade Fire, so quickly. After finding out about this event Tuesday night at an Ohio University College Democrats meeting, I’ve been anxiously awaiting more concrete specifics regarding the event’s time and location. These details, however, have not surfaced in the timeliest of manners.
The concert’s time and location were unknown until mid-Friday, Obama reps said. The event, which will be in support of Obama's campaign, will start at 7 p.m. at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville, with doors opening at 6:15 p.m.
After Baker Center so unforgettably placed the kibosh on use of Baker Ballroom for the event earlier this week, there was talk of having the concert at The Blue Gator, said Liz Clark, coordinator of Students for Barack Obama. I think that most who have attended an event at Stuart's Opera House will agree that the venue is a rustic alternative that, despite capacity of 395 in the second-story theater, according to Stuart's Web site, is ultimately more fitting than The Blue Gator or even Baker Center.
As I am now sitting (i.e., freezing) on a Court Street sidewalk, my nerves start to run rampant. Maybe 150 people deep in the line, I start to imagine that I won’t receive a ticket. This isn’t an option I will easily accept. After experiencing an Arcade Fire Columbus performance back in October from the front row and meeting lead singer Win Butler personally, I do not know if my obsessive mind would take "no" for an answer in this instance.
Press access to the band is pending, the Obama reps said this morning. Even a day before the event, the concert’s organizers do not know how or if the band will speak to the press while at Stuart’s. Even the vague notion of interviewing members of Arcade Fire elicits anxious feelings. The concert’s organizers are slated to speak with members of the band later today, Clark said.
The mood here on Court Street is one of both excitement and paranoia. People sneaking in line cling to acquaintances in order to secure tickets. Those who have waited hours in the cold appear to openly resent this, with some members waiting outside the Athens County Court of Common Pleas since 3 a.m.
“There were maybe five and six other people starting to Indian-circle it when we got here around 3 a.m.," OU sophomore Andrew Poland said.
Some, however, have made more than just a time commitment to obtaining one of the 250 VIP Arcade Fire tickets distributed this morning. Among members of the crowd, which was mostly comprised of Ohio University students, stood two young men, George Washington University senior Will Marsh and Catholic University sophomore Samuel Medina, who traveled all the way from Washington, D.C., to wait on Court Street for tickets.
“The Arcade Fire is my favorite band, Barack Obama is my favorite politician, and when they're put together, it's pretty much no question," Marsh said. "We found out about this 12 hours ago. We got in the car around 8:30 or 9 [p.m.], and we got here at 6 a.m."
Although students compile most of the growing crowd present this morning, a few middle-aged adults with strollers and bundled-up children in tow can be spotted. Chris Henry, whose young son Max possibly could be the cutest kid I have ever seen in my entire life, lined up this morning shortly after 8 a.m. to obtain his ticket for tomorrow's event. In addition to the lure of free concert tickets, Henry noted that he's "headed toward Obama at this time."
The concert, which is Arcade Fire's first U.S. show since ending the Neon Bible tour in mid-October, also will feature multi-instrumentalist and Tom Waits' pal Colin Stetson, according to a recent Pitchfork Media article. Pitchfork...really? Yeah, this event is that important.
You may be asking yourself why this simple concert has caused so much commotion, even in national media. Well, the March 4 primary vote in Ohio is pretty damn important to Sen. Obama, not to mention a close one. Although Barack appears to be the forerunner here in Athens, Hillary Clinton has been gaining steam throughout other regions of Ohio. What better way to capture the youth vote than by handing the mic over to some politically-aware, Grammy-nominated indie rockers? The Obama campaign has done just that, even lining up a free gig Monday for the Fire at Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom.
Of course, the concert's popularity could have something to do with the fact that Arcade Fire currently is, in my humble opinion, the most popular indie rock band on the planet. Sold-out shows worldwide, rubbing elbows with "The Boss," Rolling Stone Magazine's number four best album of 2007, an "SNL" appearance and a Grammy nod - Arcade Fire has never been hotter. And rightfully so, as the seven-piece, Montreal-based band creates beautifully-layered musical anthems with lyrics that tackle serious topics that resonate worldwide: religion, war, politics, inexplicable fear - you know, all the juicy stuff.
Although the band is a Canadian staple, members Win and Will Butler are Texan boys at heart, having been born and raised there. Regine Chassagne, Win's wife and the group's thoroughly gorgeous multi-instrumentalist/singer, also has dual citizenship in both the U.S. and Canada.
Win Butler first endorsed Obama on his blog, which is posted on Arcade Fire's personal Web site. The blog's latest entry, titled "Ohio," reads as follows: "We are not going to play in Ohio to pretend to tell anyone what to do with their lives, but we just want to come and celebrate and bring a little more energy to a campaign which has brought so much excitement and hope to the country."
Obama was the first presidential candidate currently running to speak out against the war at a time when it was unpopular, Butler goes on to say in the same entry.
"See some of you at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville," Butler said, in his entry's closing remarks. Emphasis on the word "some," which translates to approximately 450 lucky fans. This is going to be epic.
---