OFTEN NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE THE FIRE THROUGH THE HEADS, IT ALL BECAME CLEAR WHEN ONE STARTED TALKING

I just got back from the Arcade Fire show at Irving Plaza. While the band sounded great, the room was so packed and there were enough taller people than my average 5′ 10″-ish self, that I suddenly knew how all the shorter (usually female) members of the audience must feel most of the time going to shows – hearing great music while staring at the back of someone’s head. But the band was great, and even with the frustration that came with primarily seeing a neck and head – my friend and I kept doing the old Kids in the Hall headcrusher bit with our thumbs and forefingers – when each of those songs started and the soaring cacophony of somehow chaotic yet perfectly blended sounds emanated from the stage, it all became OK.

But not as OK as during the encore when suddenly, the main culprit head decided to leave just as the band kicked into “Rebellion (Lies).” And then, it happened. As usual, not much seemed to come from the stage between songs as the many members of the band traded places and instruments. I turned around trying to stretch my neck when suddenly my friend gasped, “Oh my god!” I heard someone else suddenly say, “It’s Bowie.” I stared at the stage, and saw a grey-haired man had joined the band on stage. But it wasn’t David Bowie, it was the main Talking Head himself, David Byrne, and suddenly with Arcade Fire as his backing band, he launched into what can only be called a breathtaking rendition of “Naïve Melody.”

I jumped on the Arcade Fire bandwagon just before the hype – not so early that I would consider myself part of any knowing in-crowd, but before there was any conceivable backlash in site. I couldn’t go to the now infamous CMJ show, and my hesitation at buying tickets for last year’s Bowery show bit me in the ass when the day after CMJ, tickets which had been on sale for weeks had suddenly sold out. Then last night’s show (originally at Bowery Ballroom) sold out in something like 20 minutes, before we even knew it had gone on sale. So when tonight’s show at Irving went on sale, we jumped on them. Then suddenly, the Bowery show was moved to Webster Hall, and anyone who reads any reasonable number of the blogs listed on the right will know that all the cool kids were at Webster last night.

But who cares? Those at Webster didn’t get David Byrne. The show (lack of sight and all) would have been enough, but suddenly it became a night to truly remember.

(If you want to take a peek, Jen Daily Refill was there and managed to get a video clip. It’s a bit blurry and far away, but it’s better than the nothing I’ve got for you.)

Meanwhile, the lack of any real flow between songs was sort of interesting when compared to the group the preceded Arcade Fire on stage. A four person band called Man Man from Phialdelphia that was one of the most interesting, chaotic, bizarre things I’ve ever seen. I think I liked them – kind of – but I’m not totally sure. I can’t even really describe them except imagine Tom Waits fronting Primus playing at a demented circus with scary clowns or, at the very least, in a dark film version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Oh yeah, and throw in a bit of Cab Calloway too. The whole band – but especially the drummer – was just this ball of energy, and even though they all – again, especially the drummer – appeared to be completely out of control, there obviously was a very (or at least, relatively) well-thought-out, constructed and played presentation of music going on. They played one song right into another, and the energy that exploded at the beginning of their set, didn’t dissipate until they left the stage, probably leaving many of us to say, “What the…?”

I’m getting a bit delirious now and must get to sleep. As I type this, I’m watching Dubya’s State of the Union speech. I could have sworn I just heard him say “nuculer” again, but that’s not possible, right? There’s no way he could have that word in a speech and not have been trained how to say it once and for all. Nu-clee-er. Not nu-cue-ler. This is our president, and he has once again demonstrated his superb mastery of the English language. It’s enough to make someone want to hitch a ride with Arcade Fire and head “back” to lovely Ontario.

UPDATE: Brooklyn Vegan has the audio of the Byrne performance as well as photos, including a fuzzy one of Bowie watching from the balcony.