Arcade Fire concert

Once upon a time, a cute girl told a handsome boy that if they didn't go see Arcade Fire in concert together this year, she would refuse to marry him.

Crazy kids in love

...That handsome boy sure did hurry up and find a way to get that cute girl some Arcade Fire tickets!

A friend of ours knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who ALWAYS seems to have tickets to the most coveted events going down in Arizona. When he caught wind that we'd missed the presale window for Arcade Fire tickets and couldn't find it within our souls (nay, our bank accounts) to pay $500 billion dollars per ticket, he magically produced a pair for us and called it an engagement gift! On Wednesday last week, we grabbed our cherished tickets and walked down the street to the Comerica Theater to see the band that defined my graduate school experience.

Hi. I'm Kara. And I have stains on my shirt.

Maybe if I act like a doofus, nobody will notice the stains!

And predictably, the experience was indescribable. You know that feeling you get when a song is so good, you can taste it? Smell it? Feel it? I have that experience with everything Arcade Fire has ever written. Live, it was unreal - many times I couldn't tell if I enjoyed it more with my eyes open or closed. 

Rococo

Open, I could see the perfectly coordinated visuals and watch how special it was when Regine and Win locked eyes over their instruments. 

Intervention

Closed, I could focus on what it felt like when the music pumped through my veins or the weight of Ryan's hand holding mine.

The Suburbs

I don't need to tell you how fiercely talented these people are. They leap from instrument to instrument and play them all as effortlessly as they breathe. It would be exhausting to watch them if you weren't too busy being in awe. Accordion? Hurdy gurdy? (WTF is a hurdy gurdy anyway?) Keyboards? Violins? Multiple drum sets? They've got it covered.

And to hear these songs live? The songs that carried me through some of the most stressful times in graduate school? It was surreal. I remember driving home late many evenings after home visits with therapy clients, drowning my thoughts and everything else in The Suburbs or Neon Bible. 

No Cars Go?

I just can't explain it! It was amazing.

It was electrifying.

It's a concert experience that likely won't be matched anytime soon.

Although...the Decemberists are coming in August!!!!!

So I might be rethinking that previous statement.

What has been YOUR best concert experience thus far?