The Arcade Fire

Dallas, what is wrong with you? As of press time, tickets are still on sale for Saturday's Arcade Fire show; other cities would murder for a chance to see the boisterous, symphonic band behind Pitchfork's top-rated album of 2004, Funeral. "We booked a show [in San Francisco] and it sold out really, really fast," guitarist Richard Parry says. "We thought, that's crazy--let's play a second show. That one sold out instantly. We were like, what the hell is going on here? So we booked a third one and the same thing happened again!" The Montreal quintet has filled venues nationwide since Funeral came out in September, including sellout shows in New York that Eric Clapton, David Bowie and David Byrne attended. "That's an honor, but it also brings the whole thing down to earth," Parry says. "That guy [Byrne] made pop music that I really like, and I guess we're making pop music he likes enough to come see us. Kinda dispels the whole 'celebrity rock-star' myth." Then again, with such an energetic live show, full of guitars, accordions, keyboards, gobs of harmony vocals and everything else in the kitchen sink, it's hard not to consider the Arcade Fire rock stars in their own right, so learn from San Francisco and buy a damn ticket already.