bowie in the park

last night s.gary, sara*, em and myself set off for central park and the arcade fire concert. sitting in traffic on the FDR last night i was worried we would be too late to see the band. we finally break loose and get to the venue. only now we're running through the darkness trying to find the entrance. meanwhile "in the back seat" is playing. we find the will call tent get our tickets and get in. "neighborhood #3 (power out)" begins playing. when the song ends the front man, win butler, declares that the audience has been great tonight. damnit! bands only say that at the end of their set. not all is lost. the opening strains of "rebellion (lies)" erupt from the speakers. well, if we missed the show at least i heard my favorite song. the song finishes, the band exits, the crowd applauds. after a brief repose the band returns to the stage, only now they're accompanied by a man in a white suit and straw hat. mr. butler then informs the crowd that this is a song by david bowie called "queen bitch". awesome! that's one of my favorite bowie songs. wait! the guy in the white suit is singing. he kind of sounds like bowie, too. holy shit! it is bowie. david f'in bowie. awesome! i'm watching david bowie play "queen bitch". everyone there was beside themselves. i don't think i've ever seen s.gary that excited for anything. arcade fire finishes the set with "wake up", another of my favorites from their album. everyone reluctantly stands idly by, hoping for another encore. but the house lights come up and we know it's over.

when the band first left the stage i was a little disappointed i only saw two and half songs performed. but as we're exitting i have a smile on my face. i may have only heard five songs but two of them were my favorite arcade fire songs and one, one was an amazing rock song performed by a legend. good show.