The Arcade Fire on Austin City Limits

This is a terrific 60 minutes of television.

I saw The Arcade Fire at the Orpheum earlier this year, and they were extraordinary. I had bought both albums, found them both a bit overwrought — i.e., I felt like I was unable to "feel things" as deeply as Win Butler does, because I'm not fourteen years old (and neither is he, which is what made me uncomfortable).

That said, I enjoy the songs, particularly "Haiti," "Neighborhood 2," and "Rebellion" on Funeral, and "Intervention" on the new album, Neon Bible. Once I saw them perform live, I added them to my list of Bands Not To Miss When in Town. It's a real spectacle, and they actually put forth an effort. There are about a hundred band members, and several of them jump from one instrument from another. They produce crash cymbals — crash cymbals! why hadn't anyone in rock thought to deploy them before? — and carry drums out into the crowd.

If you've got a DVR, look for a replay of the Austin City Limits performance. Something to see. Note as well: the sample track they're showing on PBS, "Keep the Car Running," doesn't do them full justice.