In the fall of 2004, the Arcade Fire released their debut
full-length titled Funeral, and the little-known band
from Canada with the flair for theatrics carved out a spot in the
hearts of fans and critics alike—the record got a four-star
review from Rolling Stone and an “A–” from famed rock
critic Robert Christgau, and it ended up topping many notable “Best
Records of the Year” lists, taking number one at Pitchfork and number
two at NME. Talk about credentials.
On Tuesday, November 17, the Seattle Rock Orchestra will
celebrate the still-very-beloved album by performing it in its
entirety, with a 50-piece orchestra and guest musicians including
Shenandoah Davis, Matt Bishop of Hey Marseilles, Ian Bell
of Black Swedes, Matthew Shaw of With Friends Like These,
Alessandra Rose of the Kindness Kind, and Jasen Samford and
Danny Oleson of Exohxo.
Holy shit, it’s going to be awesome.
Though they’ve only had a small handful of rehearsals with just the
bare bones of the band as of press time, Samford predicts the outcome
will be nothing short of explosive.
“As soon as we got together and started playing, I thought, ‘Oh my
god, this sounds great!’ The first song we learned was ‘Wake Up,’ and
when everything comes in full blast, I could not stop smiling. It
could not get any better.“
Exohxo will be opening the show, and while they typically perform as
their own eight-piece miniature orchestra (with a couple violins and a
pianist filling out the usual lineup of bass, drums, and guitars), for
this one night only, since the Rock Orchestra is there and all, they’ll
play songs from their recently released self-titled album backed by the
50-piece band.
Tickets are $10 in advance, and you can purchase them at
www.fremont
abbey.org. The entire
evening is going to be sonically, visually, overwhelmingly
delightful—just the thought of them playing Arcade Fire’s
“Rebellion (Lies)” is making me giddy. 
Recommended all-ages shows
Thurs–Fri Nov 12–13: Pixies at the
Paramount, 7:30 pm, $55.
Sat Nov 14: Lark vs. Owl at Full Tilt Ice Cream
(White Center), 8 pm, free.
Wed Nov 18: The Fiery Furnaces, Cryptacize, Dent
May at Chop Suey, 8 pm, $15.
