Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem

It's to the Arcade Fire's credit that they made the 30 months that elapsed between their 2004 debut, Funeral, and 2007's Neon Bible pass like it was three weeks. It's unclear exactly how this happened, or if they were even directly responsible for it. It's more a credit to the Arcade Fire's brand of epic, theatrical, bossa nova-tinged, mostly punk(ish) rock that seems both retro and forward-thinking at the same time. They slyly reference the last 40 years of recorded music while simultaneously filling a gaping chasm in it that nobody really knew was there. That is, until Win Butler and company sauntered out the Great White North speaking of broken souls, wounded hearts, and the damage that loving someone can do to you. Yet all the while yearning to do it, because, ultimately, it's the only way you can ever feel alive.
Sun., Sept. 30, 6 p.m., 2007