I have this thing against waiting in lines. Any kind of line. It could be waiting in line for smoked meat. It could be waiting in line for boxing day “specials”. It also pertains to waiting in line for a Sony PS3, and especially Windows 95. Remember those poor fools outside Crazy Irvings oh so many years ago who spent all night in line waiting to get their copy of Windows 95 ? Think they were all dissapointed ?

The only time I’d consider waiting in line is if it were a life and death situation.. and then I’d first have to do a cost benefit analysis.

But that is exactly what people have been doing everyday in hopes of getting Arcade Fire tickets. Arcade Fire, in case you have been living under a rock for the past year, is the hippest band from Montreal since Les Cowboys Fringants. Arcade Fire is composed of a married Montrealer and Texan and their fans have moved them into cult status.. right on par with the Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween.

I had heard their album ‘Funeral’ a while back. I must profess, I didn’t see what the big deal was. They seemed to me like any other indie band out there.. A group of people who can’t play their instruments. Now, several months later, I sat down and listened to Funeral a few times and while I think they can string together some snappy indie tunes, they still can’t play their instruments.

But that of course is part of the appeal for indie band lovers. It’s that they aren’t super polished. It’s that they play in small church basements.. that they sell their concert tickets from indie record stores.. That’s all part of the appeal and part of creating a cult status.

I often see a slight parallel between some indie band lovers who move a band to cult status and a 12 year old in love with a pre-processed group like say NSYNC, Back Street Boys or the Spice Girls. They all have their favorite member.. oh, and for the record, my favorite was Scary Spice.. and I often thought that Posh Spice should have been named Scary Spice and Scary Spice instead named “Hot Spice”.. but that’s for another blog entry.

Nevertheless, there they are in frigid temps, waiting in line to get those coveted 50 tickets for tonight’s show. I hope they enjoy it because like so many other indie bands, the cult status doesn’t last. Sooner or later the band does something that alienates them from their cult members and before you know it, they are ripping up their photos of Scary Spice.

Related posts:

1. Local folks make good, once again
2. What is INDIE?
3. Mad props to the Arcade Fire
4. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
5. End of a Montreal Era