Kevin Bronson on October 8th, 2010

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Arcade Fire was a conflagration of pratfalls, missteps and hiccups Thursday night at the Shrine Auditorium. And it was beautiful.

Because, to bend an adage, rock ’n’ roll doesn’t have to be perfect to be transcendent.

From early sound woes that muddled “Ready to Start” and “Month of May” to intermittent equipment problems that had frontman Win Butler cussing his guitar and switching up the setlist – to Butler’s getting lost in the lyrical forest during “Rebellion (Lies)” – the opener of the Montreal minstrels’ two-night stand in Los Angeles was not suitable for framing. Yet, for 100 minutes, its gleefully shambling countenance looked like a museum piece to the capacity crowd.

Continue reading on the Orange County Register’s Soundcheck blog:

Photo courtesy of Carl Pocket