|
Thursday's performance in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood was a kind of homecoming for the album. With traditional drummers banging on tall drums wrapped in reflective material, the band performed on a stage that regularly hosts popular Haitian bands for local Haitian-American crowds dancing under palm trees. Arcade Fire didn't exactly attract a true Little Haiti crowd, but some older residents and shopkeepers gathered in doorways before the show to watch the band's fans, dressed in formal wear or costumes, line up for face painting that matched the bright, primary colors of the neighborhood's main street. The show also served as a fundraiser for the cultural center and Partners in Health. Butler introduced "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" from the band's previous album as a song based on the Tracy Kidder biography of Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health. As an encore, the band played its song titled "Haiti." Before beginning its opening trills, Butler pledged to support Haiti's ongoing rebuilding efforts. "Haiti is going to come back," he said. "We believe we can build it together
-- the Haitians are going to build it themselves and we're going to support them, OK?"
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.