This might strike some of you as an unusual post, because the concert in question is almost three months away and it'll take place at the Palau Sant Jordi...and I rarely blog about big bands playing big venues with big posters plastered all over town. But this is a little different...because Arcade Fire isn't just any old big name commercial band. The British magazine Q has called them "the most exciting band on earth". Here's why I think they're so special:

They make great, original music. They are an album band in the truest sense of the word. The full impact of their musical genius emerges as you listen to an entire album. An idea drives the whole thing. They blend different musical influences, but have their own, unique sound.

The musical arrangements are layered and complex, making Arcade Fire much more than simply an indie rock band.

The band is comprised of seven (occasionally even ten) astoundingly talented multi-instrumentalists. Onstage members swap instruments, which include guitar, drums, bass guitar, piano, viola, violin, cello, double bass, xylophone, glockenspiel, keyboard, French horn, accordion, harp, mandolin and hurdy-gurdy. The band often tours with up to ten members (including Owen Pallett, who, although not an official member, has played violin with them and co-written various arrangements on two albums with founding member Régine Chassagne).

Originally formed in Montreal in 2003 by husband and wife duo Win Butler and Régine Chassagne (the other permanent members are William Butler (Win's brother), Tim Kingsbury, Sarah Neufeld, Richard Reed Parry and Jeremy Gara), Arcade Fire immediately caught the eye of music critics, who swooned with delight upon hearing Funeral. The band's acclaim skyrocketed within a year, so much so that during their 2004 tour, they had to switch venues, because the small clubs couldn't hold their fan base anymore. In 2006, the band bought an old church and recorded their aptly named follow-up, Neon Bible. Their third album is released in 8 different covers, all playing on different images people have of life in The Suburbs, which is also the title of the record.  In 2007, the band recorded a Take-Away Show for La Blogotheque of their song Wake Up (which played at the 2010 Super Bowl, proving that occasionally even mega mainstream sports events have unusually good taste in music. In case this is making you groan and you're ready to label the band a bunch of sell-outs, Arcade Fire donated all licensing proceeds to their favourite charity, Partners in Health). David Bowie is a friend of the band and has performed with them a few times, and Terry Gilliam directed the live webcast of their Madison Square Garden concert earlier this year. A band that can bring together rock idols, eccentric filmmakers, indie music lovers and NFL fans is definitely a rarity. Perhaps Canadians can save the world!

Sunday, November 21st

Doors open at 18:30h, concert at 21:30h

Palau Sant Jordi, Passeig Olímpic s/n (Parc de Montjuïc)

Bus 55 goes up to the stadium and connects with metro lines L1 and L3 at Espanya.

Tickets: 39 EUR (they are selling fast!), availabe at www.servicaixa.com or any Servicaixa ATM.

With the Fiestas de Gracia coming to an end, some of you might be dreading the post-celebratory-blues. Never fear! Another fiesta is in the making. This Saturday (tomorrow), the Sants neighbourhood is inaugurating its Fiesta Mayor! For those of you suffering from Gracia Overkill, take a long nap and get ready for more. It's summer after all. For the skeptics who want to sit this one out with the argument that all fiesta mayors are carbon copies of one another: this is not true. Although all fiesta mayors share many things in common, each one is different, because it is a reflection of the neighbourhood it represents. Whereas Gracia's festival has a hip, cosmopolitan edge (and probably a couple of local interior designers involved in the street decorating committees), Sants celebrates a down-to-earth fiesta mayor that embodies the traditional spirit of popular parties. You've got the fun fair with rides and cotton candy; you've got the discomobile with hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s; you've got traditional processions and religious acts in honour of the barrio's patron saint; you've got long tables with neighbours sitting together and eating and drinking until late in the night.

This year, the fiestas recover their epicentre, the Parc de la Espanya Industrial, which was under construction for quite some time. The park, with big lawn areas, a small lake and a really weird metal sculpture of a dragon (see peculiar shape on poster), is a great spot and largely unknown outside of the neighbourhood. Most of the big concerts are held here: jazz with the Susan Sheiman/Jazzcare 4 Project (August 22nd at 22h), pop and hip-hop with Delafé and Flores Azules (August 23rd at 22h) and rumba with Las Estrellas de Gracia, a band inspired by Gato Pérez (August 24th at 22h). Of course, all of the streets (this year there are 13 decorated ones: Alcolea de Baix, Alcolea de Dalt, Canalejas, Plaça de la Farga, Finlandia, Guadiana, Masnou, Robrenyo, Rosés, Sagunt, Santa Cecilia, Valladolid and Vallespir) are also hosting their own concerts or DJ sets, usually starting around 22h or 23h. Programmed are a swing night on Guadiana, rock bands on Valladolid, havaneros, Cuban music, bossanova, a variety of orchestras, and the aforementioned discomobile. There's country dancing with Aaron y sus chicas, a medieval dinner and the Drakonia medieval show, a Wii tournament, a karaoke contest, a hobby petanque championship and at least three water fights. Circus, open-air cinema and a whole day dedicated to kids (25/8 at Plaça de Sants) with food, games, activities, shows, music and a Correfoc (19:30h) for the most daring little devils.

The Correfoc* for grown-ups is on August 28th, starting at 22h from Carrer Riego and taking its fiery dare-devilry through the neighbourhood to the Parc de la Espanya Industrial. Other traditional customs and popular events are also present, including the Sardanas (23/8 at 18:30h in the Parc de la Espanya Industrial) and the Fiesta Castellera (or human castle-building day on 29/8 at 12h in the same park). The traditional festivities begin with the Cercavila de la Fiesta Mayor, a parade through the neighbourhood with Gegants (giant carved and painted figures worn by people) and popular Catalan music, on 21/8 at 18:30h and closes with a Piromusical - a fireworks display set to music - on 29/8 at 21h in the Parc de la Espanya Industrial.

*If you don't know what these traditional customs are, check out the paragraph on popular celebrations in my post on the Fiestas de Gracia.

To check out the complete programme (available as a PDF) and find out what is happening when and where, visit the website for the Fiesta Mayor de Sants.

August 21st - August 29th

The entire Sants neighbourhood.

FREE!

Rumour has it that Dansalona's first edition wasn't even planned for this year, but when the Mercat de les Flors and Grupo Focus put their heads together to organise Barcelona's first, big dance festival, the enthusiasm was so great they decided to put together a sort of introductory edition for this summer after all. They assembled a programme of 20 performances to take place between August 19th and September 24th, comprised of events that were going to happen anyway (Iphigenie auf Tauris by Tanzteater Wuppertal Pina Bausch at the Liceu), existing dance series (TANTAdansa at the Tantarantana) and shows specifically selected for Dansalona. Given the somewhat spontaneous nature of this first edition, it is remarkable that organisers managed to find this many interesting shows. This is probably due to the fact that Dansalona is a truly collaborative endeavour, involving not only the Mercat de les Flors and the Grupo Focus theatres (Villarroel, Goya, Romea), but also other performing arts spaces (Poliorama, Antic Teatre, Sala Beckett, Poble Espanyol, Tantarantana, Teatre Almeria, SAT!, Lliure and the Liceu) and the city's cultural entities. Dansalona, which kicks off during the Fiestas de Gracia and closes during the Mercé, aims to become a true city-wide dance celebration, as closely linked to Barcelona as the Grec Festival or the Fiestas de la Mercé.