(Photo: Courtesy of Merge Records)

Indie-Rock Media Meltdown
Besieged publicist under-comps! Grumbling ensues.
When it comes to the indie rockers du jour, the Arcade Fire, New York’s media are the ultimate moochers. Hype over the band’s two shows last week swamped the smaller venues they’d booked, so they upsized into Webster Hall and Irving Plaza. Then press folks got panicky e-mails from the band’s North Carolina–based publicist, Martin Hall, refusing guest-list requests and rescinding plus-ones. Turns out he’d set up a list for one night only, with 80 spots—for more than 300 requests. “I thought 80 was plenty,” says Hall. So he triaged. “If the president of MTV calls, I may have to cut somebody’s plus-one. I’ll get a writer in, but it’s not my responsibility to manage their social life.” But when Rolling Stone told him “last minute” to get its writer in, “we were like, ‘Pretend you’re a member of the crew.’ ”
—Jada Yuan