Arcade Fire Mistake Biohazard Waste for Drums During Haiti Refugee Set

Arcade Fire have been known to make drums and percussive instruments out of just about anything handy -- from pots and pans to stage rigging -- and so far, it's worked to their favor. But they almost blew it in Haiti recently when, right before an informal performance in a refugee camp, multi-instrumentalist Will Butler scrambled to find a makeshift drum.

"I spotted two red plastic wastebaskets just inside the clinic gates," Butler writes in a blog post describing the experience. "One was mostly empty, so I dumped it out into the other one and brought it over. I thumped it experimentally. Sounded fine. I handed it to Jeremy. He thumped it. Sounded fine."

But it wasn't fine. Turns out, the wastebasket was very clearly labeled "Biohazard Medical Waste." Butler returned the receptacle to its proper place, albeit hesitantly, and looking back on it now, writes, "But that's why hand sanitizer is so exciting."

The anecdote is one of the lighter moments in a new blog that Butler began writing this month, detailing Arcade Fire's three and a half days in Haiti, during which they performed a surprise concert in the capital of Port-au-Prince. That show, and their trip at large, was filmed for an upcoming DVD. They also performed acoustically in the refugee camps and jammed with local musicians.

While Butler begins his account with the disclaimer that he is no expert on the country, "I don't want to downplay how much I learned, and how much I was moved, by what I saw," he writes. "The trip spurred a lot of thought amongst our band -- what follows is some of them thoughts." Click here to read Butler's blog.