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“Hi, this is David Byrne calling. … What can I do for you?”

The perennially cool former Talking Heads member and original hipster was calling from his New York home in order to help out his pals Win Butler and Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire.

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Byrne will be the guest of honour at next weekend’s Kanpe Kanaval, a benefit for the Haiti relief foundation started by Chassagne and Quebec’s newly minted minister of economy, science and innovation, Dominique Anglade.

The evening will be hosted by Chassagne and actor Rainn Wilson (The Office), with performances by Byrne, DJ Windows 98 (Butler), fellow Arcade Fire member Richard Reed Parry, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and American rapper/poet Saul Williams, among others.

“I know a bit about (Kanpe),” Byrne said. “I talked with Régine, and I’ve seen what they’ve done and the results they’ve had. It’s really impressive. It’s very much about empowering local people, not just ‘Let’s throw a bunch of aid, post-earthquake.’