Arcade Fire, NEC, Apr 15, 2018

Taking full advantage of the ‘in the round’ format Arcade Fire hammed it up with the full boxing ring intro. It wasn’t as tacky as the digitally-face-removed cowboy MC on the screen that kept trying to hype us with the prerecorded messages. As one crew they wound their way through the crowd and towards the stage/ring with an entourage of camera men and security parting the crowd so they could slip right by us. Numbering nine for most of the performance they entered through the actual boxing ropes and took up their starting positions for the rousing Everything Now opener. Of course, I say starting positions as throughout the evening they swapped instruments and roles in a well-coordinated dance. Getting to the goods early they went straight into Rebellion (Lies) before Here Comes the Night Time. During this track's frenetic breakdown they swapped out of the boxing formation for varied laser beams flashing from corner to corner above the stage which opened up things up even further. The drum set was centre stage and on a revolving platform so you really could see the majority of things from most vantage points. My only complaint is that personal fave, Richard Reed Parry, didn’t come to visit as often as I’d have liked though we did get a lot of Win when he was singing, as in the glow of our phones for Neon Bible, or guitaring, There was also Regine on keys and leading Sprawl II (along with her streamer routine) to wrap the mid-set Arcade Fire Presents the Suburbs that also included the title track and Ready To Start. The crowd sang and danced along throughout the night making it a joyous occasion for band and fan alike.

Considering it was the Everything Now tour the setlist did not seem overwhelmed by this, perhaps due to the band being self aware that it is not their strongest material. As Win admitted recently "Part of me hopes that this record is our stinker, our horrible record...If it’s the worst thing we can possibly do then I’m at peace.” That said Put Your Money on Me was actually stuck in my head for a week after the tour and coming back for the encore with We Don't Deserve Love really worked. Although we didn't get any special guests like London their musical hype man did a good at keeping us up and having the Preservation Hall Jazz Band rejoin them onstage and then winding back out through the crowd for Wake Up was an energetic move, even if obvious for how well it worked. Even after a couple of hours featuring career highlights I still wanted more and chased the band to the end of the arena as the Wake Up chorus continued right to the eventual back stage.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Rather than another indie upstart AF have this decades old jazz band from New Orleans do their thing as the opening act and let me tell you they nailed it. A very fun, bombastic set of popping jazz that people seemed to really warm up to. How could you not love the trombonist giving it all he's got? They may not have utilized the stage as the headline act but I was on the proper side so I wasn't complaining.

Setlist
Everything Now
Rebellion (Lies)
Here Comes the Night Time
No Cars Go
Electric Blue
Put Your Money on Me
Neon Bible
Rococo
Normal Person
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Suburbs
The Suburbs (Continued)
Ready to Start
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Reflektor
Afterlife
Creature Comfort
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Encore
We Don't Deserve Love
Everything Now (Continued) (with Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
Wake Up (with Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
Wake Up Chorus (with Preservation Hall Jazz Band)