NOTHING LASTS FOREVER, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S GOTTA BE

Arcade Fire
The Ukrainian Federation
Night #5
Montreal, Quebec

I probably should have researched where the Ukrainian Federation was prior to booking a hotel downtown Montreal. The hall was in the north part of the city in the Mile End neighbourhood, which was a $15 cab ride from our hotel. Got to the venue at 7pm, doors were suppose to be at 7pm, but didn't open until 7:40pm. The line-up was retarded long, but only took 10 minutes to get in once the doors opened. And it was FREEZING, honest to god, I don't think I've ever been that cold. My toes were numb. Once inside, we were able to score really great seats at the front of the balcony to the right of the stage, perfect sight lines and great for taking pictures. The venue was a cross between the Danforth Music Hall and St. Paul's Trinity, a bit rundown and the stage was smaller than I thought it would be. The difference between shows in Toronto and Montreal shows were apparent right away. First of all, there was no security in the venue, people were free to stand at the front of the stage (even though it was a seated venue) right away. Also, in a side room off the main hall a make shift bar was set up with cheap mixed drinks and beer. Unlike Toronto venues, people were free to drink anywhere in the venue, there wasn't a designated "legal age" section. And there was no pretension. Everyone was nice and talkative.

Arcade Fire began their set at 8:45pm to thunderous applause, the crowd seemed to be made up of fans and not industry folks like at most highly anticipated, sold out shows in Toronto. They opened with My Body Is A Cage from the forthcoming Neon Bible. Given that I've been listening to the album for about two weeks, I was familiar with the new songs but I wasn't prepared to be so blown away by the songs live. The new material shines in a live setting, and it seems that people in the audience easily connected to the songs. The band has gotten a lot better and much more cohesive as a unified group since the last time I saw them (back at the Danforth Music Hall). Win seems a lot more comfortable as a front man, he smiled a ton and engaged the audience in a way that I had never seen him do before. Regine was as cute as ever, she gives it her all and truly believes in what she's doing. The set comprised mainly of new material, with a few old songs thrown in to keep the energy up in the room (the audience response to the older tracks was crazy, it seemed that the entire audience was singing along to every song). After four new songs, they kicked into No Cars Go, a song that has been kicking around for ages (first appeared on the Us Kids Know EP and was re-recorded for Neon Bible) and a live favourite. It was utterly stunning, the crowd chanted along with the band and danced it up. I ran to the washroom during Haiti, and am glad that I did because I noticed that there was something being set up in the hall in the basement (next to the washrooms). Got back just before they launched into Black Wave/Bad Vibrations which is 200% better live than recorded. Win's half of the song really stood out. Oceans Of Noise was good, it's a bit slower and tamer than the other tracks from Neon Bible but still managed to hold the audience's attention. The final three songs of the main set were brilliant, Power Out and Rebellion (Lies) caused a mini riot at the edge of the stage, the fans were dancing their hearts out (sorry for the cheesiness). Set closer Intervention was stunning, it's the song that I think is going to break the band in the mainstream (I'd be really surprised if they weren't playing arenas by the end of the Neon Bible tour).
The band left the stage for 5 minutes and returned for their encore with another Funeral favourite, Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels). After they finished the song, the band left the stage, instruments in hand and began walking down the side of the venue to the stairs to the basement. We followed quickly to the basement hall, people on the balcony and towards the back of the main floor saw what was happening and also made their way down. Security counted the bodies flowing by them on the stairs and ended up stopping the hordes of people. We got into the hall and found a great spot to the left of the stage. The hall had been decorated with X-mas decoratons, tea lights and candles. On stage, a small girl of 8 or 9 years old (who oddly enough was sitting next to us on the balcony) did a short reading (in French, I have no idea what she was saying) with the band standing around her. Once she was done, the band launched into an acoustic version of The Well And The Lighthouse (my favourite song on Neon Bible), with Win standing in front of the stage singing through a megaphone on a mic stand. It was really really great, it felt like we were witnessing something really special. I took video of the entire song and will be posting it online tomorrow (once back in Toronto, I need to use the PC). Sooo freakin' beautiful. Following the secret basement encore, Win, Regine and a couple others made their way up through the throngs of fans back to the main hall for a third encore consisting of an acoustic version of Wake Up. Fans in the basement were not allowed back to the main hall and were ushered out a side door. Final thoughts...an amazing night, I don't think I'll ever have the chance to see this band in this type of environment again. With the release of Neon Bible, I really feel that their popularity will soar, bringing with it larger venues and a broader fan base. The trip to Montreal was well worth it, and I really do feel very lucky to have been able to attend.

Full Setlist:
My Body Is a Cage
Black Mirror
Keep the Car Running
Building Downtown (Antichrist Television Blues)
No Cars Go
Haiti
Black Wave/Bad Vibrations
Windowsill
Ocean of Noise
Power Out
Rebellion (Lies)
Intervention
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Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
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The Well and the Lighthouse (acoustic set in the basement)
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Wake Up (acoustic set in the main hall)

Ps. Pictures and video from the show to be posted tomorrow night. My iBook won't allow me to transfer photos from my camera. I've done a crap load of trouble-shooting and downloading of software from the Fuji site, which has amounted to nothing. UPDATE: SEE PICS BELOW!