Arcade Fire: An Alternative Setlist

If you're a regular reader of this site or know me on a personal level, then you will know Arcade Fire is my musical heart and soul. Therefore; following the Canadian's return to the stage last week in Barcelona, Bilbao and Lisbon, I had a brainwave. With four albums now to their name and a fifth in the works, Win Butler and co must face a huge dilemma when the time comes around to pick a setlist again. But to be truthful, AF's sets do tend to remain rather the same throughout the duration of a tour (see below from Barcelona, the newly refurbished setlist for their 2016 shows), with the only change throughout the latest string of gigs being the appearance of 'Ocean Of Noise' in for 'Haiti' during their headline set at NOS Alive, Lisbon.

Arcade Fire Setlist: Razzmatazz, Barcelona

We all know the main backbone of an Arcade Fire setlist; 'Reflektor', 'Neighbourhood #3 Power Out', 'Rebellion (Lies)', 'Wake Up' and so and so forth, and in no-way, shape or form am I discrediting such a set (I've never seen Arcade Fire live :( and they're my favourite band ever, so yeah) but wouldn't it be cool and interesting if they mixed things up once upon a time? For a band to have such an array of great songs at their fingertips like Arcade Fire do, it's a huge shame to see some of them shelved and locked up from the live scene. So, as this is the unfortunate case, I decided to make an alternative setlist, and this is how it looks:

1 - Flashbulb Eyes From 2013's 'Reflektor', 'Flashbulb Eyes' was a prominent feature on the World tour of their number one album, but has since been dropped from the set. Sort this out, Win.

2 - Women Of A Certain Age Released late 2015 via 'The Reflektor Tapes' cassette, 'Women Of A Certain Age' is a funky and soulful number that is sure to get you grooving.

3 - Empty Room Here we go now, it's time to get you going and what better way to do so than with 'Empty Room'. As soon as you hear that violin go, you will loose your mind. Guaranteed.

4 - Month Of May Continuing the theme of mind-loosing tracks from 2010's 'The Suburbs' is 'Month Of May'. "Gonna make a record in the month of May, in the month of May, in the month of May".

5 - Rococo Sticking with The Suburbs again and next comes 'Rococo', a repetitive and catchy track that would sure spark an almighty sing-a-long.

6 - Neighbourhood #2 Laika Number 2 of the Neighbourhood's but by no means does that determine its credibility, a lively, edgy and raw belter that possesses that real early Arcade Fire vibe.

7 - The Well & The Lighthouse Probably the most underrated AF track in my eyes, from 2007's 'Neon Bible', its constant omission will forever baffle me.

8 - You Already Know Introduced by the one and only Jonathan Ross on Reflektor with the line "We have fabulous music from the fantastic, ARCADE FIRE!" You should already know why this needs to be featured.

9 - Half Light I Back to The Suburbs and to the first of the Half Light's with 'Half Light I' bringing proceedings down a peg or two in terms of liveliness but by no means greatness.

10 - Half Light II (No Celebration) Just like on the album we'll jump straight into 'No Celebration', stepping up the gear again with this lively ballad.

11 - Suburban War Another surprise omission for me and a track of which should be featured oh so more frequently, 'Suburban War' is a real song from the soul.

12 - Deep Blue "Kasparov Deep Blue 1996!", no more explanation needed.

13 - Vampire / Forest Fire Stepping back in time with 'Vampire / Forest Fire', the closing track from Arcade Fire's first release, their self titled EP in 2003. A building and meaningful track with a real sense of beauty.

14 - Get Right First unveiled prior to the release of Arcade Fire's tour film 'The Reflektor Tapes' in 2015, this previously unheard track left fans asking "Why did this never make the Reflektor cut?" It certainty needs to make the live one.

15 - Black Mirror Régine once revealed that during the recording of Neon Bible she could hear this song playing backwards, yes backwards, within her dreams, so there may be a valid reason it remains dropped.

16 - We Used To Wait Our final visit to The Suburbs sees 'We Used To Wait' make a return, granted it did so last week during the European shows too, but it was sad to see it dropped on the Reflektor tour and it really needs a guaranteed slot. It's epic.

17 - Porno Beginning the encore is 'Porno', a real smooth track possessing plenty of pizzazz that deserves to be appreciated by the band much much more.

18 - Headlights Look Like Diamonds Returning to the debut EP now and with a track of which no doubt requires featuring. In my opinion one of Arcade Fire's best of all time, despite being one of their earliest, it oozes Funeral style maturity and wouldn't sound a miss on the big stage.

19 - Crown of Love Closing the alternative set is the much missed 'Crown of Love' from 2004's debut Funeral, and again, I'm lost for words as to why this isn't a regular fix. It'll bring a tear to your eye.

Arcade Fire Alternative Setlist

If you're an Arcade Fire fan, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also listen to all the tracks featured within the setlist via this Spotify playlist: