[kj] (NKJ) Arcade Fire at The Shine in LA Last Night

[TB]

I saw Arcade Fire at The Shrine Auditorium last night in Los Angeles.  It was the 2nd show of a two night stand. This was my second
time seeing the band, my first being one of the Hollywood Bowl shows in 2007. Overall, I'd give the '07 show a slight edge only
because there was a bit of loss of momentum after the stunning first half of the show leading through "Sprawl II." But frankly,
tonight still ranks way high among the shows I've seen in 33 years worth of concerts.

The audience was *really* into the show and gave the band a prolonged ovation after "Keep The Car Running" that clearly impressed
Win and the band.  The first four songs rank among the greatest live experiences I've ever seen.  The only mis-step I think Win made
was choosing a rather mellow, intimate song Regine sang to run up to the balcony which seemed very distracting.  At the end of the
show during "Wake Up," he again came out into the audience traversing through the first 4 rows and the pit which drove the crowd
into a frenzy.  The one-two punch of Power Out and Tunnels at the end of the main set was simply awe inspiring.  The show seemed a
bit light on "Neon Bible" songs but the new material came across vastly better than the studio versions on the album.  For me, this
band has much more of an impact live than on record.

The only downsides I can think of at the moment was the rather cavernous Shrine is not the best place for clear, well defined sound
especially from a band that has such a dense sound as Arcade Fire does.  The sound overall was really loud from my 6th row seat. At
times, it really came close to white noise at the conclusion of a couple of the harder rocking songs.  Also, parking in the
structure next to the Shrine was a huge mistake as it took me nearly an hour to get out of there.

The set:

Ready to Start
Keep the Car Running
No Cars Go
Haiti
Empty Room
Sprawl 2
Modern Man
Rococo
In the Backseat
The Suburbs
Month of May>Rebellion
We Used to Wait
Power Out
Tunnels
*encore*
Intervention
Wake Up

T.B.