Arcade Fire Debuts New Song ‘The Lightning I, II’ In New Orleans

Arcade Fire debuted several new songs, including “The Lightning I, II,” last night in New Orleans. The performance at the Toulouse Theatre was a benefit for the PLUS 1 Ukraine Relief Fund.

Arcade Fire played a surprise warmup show last Sunday (March 13) at the Toulouse that featured the live debuts of “Age Of Anxiety” and “Rabbit Hole,” and the “pay what you can” show on Monday began with “Age Of Anxiety.” Later in the set saw the emergence of “Rabbit Hole.”

The live debut of “The Lightning I, II,” came at the start of the evening’s encore. Arcade Fire will release a studio version of the new song on Thursday, March 17. The four-song finale also featured “Generation A,” which premiered in 2020, as well as favorites from 2004’s Funeral, “Rebellion (Lies)” and “Wake Up.” Both performances saw Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner joining the band in place of Will Butler.

Monday’s setlist featuring the band pulling from across their catalog of albums, offering additional Funeral songs, “Haïti” and “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” as well as “Keep the Car Running” from 2007’s Neon Bible. The setlist also included “Ready to Start,” “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” and the title track off 2010’s The Suburbs, along with “Afterlife” and the title track from 2013’s Reflektor. The band also played two songs from their latest LP, 2017’s Everything Now, choosing “Creature Comfort” and its title track.

Watch the live debut of “The Lightning I, II” as well as fellow new song, “Age Of Anxiety,” and other clips below:

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