Arcade Fire in Scunthorpe is the kind of show to be remembered for years

<strong>Arcade Fire in Scunthorpe. It was always going to be special, wasn't it?</strong> Eyebrows were raised from the moment social media caught wind of this absurd, yet inspired date. The snaking queues outside the humble Baths Hall venue, which sits on a road lined with kebab shops and a supermarket petrol station, prove this is no ordinary wet Wednesday night in Scunny. “What’s kicking off here then?” asks one perplexed passerby while punters waited to file in. “Arcade Fire mate, they’re a band,” comes the reply from a security officer, the surreality of the evening notching up another level. It’s fair to say they won’t need any more introductions here after tonight. The indie rock giants turn out a wonderfully eccentric, joyous set, full of oldies and new ones, all lapped up by a giddy crowd who are only too happy to welcome this merry band to North Lincolnshire. Assembling on a claustrophobic stage ingeniously positioned in the centre of the venue’s dancefloor, Win Butler and co. launch into new single ‘Everything Now’. Greeted like an old favourite, the 80s-inspired disco beat prompts even the most stubborn of chin scratchers into a gentle sway. "Thank you to the steelworkers,” Butler declares in a rare address to the crowd, before bursting into a glorious ‘No Cars Go’. ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ is a particular highlight, performed by the fantastically theatrical Régine Chassagne, while the sweet sing-a-long of ‘Neon Bible’ profits from the intimate atmosphere of the night. Scunthorpe is a town where pretension is trumped by the desire to have a good time, so there’s no surprise when the crowd duly obliged after Butler urges them to shine their phone lights during ‘Reflektor’. One chap on the barrier even manages to grab a selfie with him mid-performance. The nature of the stage set up means the band can’t oblige with an encore, but they do treat Baths Hall to the live debut of ‘Signs of Life’. Though the Canadian rockers will go off to tour the record around the world during the coming months, it’s likely they’ll always remember this show in little old Scunthorpe. This town certainly will.