Arctic Monkeys. Back with a bang.
Sunday night I saw the Arctic Monkeys on their second night of their current UK tour presenting their fourth album, Suck It And See, and what a hell of a night! The 02 Arena can be an overwhelming place - but for these Northern boys, it seemed like an easy ride. Their set exploded with all their classic hits, Including ‘Teddy Picker’ and ‘Crying Lightning’ and the crowd had an outstanding energy.
With the back setting of the stage being very simple, just a plain red dim background with stage lights dangling from the ceiling. But, as you can tell the how the stage was presented was the last thing your eyes were on. Arctic Monkeys don’t need a big stage or glitter and strobe lights to put on a show. And what a show it was.
The opener was of course, Don't Sit Down Cause' I've Moved Your Chair; taken from their new album, which really set the night off well - a fantastic builder with the endearing Yorkshire accent of front man, Alex Turner. With a set of 21 songs, they echoed through each track, with each superb song setting the audience off. By the time the sixth song, Brainstorm was upon us, I’m sure some of the audience were gasping for water.
The classic crowd was there the indie teens, and hipsters, the lot with the floppy hair, but what really sets the Arctic Monkeys apart from other alternative rock bands, is the unique lyrics of Turner's song writing. Hearing those lines that you've grown so familiar to, with thousands of other people singing along, must be captivating. Lines you sing in your bedroom mirror like: "She don't do major credit cards, I doub't she does receipts. It's all not quite legitamate", are just pure gold. The wordplay and the gritty subject matters is everything the Arctic Monkeys are about.
Their new material was swallowed up well (As Turner says) by the audience, with big tracks like Hellcat Spangled Shalalala being proof that the band's move to America hasn't in any shape or form changed their British shine or Turner's ability to write outstanding lyrics. What was really clear tonight, was that all this talk of guitar and rock n’ roll music being dead is complete shit. The Arctic Monkeys manage to keep up the classic rock template, and bring it up to date, and at arenas like the London 02, the band couldn't be more in their element. Turner pulled the classic poses and standard rock front man routines, as he stood with his foot on the monitor, and fell to his knees to work his guitar Hendrix style. It's classic and I hope he never changes; Turner was every inch the showman.
Of course, the best song of the night for me -When The Sun Goes Down, provoked a riot. The crowd’s anticipation was amazing, then, as the song dropped, a full mosh pit broke out and things got hectic! Something I definitely didn't expect from Arctic Monkeys fans!
As their set came to a close, the band didn't forget about their responsibilities as music idols. Turner took to the microphone and warmly said: "Jimmy Savile rest in peace", before breaking into the encore, with the room shaking song ‘505’ truly one of the best songs they’ve made for me. Not one of their most famous of course, but when Turner breaks out in the song ‘But I crumble completely when you cry’ every devoted fan was chanting the lyrics. A spectacular night.
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