Live review — Arctic Monkeys 9/28/09
Posted By Ben W. on September 30, 2009
ARC-TIC MON-KEYS!! clap-clap, clap-clap-clap…
ARC-TIC MON-KEYS!! clap-clap, clap-clap-clap…
ARC-TIC MON-KEYS!! clap-clap, clap-clap-clap…
Yeah, I went to an Arctic Monkeys concert in Columbus Monday night, and an Ohio State football game broke out.
And boy did those fans at the Newport Music Hall want an encore. Or maybe they wanted the Buckeyes to go for it on fourth down. I can’t be sure. I was confused. And maybe the crowd was too. Fitted Northface jackets tend to cut off the circulation.
But such contradictions are part of the Arctic Monkeys experience, right? They have dumb riffs and smart lyrics. They’re fiercely indie — sticking with little Domino Records even after getting big — yet they have a whole ton of fans in the mainstream.
Is that annoying? Maybe, yeah, a little. But is it also the sign of a great band? Most certainly. And make no mistake — Monday night’s stage was occupied by a great band.
The Arctic Monkeys are the best of both worlds. You can appreciate them with the masses as a band that rocks out relentlessly with lowest-common-denominator music. Because, trust me, they are a fantastic rock band on the most basic level.
It’s hard not to be when Matthew Helders is your drummer. He’s not simply the best rock drummer in the world; he’s surely one of the planet’s greatest athletes. He didn’t let up for the entire 90-minute set, never slowing down, never missing a beat. And these are not easy to songs to play. They’re fast, complex and his parts are never dumbed-down. His drum lines are often the most interesting instrumental part of an Arctic Monkeys song. Truly an amazing performance. Watching Helders drum alone on stage would be worth the price of admission.
The rest of the band was up to his level, too. Frontman Alex Turner’s voice was spot-on all night, and he didn’t flub a single word (no easy task considering his lyric sheets). They didn’t accessorize their recordings too much with extra parts or wanky solos. But between the band’s flawless execution, the crowd’s energy and the (guilty pleasure) awesome strobe-light attack, the songs took on a greater level of intensity and passion than the album versions. The material from their new slower and heavier Humbug record especially benefited.
OK, so yes this concert pleased the masses. And the band — seemingly in touch with its Middle American audience — delivered a set favoring its loud and stupid side. Which means lots of the heavy guitar songs, not lots of the moody, more subtle songs and, of course, the dreaded “I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor.”
But here’s that other best world I was talking about earlier. If you so choose, you can look past the simple guitar riffs and enjoy the Arctic Monkeys for Alex Turner’s utterly brilliant lyrical voice.
Some of the music might seem to be frat-ready, but not many party joints offer a chorus so picturesque as “I elongated my lift home; I let him go the long way round; I smelt your scent on my seat belt and kept my shortcuts to myself.” These are mini-novels; not date-rape soundtracks!
Listen closer and you don’t hear music to mosh to. You hear “Secret Door” — “fools on parade cavort and carry on for waiting eyes; that you would rather be beside than in front of; but she’s never been the kind to be hollowed by the stares.”
Tesla and Stone Temple Pilots will be rocking the same Newport Music Hall stage in October, but I strongly doubt they will present too many biting character studies like “Sketchead” or “Brianstorm.”
How many cock rock anthems rhyme “fish nets” with “night dress” with “niceness” and “crisis”?
In fact, when your chorus is “My propeller won’t spin; and I can’t get it started on my own; When are you arriving?” you’re offering up an entirely different kind of cock rock, don’t you think?
Turner is a genius. He doesn’t attach his lyrics to music typically associated with genius. He raps and riffs while the band alternates between simple punk and Black Sabbath.
It’s brilliant and idiotic at the same time. It’s mainsteam and snobby simultaneously.
And for 90 minutes in Columbus Monday night, the world’s greatest band of 23-year-olds was on display in all of its contradictory glory.
Touchdown!
The Arctic Monkeys played:
Dance Little Liar
Brianstorm
Crying Lightning
Potion Approaching
Pretty Visitors
This House Is A Circus
Still Take You Home
I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor
If You Were There, Beware
Sketchead
Dangerous Animals
A View From The Afternoon
Cornerstone
Secret Door
Do Me A Favor
Fluorescent Adolescent
—
Encore:
Red Right Hand (Nick Cave cover)
My Propeller
505
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I think a person would have to be dead inside not to enjoy “fluorescent adolescent”, “teddy pickers” and “dancefloor” just a little
For me, they’re one of those indie pop bands who aren’t terribly original, but produce a few catchy tracks that you’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t like. Never been terribly impressed by their albums as a whole, though – and I must admit, I haven’t heard anything from their new one