Arctic Monkeys played to a packed house at Liberty Hall last night -- an audience that, at times, seemed to be populated entirely by impossibly thin 14 year-old girls who were very, very excited to be there.
There was some weird ticketing determining where you could sit upstairs that was kind of annoying, as the top half of the balcony was general admission, whereas the lower half was seated according to tickets, which made finding a seat kind of difficult, but not too bad. However, the start of the show was delayed by what seemed to be issues with the keyboard rig. At one point, there were four roadies standing around, trying to determine the issue. After a 15-minute delay, the show kicked off.
The dance floor erupted for "Brianstorm," along with other rocking tunes, like "I Bet That You Look Good On the Dancefloor" and "Fluorescent Adolescent," even though the vocals were either too high or too low in the mix, making for an uneven experience for much of the band's set. The rest of the Monkeys' songs got a little similar live, too, with not a lot to differentiate them aside from tempo as the show went on.
The light show was throbbing and electric. At various points, it was the only thing keeping my attention. For a band of which I own every album, this was a pretty disappointing show, with the exception of the aforementioned rocking songs, and a "Red Right Hand" cover that kicked ass. Honestly, I spent the better part of the latter half of the Arctic Monkey's set hanging out in Liberty Hall's foyer shooting the shit with various people, and not a single one of us were even slightly interested in any of the songs being played 50 yards from us.
Openers Sleepy Sun came out to some whimsical movie theme. The band had an apt name, playing sleepy, dreamtime pop that was halfway between Coldplay and Black Sabbath, and psychedelic as all hell. Every song had a huge jam, and the band would build up to it, with every member moving in unison like they were choreographed. People started chattering like it was a license to ignore them as soon as the words "the Arctic Monkeys are up next" came out the frontman's mouth, which was a shame, but they still managed to hold my attention longer than the headliner.>
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What show did you watch? I'm pretty sure I even saw you before the show trying as hard as you could to get time with the band. Bad review for them not being to interested in you? The sound was spot on. As for them not playing "Fake Tales of San Fransisco" or "Mardy Bum", if you've payed attention they haven't played those songs in a year or two. They are a much different band and people need to realize that.
"For a band of which I own every album"
well at least you eventually went out and bought their latest album...in a post dated Feb 10 announcing the incoming concert, you didn't even mention their latest album which had been out since August and is the reason for their latest tour...until whoops some one commented
"What about the newest record "Humbug"? I thought it was a huge improvement, and I loved "Whatever People Say...". It was produced by Josh Homme, and you can hear his influence rub off on them."
Nick says:
"I've actually yet to hear Humbug. That may have to be the next thing I get.
Posted On: Wednesday, Feb. 10 2010 @ 9:45AM"
well at least you picked it up just in time to review the show...hack dude, just hack..the internetwebs make it really easy to check out past works of hacks like yourself.
http://blogs.pitch.com/wayward...
awful review. extremely rude for getting paid to go and not even giving them your attention. ive seen them 3 times and they never fail to put on a good show. compared to other bands out there, they sound wonderful live. also you claim you are a fan and have all of the albums and yet you spell the drummer's name wrong.. it is Matt Helders.. not Elders.
Were you one of the skinny 14 year old girls that you refer to at the forefront of the article?? You sure sound like one after that piece...I'm a journalism major and now I know how not to come off in a concert review. Your critique seriously sounded like it came out of the mouth of a catholic schoolgirl whose better suited covering Justin Bieber concerts. I was on the fringe of the pit and it was electric down there, especially during the early part of the set... The Monkeys are a top notch group and the sound and vocal difficulties had nothing to do with the band..Red Right Hand was especially "bad ass" but I had to rethink my opinion of that cover after it was praised by such a cool guy like yourself.. It's only fitting that you were more entertained by the animal noises that came from the Sleepy Sun...No wonder the Monkeys have never come to the Midwest before Monday night with people like you shooting the bull with other posers at the bar the whole time...
In the wise words of a great band,"What do you know?? You know nothing
@Nick, Did you hear Sleepy Sun is playing @ the Record Bar on June 15th!!! Should be great to see em at a more intimate show!
I agree with the show being a bit disappointing. The monkeys are one of my favorite bands but it seemed that they just wanted to get the show over at times. I also went to the St. Louis show and that was 10 times better. The crowd was great and I think the band fed off of them very well. The encore lasted a bit longer as well. The other disappointment for me was that they played the same exact set both nights. All that being said, they are still a kick-ass band that should get better and better as time passes.
@Abe: It had nothing to do with being jaded. They were, flat out, the biggest disappointment I've had seeing a show in the past year. Their records are intricate works that I go back to time and time again, but every single mid-tempo song they played was nearly indistinguishable from the next. They seemed completely disconnected from the audience, and even upbeat numbers had a thudding, plodding feel.
Nick,
Your review was spot on! Even the people I was with said that if we had paid actual money to see them (we didn't) we would have been very disappointed...seriously the band, especially Alex Turner, had a look on their faces that looked like they wanted to be anywhere than Lawrence. Completely overrated live...and "No Fake Tales of San Francisco" or "Mardy Bum"...I call Shennigans!!!!
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