Arctic Monkeys and The Strypes @ Birmingham LG Arena
20/11/13
A cancelled
gig is the (favourite) worst nightmare of any fan (sorry) but, thankfully, a
new date was arranged and it was speculated whether the band could make up for
the disaster of 3 weeks before.
At the
announcement of their first UK tour in for two years, social media sites
Twitter and Tumblr went into frenzy as fans tweeted franticly of their need for
tickets. Countdowns to the sale
commenced and people readied themselves for the tickets that were guaranteed to
sell. The tickets were like gold dust, causing sites to crash and selling out
in minutes. Managing just to purchase a ticket was considered an achievement in
itself, with re-sales online within a matter of days selling tickets for around
a hundred pounds per head.
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©Arctic Monkeys
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Starting the
night off were Irish band The Strypes.
As a new and young band (aging from 16-18 years old) they did well to keep it
all together in a venue as large as the LG Arena. Dressed in smart attire it is
easy to see why Miles Kane is a fan and their image, in addition to their young
ages, cued the screaming young girls. Clearly talented young boys with their
instruments and good vocals, it was a shame their set sounded all too
familiar…to their own songs and other bands songs. To a new listener such as
myself who, having heard zero tracks before, the set just sounded full of
similar songs aimed to be played as fast as possible. Nevertheless, the quartet
had brilliant stage presence and confidence for a new band and even included a
couple of guitar solos for added drama. The crowd participation wasn’t
fabulous, with the majority just ignoring the four lads on stage but a few fans
seemed to be in the crowd, spurring on the band.
After what felt like an eternity, the lights dimmed and the crowd awoke, it was time for Arctic Monkeys. The band swaggered onto the stage and the crowd surged forward Jamie Cook’s dense and darkly addictive guitar riff that recently won over America as the track has scored their first #1 single on the Billboard chart in the US. No more ‘who the fuck are Arctic Monkeys?’ The atmosphere was absolutely indescribable; the crowd had come together as one and the band were at ease and in their element.
After what felt like an eternity, the lights dimmed and the crowd awoke, it was time for Arctic Monkeys. The band swaggered onto the stage and the crowd surged forward Jamie Cook’s dense and darkly addictive guitar riff that recently won over America as the track has scored their first #1 single on the Billboard chart in the US. No more ‘who the fuck are Arctic Monkeys?’ The atmosphere was absolutely indescribable; the crowd had come together as one and the band were at ease and in their element.
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| A view from seating in Birmingham |
They
followed their brilliant opening with a mini-best of set, a well-chosen mix
from all five #1 albums such as my personal favourite ‘Old Yellow Bricks’ along
with ‘Crying Lightening’ and ‘Reckless Serenade’. There are no times for
classics such as ‘505’, ‘When the Sun Goes down and ‘Fake Takes’ but no one
goes away disappointed. They interwove some new songs into the old further
through the set, and included the old favourites such as ‘I Bet That You Look
Good on the Dancefloor’ and ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, tracks which are now so
iconic that the crowd couldn’t believe they were finally seeing them live. The
intro to ‘Brianstorm’ drove the crowd absolutely mental, a definite crowd
pleaser and Nick O’Malley’s punchy
baselines were the icing on the cake.
The strongly
anticipated encore was a good one. Consisting of ‘Snap Out of It’ and a mellow
semi-acoustic ‘Mardy Bum’, they were closing the show well. After ‘Mardy Bum’ Alex Turner commented, meaning well but
perhaps not seeing the cancelled gig as a sore point, ‘if we’d have known you
could sing that well we wouldn’t have cancelled in the first place’ causing a
mixed reaction with a few boos from the crowd but he shyly apologised and
pushed onto the final song of the night: ‘R U Mine?’ With mosh pits emerging
left right and centre, it was clear no one wanted the night to end.
With the
area code ‘0114’ taped onto Matt Helders’
(possibly the greatest drummer of this generation, and self-taught too) drum
kit, it is clear the band haven’t forgotten their home, despite the slight
unusual LA twang they have picked up. It is clear they are still four lads from
Sheffield, having the time of their lives playing gigs they probably dreamt of
back when they first picked up their instruments in their garages and bedrooms.
As the
lights came on, a sense of euphoria and elation overwhelmed the crowd. The
expressions on the people’s faces said it all. We had just witnessed a
spellbinding show from our heroes which I am sure I will never forget.
Links: Arctic Monkeys on Facebook & Twitter & Official Site
Links: Arctic Monkeys on Facebook & Twitter & Official Site
