Arctic Monkeys - Live At O2 Review - 29th October 2011

If there is ever one criticism that can be levelled at the Arctic Monkeys, it’d be their lack of crowd interaction, but when you can create the kind of mass hysteria witnessed during ‘I Bet You Look Good...’, then a no fuss, no frills approach to live shows is all you require

Arctic Monkeys took to the stage at the Astoria in London, riding on the crest of a MySpace generated media frenzy with Alex Turner declaring €œIt€™s a right big place this, int it?€. In truth it€™s actually been a little over 6 years, and the intervening period has been very kind to the band. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Astoria. Nor MySpace for that matter. But fast forward six years, 4 albums, sold out arena shows, festival headline slots and a few million album sales here and there, and tonight they€™re playing the O2 Arena - the world€™s busiest music arena - and this really is €œa right big place€. Depending on who you believe, the O2 can fit anywhere between 20,000 to 26,000 people inside, and there was not an empty seat (nor square foot of standing room) as the Arctic€™s took to the stage accompanied by Hot Chocolate€™s €˜You Sexy Thing€™, Alex Turner looking very €˜Danny Zuko€™ while the less said about Jamie Cook€™s facial attire the better. The band tore into €˜Don€™t Sit Down €˜Cause I€™ve Moved Your Chair€™ the lead single from latest effort €˜Suck It and See€™ before slipping seamlessly into €˜Teddy Picker€™ and €˜Crying Lightning€™ with barely a word uttered to the adoring crowd, before Turner referenced the Millennium Dome a few times. If there is ever one criticism that can be levelled at the Arctic Monkeys, it€™d be their lack of crowd interaction, but when you can create the kind of mass hysteria witnessed during €˜I Bet You Look Good...€™, then a no fuss, no frills approach to live shows is all you require. The frazzled crowd were able to catch their breath during the less familiar B-side €˜Evil Twin€™ before being whipped into frenzied chaos once more as the band rattled through a sequence of tracks from all four albums. They closed the set with fans favourite €˜When the Sun Goes Down€™ with the crowd hollering every word like a hoard of wailing banshees. The mass sing-a-long continued through the encore, with latest single and overnight classic €˜Suck It and See€™ and a stripped back version of €˜Mardy Bum€™. As Nick O€™Malley drifted into the darkness backstage (presumably to play keyboard), Turner paid tribute to Jimmy Saville before introducing Miles Kane to the stage, (€œstraight from Butlin€™s€ teased Turner, in reference to his red blazer) to play his now customary slot on €˜505€™ to bring proceedings to a close. The band departed the stage, to rapturous applause, with as little fanfare as they had arrived. The odd wave to the crowd and they were gone. Jimmy Saville may have passed earlier in the day, but with the sartorial misadventures, a huge crowd cheering an Errol Brown song for the first time in three decades and 26,000 happy revellers, I€™d say the spirit of Mr. €˜Fix It€™ was there for all to see. The Arctic Monkey€™s played:

'Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair' 'Teddy Picker' 'Crying Lightning' 'The Hellcat Spangled Shalala' 'Black Treacle' 'Brianstorm' 'View From The Afternoon' 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' 'Evil Twin' 'Brick By Brick' 'Dance Little Liar' 'This House Is A Circus' 'Still Take You Home' 'Pretty Visitors' 'She's Thunderstorms' 'Fluorescent Adolescent' 'When The Sun Goes Down' Encore: 'Suck It and See' 'Mardy Bum' '505'

Contributor
Contributor

Amateur blogger, Twitterer, professionally trendy, effortlessly indie and fan of all things Morrissey and The Smiths. Treat me with disdain.