The crowd at Arctic Monkeys ranged from late teens up into the late 40s; however, since I was in the pit of the theater, the crowd there was mostly teens, 20-somethings, and drinkers with these massive cups of beer. Anytime someone walked past me with one of those things, I feared for my life and my clothes. While the pit remained halfway full, the seats were completely packed, all the way to the top.
The Arctic Monkeys started their set with "Do I Wanna Know?" which ended up sounding just like the album track. The audience thoroughly enjoyed this song as they lift their hands and moved them back and forth to the downbeat, while others were swaying back and forth with their gigantic beers. During "Arabella," Alex Turner took the microphone off the stand and played around with the audience in the pit.
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During "Snap Out Of It", Turner addressed the theater, "Phoenix, it's so nice to see you!" to which girls screamed like they had just seen a Beatle. In all fairness, Turner might be the closest thing to a Beatle some of these girls will see, since One Direction doesn't count: Turner sported a greased-back look in his hairdo that created a reflection, and he sported a black leather jacket and white t-shirt. His accent was such a thick Sheffield accent, he kind of sounded like today's Paul McCartney. Sometimes it was hard to understand, but he's British, so who cares, right? After "Dancing Shoes" and the audience finally settled down from dancing, Turner took off his leather jacket and the girls screamed again. To this I replied internally, "It's Phoenix, and he's hot. Let a man take off his jacket without it being a spectacle."
When the band played "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," the crowd twisted and shook about and shouted "From 1984!" as if most of them were alive then. Everyone sang along, and some people even attempted to crowd-surf before security ended their wave of excitement. When the set slowed down for "No. 1 Party Anthem" the house lights dimmed and filled the stage with blue lights as everyone held up the flashlights from their phone. It was sweet and intimate, and quite the oxymoron for a party anthem, but I liked it.
The popular hit "Why'd You Only Call me When You're High?" was played in a lower key to give it a more negative-feeling sound, which changed the whole dynamic of the song. "Fluorescent Adolescent" lit up the theater, and it was during this song that I had one of those "I love this song! I didn't know they sang this song," moments. For the last song before the encore, the girls behind me whispered, "Please let it be 505," and sure enough, it was. And apparently, they weren't the only ones waiting for it when Turner announced, "This is our last song, it's called '505'!" and everyone lost their shit so bad, the house crew is probably still looking for it.
Audio aside, the lights for this show threw me off. During the first couple songs, it seemed unimpressive as it flickered plain white or gold lights to the beat. But the lights were behind the artists, creating a silhouette, and you couldn't see their faces. During the middle portion of the set, the lights stepped it up with different colors and different flash patterns of the logo. Near the end of the set, the lights go back to its subtle white/gold combination of only flashing to the down beat. During "I Wanna Be Yours," the lights circle around the theater to create an intimate ambience, which was my favorite tune of the evening ("If you like your coffee hot, let me be your coffeepot"? Yes please). The one predictable factor was that every time a song ended, the stage went black and the AM wavelength logo lit up as the band awkwardly transitioned into the next tune. I'm pretty sure that AM wavelength logo flashed so bright and so many times throughout the night, I'm gonna be seeing it throughout the next week.
The most awkward part about coming alone, besides standing off to the side of the pit? Everyone asking you to take their picture, because obviously you're bored and that's why you're on your phone (actually, I was typing this review).
See next page for set list.
Set list: Do I Wanna Know? Snap Out Of It Arabella Brianstorm Don't Sit Because I Moved Your Chair Dancing Shoes Crying Lightning Knee Socks My Propeller I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor Library Pictures All My Own Stunts Fireside No. 1 Party Anthem Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High Fluorescent Adolescent 505
Encore: One For the Road I Wanna Be Yours R U Mine?
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