Arctic Monkeys at First Avenue, Minneapolis (02/14/14)

Arctic Monkeys at First Avenue, Minneapolis (02/14/14) poster Setlist Do I Wanna Know? Brianstorm Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair Snap Out of It Pretty Visitors I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor Fireside Knee Socks Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? Arabella Dancing Shoes Old Yellow Bricks Crying Lightning Do Me a Favour I Wanna Be Yours Fluorescent Adolescent 505 -- Encore -- Cornerstone One for the Road R U Mine? Tour Dates 02/15/14 St. Louis, MO The Pageant 05/02/14 Auckland, New Zealand Vector Arena 05/03/14 Wellington, New Zealand TSB Bank Arena 05/06/14 Darling Harbour, Aus Qantas Credit 05/07/14 Boondall, Aus Brisbane Entertainment 05/09/14 Melbourne, Aus Rod Laver Arena 5/10/14 Hindmarsh, Aus Adelaide Entertainment 05/13/14 Perth, Aus Perth Arena 05/23/14 London, UK Finsbury Park 05/24/14 London, UK Finsbury Park 06/06/14 Bremen, Germany Pier 2 06/07/14 Berlin, Germany Spandau Zitadelle 07/04/14 Rock Werchter Festival 07/10/14 Optimus Alive! Festival 07/12/14 Dublin, Ireland Marlay Park 07/19/14 Festival Les Vieilles Charrues Read More Arctic Monkeys With Arctic Monkeys coming back to Minneapolis on Valentine's Day (Friday, Feb 14), in support of their latest album AM, I thought I'd write a little note about the band in this special Flashback article.…

"It's f***ing Friday, and you're with the Arctic Monkeys in Minneapolis!" shouted Arctic Monkeys' singer Alex Turner, to a very sold out First Avenue. Clearly the British band has outgrown the historic venue, but they keep coming back, time and time again.

Saint Motel

Opening up for the Arctic Monkeys was Saint Motel. I had low expectations, but by the first song, they had already won me over with their brass / dance / pop / Caribbean / jazzy sound. It seemed like the band took the best elements of various music genre and made it their own. The six-man team (including a saxophonist and trumpeter) was full of fun and energy.

Singer A/J Jackson confessed that he is from Minneapolis, so he seem excited to be back in the city. Jackson does his best to keep the banter between the songs to a minimum, since they had a limited opener time slot. Most of the talking is to introduce the song title and, also, sometime comment on Minneapolis' brutal cold, "It's cold outside, but it's warm in here!"

Flying in the air

From my notes, the band kicked off their set with "Honest Feedback", followed by "Feed Me Now", "Benny Goodman", "Daydream / Wetdream / Nightmare", "My Type", "Puzzle Pieces", and the set finale "Stories" (most of their set is taken from their 2012 album Voyeur).

Like I said, Saint Motel has a lot of potential, and the band is taking advantage of all the sold out Arctic Monkeys shows to play their very best on stage.

Arctic Monkeys

As for Arctic Monkeys, they are currently on tour in support of their latest album AM (out now on Domino Records). The new album was hailed by critics as one of 2013's very best albums, including NME's Best Album of 2013, Q Magazine's #1 Album of the Year, Mojo's #4 on Top 50 Albums, and W♥M Brody calling AM #2 on his Top 10 List. AM, with "R U Mine?", "Do I Wanna Know?", "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?", "One for the Road" and "Arabella", would prove to be Arctic Monkey's most successful album to date.

Photo of Setlist

With that said, a good portion of their setlist was dedicated to AM. AM served as a sandwich of some beginning songs, a healthy 'meat' middle, and with "One for the Road" and "R U Mine?" finishing off with the encore.

You can tell right away, which songs were the audience's favorites by the dancing and singing ("I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", and a string of classics "I Wanna Be Yours"/"Fluorescent Adolescent"/"505").

Arctic Monkeys

Since I've seen Arctic Monkeys every time they play First Avenue, I should let you know the differences between all the shows. The first time I saw them, in 2007, I felt it wasn't terribly exciting to watch. I noted that their performance was similar to Oasis' style. The same "didn't do much on stage" carried on their 2009 appearance. However, by 2011, I noted in my review that Turner has grown up, "whether it's jumping on the drum stands, or talking a little more between songs."

Hair Apparent 2007 2009 2011 2014

With the latest 2014 appearance, Turner has really come into his own. The guy is more confident than ever, and it shows in his hand gestures, his poses, his dance moves. Turner still doesn't speak that much between songs, although the random dedications ("for the girls") can be heard.

I think my favorite moment was at the encore, Turner substituted "Tracy Island" to "Minneapolis", on the first line of "R.U. Mine?" That got a huge roar in my section of the audience. I love that kind of change that only a live performance can bring.... of course, I also imagine the band change that line to every city they play at! It's still very fun to witness though.

Now for something completely irrelevant: Alex Turner's various haircuts throughout the years. Currently, Turner is sporting a sort of 50s look, which goes incredibly well with his dress shirt and leather jacket. Isn't it fun to him grow over the years?

Arctic Monkeys are currently on a very successful tour in support of their much beloved latest album, AM. If you've never seen the band, do yourself a favor and get your tickets early before they sell out.

Arctic Monkeys at First Avenue, Minneapolis (02/14/14)

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ arcticmonkeys.com