|
AM
Domino
Read More
|
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.
The thing with this British band is that they are quite popular and four for four, the band has sold out First Avenue every time they play the historic venue. If you didn't purchase advance pre-sale tickets, you are never going to see this band. So, next time they announce presale, you should get on that.
According to Arctic Monkeys' website, these are all their Minneapolis appearance. I've been to all their shows, except for the Target Center one (but they were supporting Black Keys).
In 2007, I was still getting the hang of reviewing live shows, in fact, if you look over any of the 2007 entries, I defer most of the photos and written articles to Brody. My only notes for Arctic Monkeys' first show was that the band reminded me of Oasis and that "Everyone in the audience LOVED the Arctic Monkeys. They were singing along with the popular songs, which I'll admit I don't know any of their songs, except for "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor".".
It was at this show that Elvis Costello's personal bodyguard pushed me aside so Costello could go backstage! One degree of separation to Elvis Costello is not bad!
A more detailed account by Erik T can be found on britishrockisalwaystop.blogspot.com:
The thing with this British band is that they are quite popular and four for four, the band has sold out First Avenue every time they play the historic venue. If you didn't purchase advance pre-sale tickets, you are never going to see this band. So, next time they announce presale, you should get on that.
According to Arctic Monkeys' website, these are all their Minneapolis appearance. I've been to all their shows, except for the Target Center one (but they were supporting Black Keys).
14.02.14 First Avenue [This Friday]
15.05.12 Target Center [Black Keys]
28.05.11 First Avenue [Setlist and Photo]
25.09.09 First Avenue [Setlist, photo, + vuart!]
07.05.07 First Avenue [Setlist + photo]
I think with the harsh winter that this will be the first time I'm not going to cover the UK band.
15.05.12 Target Center [Black Keys]
28.05.11 First Avenue [Setlist and Photo]
25.09.09 First Avenue [Setlist, photo, + vuart!]
07.05.07 First Avenue [Setlist + photo]
|
Arctic Monkeys at First Ave (05/07/07)
ticket stub
|
It was at this show that Elvis Costello's personal bodyguard pushed me aside so Costello could go backstage! One degree of separation to Elvis Costello is not bad!
A more detailed account by Erik T can be found on britishrockisalwaystop.blogspot.com:
|
Arctic Monkeys at First Ave (05/07/2007)
photo: Brody
|
First Avenue turned into a venerable hotbox last evening, with the Arctic Monkeys playing their first ever Minneapolis show at the sold out and muggy club.(But that didn’t stop Elvis Costello from getting in-he was perched on the dj deck for the entire set, applauding and enjoying the show-he’s playing the Myth tonight.) And what a show it was. I have to admit, I was quite knackered from a long solo drive from Milwaukee that afternoon, and didn’t have a lot of energy going into the show, but that all changed as soon as the four lads from Sheffield took the stage. From that point on, First Ave was a powder keg of energy and high voltage rock n’ roll.
Starting off with the new song, ‘If You Found This It’s Probably Too Late’ leading directly into their current hit single ‘Brianstorm,’ the mainroom floor was awash with pogo’ers, crowd surfers, and a crowd that was obviously ready to have a good time. ‘Still Take You Home’ really set things off, with its rousing chorus of ‘You Know Nothing’ allowing the crowd its first chance of a spirited sing along (which it continued to do all night.)
My long drive was made easier knowing that I would be seeing them play ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ later that evening, and having that tune meld in to the end of ‘Balaclava’ was definitely a highlight for me-the frenzied finish of the song certainly had the crowd thrashing about-‘Get off the bandwagon’ indeed. The boys really made their feisty songs look effortless at times, with front man Alex Turner spitting out his lyrics with venom, all the while almost offhandedly playing the catchy hooks that had the crowd bouncing all night. Also adding to the festive atmosphere was the fact that it was drummer Matt Helders 21st birthday (who later donned a Twins batting helmet in celebration)-this actually caused me to pause -2 smash hit records, a sold out First Ave and he, and the rest of the band, are just in their early 20’s. Amazing.
The stage was lit with simple strobes that just added to the frenetic energy of the songs. Not that the songs needed any help being manic-the set was a blur, with one hit blending right into the next (20 songs in just over an hour), with very little ‘intelligible’ between song banter from Alex, other than telling the crowd early on to ‘relax, relax, smoke a spliff and relax’, and wondering what the floating box was wandering through the crowd. There really was no chance in getting this crowd to settle down (the spliff smoking on the other hand…)-we were there to have a good time, and a good time was had by all (other than the people that got crushed under the portly stage diver).
The new songs really sounded fresh live, and blended well with the older songs-‘View from the Afternoon’ meshed seamlessly with a fantastic version of ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, right before the superb one-two punch of ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ and ‘Leave Before the Lights Come On.’
The Arctic Monkeys brought the ruckus on Monday night, proving that they are the real deal in British rock, no matter how big the hype gets. The fact that they are all so young makes you wonder what these guys are capable of if they can see things through and have a long, prosperous career. I do know this, what they are capable of right now is setting fire to First Ave with their music and energy, in a show that will be hard to top for the rest of the year. Cheers lads, job well done.
Starting off with the new song, ‘If You Found This It’s Probably Too Late’ leading directly into their current hit single ‘Brianstorm,’ the mainroom floor was awash with pogo’ers, crowd surfers, and a crowd that was obviously ready to have a good time. ‘Still Take You Home’ really set things off, with its rousing chorus of ‘You Know Nothing’ allowing the crowd its first chance of a spirited sing along (which it continued to do all night.)
My long drive was made easier knowing that I would be seeing them play ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ later that evening, and having that tune meld in to the end of ‘Balaclava’ was definitely a highlight for me-the frenzied finish of the song certainly had the crowd thrashing about-‘Get off the bandwagon’ indeed. The boys really made their feisty songs look effortless at times, with front man Alex Turner spitting out his lyrics with venom, all the while almost offhandedly playing the catchy hooks that had the crowd bouncing all night. Also adding to the festive atmosphere was the fact that it was drummer Matt Helders 21st birthday (who later donned a Twins batting helmet in celebration)-this actually caused me to pause -2 smash hit records, a sold out First Ave and he, and the rest of the band, are just in their early 20’s. Amazing.
The stage was lit with simple strobes that just added to the frenetic energy of the songs. Not that the songs needed any help being manic-the set was a blur, with one hit blending right into the next (20 songs in just over an hour), with very little ‘intelligible’ between song banter from Alex, other than telling the crowd early on to ‘relax, relax, smoke a spliff and relax’, and wondering what the floating box was wandering through the crowd. There really was no chance in getting this crowd to settle down (the spliff smoking on the other hand…)-we were there to have a good time, and a good time was had by all (other than the people that got crushed under the portly stage diver).
The new songs really sounded fresh live, and blended well with the older songs-‘View from the Afternoon’ meshed seamlessly with a fantastic version of ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, right before the superb one-two punch of ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ and ‘Leave Before the Lights Come On.’
The Arctic Monkeys brought the ruckus on Monday night, proving that they are the real deal in British rock, no matter how big the hype gets. The fact that they are all so young makes you wonder what these guys are capable of if they can see things through and have a long, prosperous career. I do know this, what they are capable of right now is setting fire to First Ave with their music and energy, in a show that will be hard to top for the rest of the year. Cheers lads, job well done.
)
Comments