If Arctic Monkeys’ last U.S. tour was their ‘68 Comeback Special, complete with Alex Turner’s slow rolls of his hips and valiant efforts to keep his slicked back coiffure in place, their current American jaunt is their Vegas spectacular. Bigger, a little bloated, a little sleazy, but no less spectacular. And this time around, having moved to the cavernous Veterans Memorial Coliseum for their Portland, Oregon date, and with extra hands on deck to handle guitars and keyboards, Turner had room to work the crowd, pulling angular shapes with his limbs as he did. His only concern: whether to keep his shades on or not.
In keeping with the sleek, lush mood of their most recent album Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, the Monkeys dipped deep into their catalog to pull out the songs that burned the slowest and longest. That left little room for the four alarm conflagrations of their earlier days, with ‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ serving as the sole representation from their Mercury Prize-winning debut. The flare ups were few, but welcome, like their raucous spins through ‘Brainstorm’ and ‘Pretty Visitors.’
Even at its measured pace, the evening felt perfectly lavish and varied. With the band doubled in size thanks to the addition of a quartet of touring musicians (including keyboardist Tyler Parkford from opening act Mini Mansions), the music was notably fuller than on record. The jangly ballad ‘Cornerstone’ became a show-stopping torch song and ‘505’ was rendered in shades of R&B and soul. All of the material from ‘Tranquility Base’ were miniature glam epics writ even larger through Turner’s lounge lizard stage presence and wine-drunk joy. How he only managed to end up with one brassiere thrown on stage for his appraisal and approval is a mystery.
Arctic Monkeys played:
'Four Out Of Five'
'Arabella'
'Do I Wanna Know?'
Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair'
'Crying Lightning'
'505'
'Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'
'Cornerstone'
'The Ultracheese'
'Do Me A Favour'
'One Point Perspective'
'Snap Out Of It'
'Brainstorm'
'Kneesocks'
'Library Pictures'
'I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor'
'Pretty Visitors'
'Mad Sounds'
Encore:
'Star Treatment'
'One For The Road'
'R U Mine?'
