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For 6 months in 2006 everybody was an Arctic Monkeys fan. Their debut, aired on t’internet long before it’s release, transcended gender, age, race and taste and put Sheffield on the map in a way Des Walker could only dream. That success brought it’s pitfalls however, the Monkeys became Mother’s Day present of choice alongside Cliff Richard and James Cunt and that is hardly a cool party.
Fast forward 3 years – is that all it’s been? – and their sound has developed by two more albums, to such a degree that, at times, it is almost unrecognisable to the sing-along anthems of ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.’ They have always played for themselves as much as their audience and tonight was no different. Opener ‘Dance Little Liar’ was served as an unwanted hors d’oeuvre before ‘Brianstorm’ kicked off a 4-track package worth the ticket money alone.
‘This House Is A Circus,’ ‘Still Take You Home’ and ‘Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ (which is aging like Rock ‘n’ Roll Star) were Friday-night-first-pint good. Rolling one to the next with little pause for breath, Alex Turner’s gang had the crowd exactly where they wanted them. “Oh ya know it for a fact / That everybody’s eating outta your hands.”
And eat they did. ‘Humbug’ lacks the singles of their first two LPs and whilst dark and broody in comparison is no less compelling. Masters of the Mark and Lard ‘Stop. Carry on...’ outro, new single ‘Cornerstone’ and ‘Secret Door’ gave way to huge rockouts that reaffirmed their new direction though, at times, masked Turner’s trademark spitfire lyrics. They are a very different enigma these days.
Beginning the track solo and under a huge spotlight, Turner set up the opening bars to ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ deliciously forcing deafening cheers for the beat to kick in. ‘Florescent Adolescent’ followed in the encore, masterfully segued into ‘Mardy Bum’ and back again; she’d definitely still get it in her fishnets.
Longevity demands development and whilst the shackles of Mother’s Day may be well and truly off, the Sheffield quartet will be doing it their way. “They say it changes when the sun goes down,” and we’re just gonna have to get used to it.
