The Arctic Monkeys are a band that ought to be proud of their status as a live band, considering how they rose to stardom via free demos given away at gigs, and the subsequent file sharing that followed. These guys are my age and have already achieved a lot, with two albums out and another on its way this year, and experience from having played to loyal fans around the world.
The boys from Sheffield know how to keep a crowd happy, and carefully chose songs from the two albums that would keep the crowd going. But I was happy to see that they were willing to play plenty of their new stuff. Every since hearing that Josh Homme was producing the new record, and that recording had taken place at the famous Rancho De La Luna, I have been eager to hear what the new album will be like. The answer? Darker. I won’t say too much about the songs except to say that they are considerably more mature than anything I had heard from the Arctic Monkeys before. New tracks played included: Dangerous Animals and Would you Like Me To Build You A Boat, as well as a cover of Nick Cave’s Red Right Hand.
The only sour note of the night came when some dickhead in the front of the crowd decided to show his enormous gratitude by throwing a 50-cent coin at lead singer Alex Turner mid song. After pointing out that this was “not cool”, the band continued the rest of the song before stopping to further discuss the issue. As Alex pointed out, throwing currency is never a good idea, “particularly considering the current economic conditions.”
In my opinion, the Hordern Pavillion is only a good venue for people that manage to get in the front 15 or 20 rows of standing, and everyone else sought of misses out. That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy myself or the music, but there are simply better venues in Sydney, even for a band as popular as the Arctic Monkeys.
While it is clear that the Arctic Monkeys are not going to be the next Beatles, there is no doubt in my mind that if they keep their sense of fun about them both in the music they make and in their stage presence, they will enjoy stardom for years to come.
Labels: Arctic Monkeys, Hordern Pavillion, Josh Homme
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