Artic Monkeys Manchester 28 Juy 2007
Amy Winehouse, Supergrass, The Coral and The Parrots
This was The Artic Monkey’s big gig, and sold out in amazing time, with a second night being added immediately to satisfy demand for tickets. The Artic Monkeys had come from nowhere, and were suddenly all over the place and massive. I hadn’t heard anything by them, but David and Laura fancied going so I bought tickets as soon as they went on sale. I’m glad I did, as this was a great gig. We drove down and arrived just in time to see The Coral. David and I had already seen them supporting The Who at the Albert Hall a year or so before. Their very 60sish blend of jangling guitar, folk-rock, and psych is exactly the sort of thing I like. They went down well with the crowd, but the sound mix was pretty poor. Supergrass came on and really rocked, and were a bit of a pleasant surprise to me. Much more rockier than I expected; reminded me of Steve Marriott and Humble Pie. Any Winehouse was just great, and also went down well with the crowd. 
The Cricket Ground is a massive venue and it was absolutely packed by the time The Artic Monkeys took to the stage. The reception was unlike anything I’d seen for some time. The whole crowd sang along with every word, and went absolutely mental, with beer (or was it piss?) flying everywhere. By the day of the gig Laura had bought the album and I knew some of the songs, particularly I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, Mardy Bum and When the Sun Goes Down. We all sang along, and had a great time. Stayed the night in a hotel which was walking distance away and drove back in the morning. Setlist: Fluorescent Adolescent; I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor; Brianstorm; Still Take You Home; Dancing Shoes; From the Ritz to the Rubble; Fake Tales of San Francisco; Balaclava; Old Yellow Bricks; You Probably Couldn’t See for the Lights But You Were Staring Straight at Me; This House Is a Circus; Teddy Picker; D Is for Dangerous; If You Were There, Beware; Mardy Bum; Do Me A Favour; The View from the Afternoon; When the Sun Goes Down; Leave Before the Lights Come On; Encore: Plastic Tramp; 505; A Certain Romance. Other memories: massive queues for the toilets; getting charged twice by the hotel somehow and having to contact them afterwards for a refund, which eventually got sorted out. Forgot to mention the first support who were The Parrotts and are a Beatles tribute act from Japan (honest!). I think the Artic Monkeys had seen them on their travels and were impressed by them. I thought we might have caught part of their set, but David and Laura both don’t recall seeing them at all. Who knows.
Archive for the ‘Arctic Monkeys’ Category
5 Mar
Artic Monkeys Lancashire Cricket Ground 28 July 2007
21 Nov
Arctic Monkeys Newcastle Arena 16 November 2009
The Arctic Monkeys Newcastle Arena 16 November 2009
New songs, big arenas, long hair, can the Monkeys still do it? Of course they can. Their hair may be longer and the new album explores some new territory, but they are still a great rock band, and the Newcastle crowd knew that on Monday night. This was our second Monkeys experience, our first being at their Lancashire Cricket Ground gig a couple of years ago.
We took our seats which were at the front of a side block, facing the crammed crowd standing on the floor.
Support came from Eagles of Death Metal, who seemed a pretty standard rock band. The crowd seemed to enjoy them and gave them a good reception.
But everyone was of course there to see our heroes from Sheffield who came on stage at around 9pm to a great reception. The set was a mix of songs from the new album and old favourites. The old songs (Dance Floor, Sun Goes Down, Mardy Bum), of course, go down the best, but everyone (except perhaps me) seems to know the new ones too. It looks pretty wild down on the floor; lot of people are pulled out of the crowd at the front, lots of shoes (?) are thrown onto the stage (pleased that we had seats). Laura, David and I agree it was a good gig (and that the set was just the right length!).
Setlist: The Jeweller’s Hands; Brianstorm; This House Is A Circus; Still Take You Home; I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor; Potion Approaching; My Propeller; Crying Lightning; Sketchead; The View From The Afternoon; Cornerstone; If You Were There, Beware; Pretty Visitors; Dance Little Liar; Do Me A Favour Play Video; When The Sun Goes Down; Secret Door Play
Encore: Fluorescent Adolescent; Mardy Bum; 505
ticket
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