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Alex Turner strolled onstage, arms raised towards the audience as if to say bring it on. While the band readied themselves behind him, he took a moment to adjust his sunglasses, and then the band hit the first notes of ‘Four Stars Out Of Five’.
The implicit reminder in his actions was that we were not special; he was. We were just another pitstop on a lifetime of huge gigs
It was my first time seeing Arctic Monkeys live, and I’m not sure what I had expected. The entire gig experience was strange for me. Turner was characteristically unmoved by the audience, playing his “cool guy” routine to the point of indifference. After the gig, my sister described him as “a rockstar from times gone past”, and I think that was exactly the image Turner was trying to craft. He watched the crowd with an almost bored expression. The implicit reminder in his actions was that we were not special; he was. We were just another pitstop on a lifetime of huge gigs. There was nothing memorable about us, nothing worth dwelling on. And yet, there was something about this demeanor that was almost charismatic. Our facelessness was a price we were more than willing to pay in order to bask in the greatness that was Alex Turner.
As expected, the majority of the gig was spent playing songs from Arctic Monkeys’ newest album, Tranquility Base Casino and Hotel. This made for a strangely low-tempo gig where the audience didn’t seem to know what to do. When the band eventually strayed from their most recent album and pumped out songs such as ‘Arabella’, ‘R U Mine?’ and ‘Snap Out Of It’, the crowd went absolutely wild.
The audience seemed to be made up of a somewhat odd combination of sixteen-year-olds and over 25s, and it was, to say the least, very rowdy. Very, very rowdy — I was walloped on the head so many times I think I came home concussed. The audience supplied enough energy to fill the cavernous room of the 3Arena (and enough sweat to fill a swimming pool – disgusting) throwing back every syllable Turner crowed. Flailing arms aside, the crowd was boisterous because of their enthusiasm. This may not have been a memorable moment for Turner, but it was certainly a memorable moment for his fans.
I initially had a few qualms about the gig – I would’ve liked a different setlist, I would’ve liked not to have had men twice my height step on me as they jumped up and down. But maybe I really wouldn’t change anything about that night. It was a prime example of Arctic Monkeys, and the pure excitement of the band’s fans.
