Saturday 12 June 2023
I should begin by mentioning that before this gig started I was coming off the back of a big night seeing Sam Fender in Newcastle and so started the day off feeling a little ropey. Whether the best way to deal with that was to embark on an alcohol-based odyssey that took in limoncello, vodka & Red Bull, a lot of Guinness and perhaps most bizarrely of all, a mid-afternoon port is neither here nor there. It does mean, however, that my account of the show might not be as detailed as you have come to expect from me, dear reader…
After missing all of The Hives (which I am still sad about), we arrive just in time to hear the pounding drums of ‘Brianstorm’ echoing throughout Hillsborough Park. You can normally tell within five minutes of an Arctic Monkeys gig if the band are up for it and it is clear here that Alex Turner and co. are ready. The crowd respond in kind. The tracks from AM – the band’s fifth album – only seem to become more popular every year and so it is no surprise to see ‘Snap Out of It’ and ‘Arabella’ greeted like old friends.
There is no denying that there is a large proportion of Monkeys fans that prefer their earlier stuff (myself included) and while the band don’t seem to care what the fans want (which is one of the key reasons they have remained so critically successful) they make a number of uncharacteristic allowances here that ensures that this gig is one of their finest. ‘Crying Lightning’ is simply an incredible song – Turner’s fast-paced, almost rapped delivery dovetailing perfectly with Matt Helder’s pounding drummers. The latter is no longer the band’s ‘secret weapon’. He’s almost the main attraction.
‘From the Ritz to the Rubble’ provides the night’s first representation of the Arctic Monkey’s beloved debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not serving as a stark reminder of just how important an album that was. In many ways, there hasn’t been an indie rock record release since that one that has had as seismic an effect on the music scene.
‘Cornerstone’ sounds as dreamy and ethereal as ever, despite a slightly different arrangement and ‘Four Out of Five’ stands as the sole representative from 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino – perhaps a concession to the fact that many of the late era Arctic’s tracks simply don’t work in a live setting. On that note, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that the band have a new album out at all. Despite being less than a year old, it’s not until 13 songs in that we hear anything off that record with ‘Perfect Sense’ sandwiched between an exuberant and rapturously received ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ and an imposing rendition of ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ – the latter boasting what is probably Turner’s finest ever riff.
There are a lot of great moments across the evening, but when I think back to this gig, what I’ll remember most is the utterly joyous version of ‘Mardy Bum’ that the band deliver here. Seeing this song in Sheffield on a gorgeous summer night with 40,000 people singing every word back at the stage is a memory that even half a bottle of limoncello can’t erase. Glorious.
Due to the terrifying power of TikTok, ‘505’ has become arguably one of Arctic Monkey’s biggest songs and the lovelorn lyrics combined with the song’s unforgettable conclusion provide another big moment before a psychedelic, free-wheeling take on ‘Body Paint’ closes out the first part of the set.
The band return to the stage for the inevitable conclusion of ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ and ‘R U Mine?’, and while both sound terrific, the best moments have already been and gone. ‘Mardy Bum’. That was the one.
Arctic Monkeys are a divisive band, both on record and as a live act, but when they’re good, they’re probably the best band in the world. On a balmy summer night in Hillsborough, Turner, Helders, Jamie Cook and Nick O’Malley are in fine form. Don’t write them off yet.