Tue 1 Nov
words RYAN HEEGER photos TIM ALBAN
The hoards of geezers clutching cans of Strongbow as they give it the Liam Gallagher swagger towards the Motorpoint Arena is a fair indicator of the Arctic Monkeys’ fanbase. Given that tonight is a sell-out also makes for highly entertaining crowd-watching from the balcony as The Vaccines finish their support set with If You Wanna and Nørgaard: drunken scuffles, pint throwing, piggyback fights and tribal chanting all contribute to the muggy haze created in the ridiculously hot venue.
Arctic Monkeys arrive deceptively nonchalantly, in jeans and black leather jackets, to the sound of Hot Chocolate’s You Sexy Thing, before opening with Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair from recent fourth album Suck It And See. The lairy masses respond with synchronised pogoing and a crowd surge that makes the front look like a scary place to be. During their set we spot more than one person being lifted over the barrier and carried towards the first aid area, but if you’re going to show your love for this Sheffield four-piece by getting within spitting distance you need to be prepared when Alex Turner announces a “change of pace” by way of introduction to Brainstorm, and superdrummer Matt Helders lets rip.
The Arctics’ back catalogue is already heaving with classics, and it seems a lot longer since 2006 when they came into the mainstream looking about 12 in the iconic I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor video. That track gets an early airing which highlights their confidence in subsequent output, here including Pretty Visitors and Dance Little Liar. But it’s the first two albums that populate the latter half of the setlist, with Fluorescent Adolescent and When The Sun Goes Down preceding the encore, which sees Mardy Bum and 505 mark the end of an outstanding gig.
The satisfied throngs of tops-off heathens, indie kids and middle-class types spilling out suggest things are destined to get even bigger for Arctic Monkeys. If they continue as they are we may well be swaggering with our Strongbow to the Millennium Stadium in a few years.