Arctic Monkeys

[strummer77]

1 minute ago, Drinky said:

This is what frustrates most people I think - if you're going to have 70-90 quid off people for stadium shows, you're setting an expectation that you're going to put on a show, run through all the old hits that people want to hear just like when they've seen you before/listen on their headphones or whatever, and even if the new material isn't designed for stadium shows then people will show it some goodwill.

They've been able to get away with putting big stadium tours on sale before people have heard as much as a note of their new albums twice in a row now, before Tranquility Base... and The Car. They probably know they won't be able to pull the same trick  again on the casual fans who just want to belt out their old favourites, so maybe this was scooping up as much $$$ as possible this go round, and next time it'll be arenas?

That all said, people still had a good time (me included), and in my case I've shelled out another 70 notes to see it again today, so what do I know?

The stadium show I saw (Bristol) was great! And the same show at Glastonbury  -with just a couple of surprises/older songs early (opened with Mardy Bum and play A View From Afternoon a few in) - probably solves a lot of the more casual crowds issues and gets them on board. 

I am not in the camp that they should just play their older stuff but it was a mistake to me how they played arguably the least accessible set of the UK tour at Glastonbury. I see they threw Ritz to Rubble in early doors the next day and played A Certain Romance in Sheffield - if they had thrown a couple of bones to the crowd I think it could have gone down a lot better.

Maybe his illness did play a part?

 

[Planyt]

18 minutes ago, Drinky said:

That all said, people still had a good time (me included), and in my case I've shelled out another 70 notes to see it again today, so what do I know?

Yeah exactly, I just think the amount of negative comments I’ve seen around them are just quite disproportionate really.
 

I think Turner’s whole schtick at the moment is hilarious but totally get why people think he’s arrogant if they don’t follow the band or if they expect him to be what he was 10+ years ago. I’m a fanboy anyway so obviously going to be biased 

 

Effective. Very Effective

[mufcok]

Another one here who loves his 'shtick' but I'd probably clap if he came out, farted, and walked off. Adore them

I'm still pissed off I was behind the second speakers for the set, but I knew the risks getting a decent spot for Fred Again and watching the whole set. I still thought the set was fine, the Sculptures intro in the dark in particular comes across brilliant.

I can see why the current form of AM may wind some up though, each to their own.

I see Do Me a Favour made a return to the set last night. I'm seeing them a few times in the U.S in September, interested to see if the set changes at all

[JayDiesel]

I don't have anything particularly groundbreaking to add to this chat, but I do find them a very interesting discussion topic at the moment; not least because I'm unsure of my own feelings of them.

They've been in my top two bands for as long as I've been listening to music, and I am as close to an AM 'ultra' as you can get, but I do feel quite conflicted by their live antics on this tour.

Part of me enjoys the changes made, and I'm always a fan of artists changing songs live from record, but it doesn't come across as 'genuine'  for most of the set in my opinion. I love the new stuff live, and think Body Paint & MIrrorball are the clear highlights of their sets, but the changes Alex makes to some of the older songs are so thoroughly bizarre. 

Both times I saw them on this tour, Alex's vocals on Cornerstone were so utterly, vastly unrecognisable to the record that it felt almost pointless playing it. Surely if Alex wants to croon along to it at a slower tempo, they can change the entire arrangement to slot the vocals in more suitably? It's exactly the same for The View from the Afternoon, Alex's singing of the hook is slowed down for absolutely no reason and makes the experience of actually being in the crowd pretty frustrating. The changed 505 is naff, I'd rather they binned it off entirely, and I used to absolutely love that song.

The thing that confuses me the most about the whole scenario is how each change is at odds with one another. They bring back Mardy Bum (banger) and start playing I Wanna Be Yours (garbage) because they are huge fan favourites (IWBY less so, and just a TikTok smash), as well as still featuring half of AM on the setlist, which implies that they are wanting to appease their fans - but then they strive to go out of their way and provide an experience to alienate fans.

They either play the stuff they want to play at their own tempo (hopefully deep cuts and nothing off AM, selflishly), or play the Greatest Hits as they are for the fans. This 'half in, half out' approach pleases no-one.

[JayDiesel]

I'll also note as an addendum to my above message that we were just outside the Front Pit at Glasto and were having a good time alongside 'most' other people. Not a 'great' time, but an 'I'm seeing one of my favourite bands at my favourite place on Earth' time - it's pretty hard for it to be naff

Edited July 4, 2023 by JayDiesel

[Hugh Jass II]

They were alright, not the abortion that was Reading last year, but hardly pulse raising either.

Just being 'alright' though isn't really enough for a Glastonbury headline set though. Compare them to The Killers four years ago, a band with similar history and hits, who knew exactly how to put on a crowd pleasing headline show.

[mufcok]

I'm interested to see what comes next after these tour dates finish in October - I think either a third LSP album or possibly something solo.

Longest AM hiatus to date incoming after this me thinks.

Edited July 4, 2023 by mufcok

[Planyt]

1 minute ago, mufcok said:

I'm interested to see what comes next after these tour dats finish in October - I think either a third LSP album or possibly something solo.

Longest AM hiatus to date incoming after this me thinks.

I’m sure he said that he could see them coming out with something a lot quicker this time around.

I wouldn’t mind EYCTE era Alex coming back for a while though. Silly Boy 

[Planyt]

7 minutes ago, Hugh Jass II said:

They were alright, not the abortion that was Reading last year, but hardly pulse raising either.

Just being 'alright' though isn't really enough for a Glastonbury headline set though. Compare them to The Killers four years ago, a band with similar history and hits, who knew exactly how to put on a crowd pleasing headline show.

Yeah I guess that’s the main thing for me. Coming to headline Glastonbury and not doing anything that deviates away from your general set…that does leave a bit of a sour taste in your mouth. 
 

Flowers is like a natural entertainer though, you can see he wants to keep the people happy, Turner seemingly goes out of his way to annoy the audience if anything ha

[mufcok]

8 minutes ago, Planyt said:

I’m sure he said that he could see them coming out with something a lot quicker this time around.

I wouldn’t mind EYCTE era Alex coming back for a while though. Silly Boy 

I thought he was referring to the gap between TBHC & The Car, if I'm thinking of the same interview. I could be way off there though

[MEGABOWL]

Fair play to them in a way for making it to Stadium Band and Festival headliner level while refusing to behave like one.
 

I’m with those whose main issue is mangling their own songs. 505 was just horrible, but so many of the older tracks were played too slowly and/or with him signing behind the beat. Nothing kills momentum more than the crowd hearing the opening riff of a well known song, starting to sing along and then the singer not going with them. It’s really frustrating and unnecessary. GNR had their issues with Axls voice but the pace they played everything at was great. Same with the Foos. There’ll be thousands going to see Springsteen this week and they aren’t going to get a lounge jazz version of Born To Run.

 

Its a shame because on paper I thought the setlist was pretty solid, bar not binning that John Cooper Clarke cover for a first album track. Sculptures is a great opener and I thought 4 out of 5 and Body Paint were class. But too much of the rest of it was like watching Morrissey live.

[fraybentos1]

1 hour ago, Planyt said:

Do feel like they are in this transition period and he’s trying his hardest to shed some of the fan base they have accumulated - especially the AM/younger fans.

Nonsense. If they wanted to do this they would play more than the handful of songs they do from TBHC and the Car. They basically play all their big hits on Spotify and it is not a coincidence.

[fraybentos1]

13 minutes ago, Planyt said:

I’m sure he said that he could see them coming out with something a lot quicker this time around.

 

I've seen loads of people say this on reddit and such but no one can actually provide a quote or source for it 

[Xeph1995]

He completely kills any momentum which is my biggest fustration, second song in we have brainstorm which raises the energy levels and goes straight into snap out of it but he instantly goes into his singing behind the beat dragging style and stops any attempt at the crowd getting into the show. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by Xeph1995

[Planyt]

6 minutes ago, fraybentos1 said:

Nonsense. If they wanted to do this they would play more than the handful of songs they do from TBHC and the Car. They basically play all their big hits on Spotify and it is not a coincidence.

yeah but butchering their biggest hits, coincidence? Nobody knows really what’s going on inside his head so just going by what I think really. 

[briddj]

Finally getting round to watching this. 

I've seen AM countless times and I was right down the front at Glasto two weeks ago, but this is a hard watch on TV. Really doesn't come across well. 

I'm convinced this is slower than Hillsborough and the Emirates earlier in the month. It seems it at least. 

[gigpusher]

Watching on tv tonight and they are not as bad as I expected from what I had seen/heard about their set. I mean I am glad I stuck with Kelis I think she was way better but she was an absolute bop! 
 

They just don’t seem to have turned in anything special for it but as an AM gig it’s kind of what I would expect. 

[briddj]

In fairness it's improved from the middle, but the first few songs were tough on TV.

[fantomas]

On telly at least, I thought they were better than the other Pyramid headliners, and they’re my least well known of the 3.

[Hugh Jass II]

Body Paint the undisputed highlight of the set.

[Dave_c]

I don't really mind that they slow down some songs, its the singing behind the beat that really gets on my wick. I don't even know what the point of doing that is. I had a blast on the night but it does not come across well on TV at all. That version of 505 they are doing is terrible.

[st dan]

1 hour ago, Dave_c said:

I don't really mind that they slow down some songs, its the singing behind the beat that really gets on my wick. I don't even know what the point of doing that is. I had a blast on the night but it does not come across well on TV at all. That version of 505 they are doing is terrible.

I genuinely don’t think the rest of the band know what pace Alex is going to sing at, so they just pick a beat and he sings around it. Pretty certain it’s all just a case of how he’s feeling on the night, but it must be a nightmare for the band to try to constantly adapt to it. 

[charlierc]

Well no sooner has the UK Tour finished, Mardy Bum has been shuffled out the setlist and they're back up to 7 AM songs: Arctic Monkeys Concert Setlist at NOS Alive 2023 on July 7, 2023 | setlist.fm

Will say tbf that clips I saw from their set at Werchter sounded better than Glastonbury. Part of me is tempted to ponder if Glasto was an off night, though what a place to have one.

[charlierc]

14 hours ago, Dave_c said:

I don't really mind that they slow down some songs, its the singing behind the beat that really gets on my wick. I don't even know what the point of doing that is. I had a blast on the night but it does not come across well on TV at all. That version of 505 they are doing is terrible.

That part is something I'm still puzzled by. I don't object to bands changing their songs when they play them live but that first half of 505 especially just doesn't do it for me. Lacks so much of the emotional weight of the original. I didn't rate it when I saw them in person a month or so ago, and it absolutely went down as well as I thought it did with the Glastonbury TV/streaming crowd.

I don't think the sing-behind-the-beat thing is as bad as some people make out but it's more noteworthy on some songs than others.

[FloorFiller]

20 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Will say tbf that clips I saw from their set at Werchter sounded better than Glastonbury. Part of me is tempted to ponder if Glasto was an off night, though what a place to have one.

Watching their set on the beeb I could definitely tell Alex’s voice/throat hadn’t fully recovered which might’ve lead to a bit of unease, but I also think that even the biggest acts can be thrown off by the enormity of Glastonbury, especially when it comes to British acts. Probably doesn’t help that there are always such ridiculous expectations surrounding Glastonbury headline sets - all the talk of old songs being brought back and them having an orchestra etc - when they clearly were just happy to trot out their standard set and it just fell a bit flat.