Arctic Monkeys

[charlierc]

43 minutes ago, Monty Pythagoras said:

They set a very high bar in 2013 and thats the standard that anything they do will be compared to.

I think they got it wrong yesterday. I enjoyed it but the setlist should have been different to get in more classics.

I’m sure the people who I know who were there will have had a great time and thats what its all about at the end of the day really - having a sing song and a laugh with your mates. Who cares if it wasn’t as perfect as you’d hoped.

Tbf I'd seen people up the thread saying that having a laugh with friends and singing along was what they'd take away, and for a lot of people, that social side's just as good a guide for a good time.

2013 was superb but that was them in a different place, before they got the AM buzz and a whole new run of fans coming along for all the songs on there, let alone before the decision to pivot away altogether to what they did on TBHC/Car. Also curiously, much as I recall a lot of people slagging off Alex for being a wanabee Elvis on that cycle, he actually was doing quite a bit of crowd interaction. First time I saw AM in 2011, he was pretty talkative throughout, but seems to have gone back to being less so.

Given Mardy Bum and Fluorescent were not being played at shows earlier this year, could argue they at least brought those back. But I dunno - feels like they're destined in the UK to just be followed by a large group who want them to be as they were in 2007 again, and might well now have a secondary group who wish they were watching the 2013/14 version again. Even if they still did 6 AM songs.

[Andy0808 v5]

29 minutes ago, swede said:

2013 was an all timer for me, unbelievable set, I watched the encore with the strings right hand side of stage near the bar and it was just absolutely stunning, they really made it special. 
 

Fast forward ten years and watching it on tv it bored me to sleep. Where was the effort to top what they did 10 years ago, the effort to make it memorable and special, Jamie cook looked bored out of his mind at times, absolutely shocking

Think this is the same as me. They were my first ever Glasto headliner, and that 2013 set was just unbelievable.

 

It was the tour set list, nothing wheeled out for the occasion.

[VCK]

The thing is, Arctic Monkeys are going the way of Radiohead or the Gallaghers in that they could turn up and read Mein Kampf for an hour and a half and all the critics will gushing over how amazing it is. A classic example of emperor's new clothes syndrome.

[prestonmike]

6 minutes ago, VCK said:

The thing is, Arctic Monkeys are going the way of Radiohead or the Gallaghers in that they could turn up and read Mein Kampf for an hour and a half and all the critics will gushing over how amazing it is. A classic example of emperor's new clothes syndrome.

I've just googled reviews of last nights show and most of the critics are hailing how amazing it was, i guess its all a matter of opinion, it seems you either loved it or hated it, most seemed to hate it but the hardcore fans loved it

[efcfanwirral]

3 minutes ago, prestonmike said:

I've just googled reviews of last nights show and most of the critics are hailing how amazing it was, i guess its all a matter of opinion, it seems you either loved it or hated it, most seemed to hate it but the hardcore fans loved it

Pretty much sums it up. I probably just live in the past, there's not much else to say than that really. I was bored. 

What have they done to 505 also?? 

[FloorFiller]

Only a 4 star review from NME. They f**ked it. Worst set in Glastonbury history. It’s over.

[LMK]

28 minutes ago, charlierc said:

... then why bother? Ha. Surely a festival the size of Glastonbury has other options. It's not like Reading suddenly dispensing of its second stage and taking away the best option against the main stage headliner.

So stupid, literally hundreds of other places she could have been. She kept shouting abuse at Alex Turner as if he could hear her. 

[jonnyisRFC]

Just seen on twitter “if they slow this down anymore they’ll be headlining next year too” 😂

[VCK]

Their two most interesting albums were Humbug and Suck It And See, yet they are also their two most under appreciated albums that never fully got the recognition they deserved.

Their first two were fun but definitely sound a little dated now and very much like products of the time, that mid '00s era of indie. AM onwards has just been a total snoozefest.

[majormajormajor]

1 minute ago, VCK said:

Their two most interesting albums were Humbug and Suck It And See, yet they are also their two most under appreciated albums that never fully got the recognition they deserved.

Their first two were fun but definitely sound a little dated now and very much like products of the time, that mid '00s era of indie. AM onwards has just been a total snoozefest.

Tranquility Base is their best, IMO. I love all of their albums. Humbug runs a close second, but they're pretty interchangeable for me.

When you say snoozefest, how many times did you listen to Tranquility Base and The Car? Just curious!

[roughbloke]

1 hour ago, DTichborne said:

I loved the Gorillaz set a few years back, only to see bad reviews for it afterwards because it wasn't wall to wall bangers. Seems like the same has happened here. 

Maintain the gorillas headline set was the worst I’ve ever seen on pyramid. 

[VCK]

4 minutes ago, majormajormajor said:

Tranquility Base is their best, IMO. I love all of their albums. Humbug runs a close second, but they're pretty interchangeable for me.

When you say snoozefest, how many times did you listen to Tranquility Base and The Car? Just curious!

I've listened to both a few times, and I really wanted to like them, especially Tranquility Base because it has received comparisons to This Is Hardcore which is one of my all time favourite albums. But neither have clicked with me at all.

[Ryan1984]

Odd how Foo Fighters drawing out songs and changing them up so they sound different to on record is amazing but when AM do it, it’s destroying their career. Could the change in vocal style be due to age/singing lessons etc? I remember James Dean Bradfield changing his style to protect his for the future.

[yaniv297]

OK, a disclaimer: I don't like Arctic Monkeys, I've seen them on the AM tour and was bored to death, I think they're one of the most overrated bands alive. I also didn't watch their Glastonbury set, live or on TV.

That being said, going off the setlist only I really don't see the complaints about "not playing enough classics"? Literally each one of their top 10 Spotify songs were played. Playing 4 tunes from their newest record is the pretty standard amount. They only played 1 tune each from "Tranquility" and "Suck it", which people don't like, and they are both the most popular songs from those.

I mean, I guess they could have had "When the Sun Goes Down" in there, but it's also silly to expect them to play a set based on their first album when they were teenagers. Maybe it didn't go down well in person, but setlist seems pretty fine to me.

[Nestacres]

I enjoyed it tbh. Wasn't as mind-blowing as 2013 bit more energetic than Reading last year. Better than i expected after that. 

[Andy0808 v5]

Always makes me happy that I’m not alone in thinking Humbug and SIAS are two great pieces of work. 
Most of my pals don’t agree.

[Drums Please Fab]

1 hour ago, yaniv297 said:

OK, a disclaimer: I don't like Arctic Monkeys, I've seen them on the AM tour and was bored to death, I think they're one of the most overrated bands alive. I also didn't watch their Glastonbury set, live or on TV.

That being said, going off the setlist only I really don't see the complaints about "not playing enough classics"? Literally each one of their top 10 Spotify songs were played. Playing 4 tunes from their newest record is the pretty standard amount. They only played 1 tune each from "Tranquility" and "Suck it", which people don't like, and they are both the most popular songs from those.

I mean, I guess they could have had "When the Sun Goes Down" in there, but it's also silly to expect them to play a set based on their first album when they were teenagers. Maybe it didn't go down well in person, but setlist seems pretty fine to me.

Seeing the tracks written on the setlist doesn't tell the full story.

They slowed most of their songs down. Even the old ones. The crowd couldn't sing with him. They were overtaking him. It was disconnected and staccato. Self Indulgent really...

There was no "Mr Brightside" moment.

I love them. For me humbug is their magnum opus and I still listen to them daily. The live version of body paint they did in Tokyo is superb on YouTube. Alex gives it plenty of welly. I like their new stuff, but they misread the room.

Alex was making one word comments like "astonishing" between songs. It was either smart arsed irony at lack of crowd engagement or some other weird banter.

The band looked disinterested. 

I found it all quite odd

Edited June 24, 2023 by Drums Please Fab

[T-Mouse]

Setlist wasn't really the issue. That lack of any kind of stage presence was significant. Barely any interaction with the crowd. The occasional "Tremendous". "Fantastic". Dull as dishwater for the most part. Gutted I didn't do hot chip

[charlierc]

36 minutes ago, Andy0808 v5 said:

Always makes me happy that I’m not alone in thinking Humbug and SIAS are two great pieces of work. 
Most of my pals don’t agree.

I think Humbug is one of their best 3 albums at least (I'm cold on Fire and the Thud, and would've had Catapult on instead). Indeed I have said elsewhere I'd have loved to been at a gig they did at Shepherds Bush in early 2010 when they only played that in full and then an encore of all the B-sides.

Suck it and See feels like a forgotten record almost given they hadn't even finished the tour for it when they were throwing out Evil Twin, which feels like a gateway to AM, and R U Mine, which is literally on AM itself. But when I do go back and re-listen, it's polished, the melodies are strong and the lyrics are good. It's kind of a forgotten one imo given AM then followed and changed the chat altogether.

[Furq]

Another nail in the coffin of guitar bands as headliners?

All eyes on GnR...

 

 

 

[charlierc]

13 minutes ago, T-Mouse said:

Setlist wasn't really the issue. That lack of any kind of stage presence was significant. Barely any interaction with the crowd. The occasional "Tremendous". "Fantastic". Dull as dishwater for the most part. Gutted I didn't do hot chip

I guess it depends what one is looking for. I've been to gigs before where the band have looked at the crowd partway through and gone "Oh yeah, you're still here" and still enjoyed it. Some acts work better in "Shut up and play" mode. Though I do enjoy the esoteric nature of shouting adjectives at random.

It is a strange one tbf that Turner did more interaction in the 2013 set and the reaction to that was just full of Twitter going "Look at him trying so hard to be Elvis - painful!" then doing more minimal and going "Talk more ffs!"

I did enjoy the mock bowling during Pretty Visitors' bridge, then panicking halfway through that he wasn't gonna get back to the mic in time and trying to use Nick's mic that, as it turns out, was off so needed a panicking soundman to restore it.

[Homersexual]

Maybe I don't actually like Arctic Monkeys as much as I thought I did. Maybe they just remind me of a particular time of my life. They peaked at Favourite Worst Nightmare for me, so I think that says a lot.

[FloorFiller]

Just now, Homersexual said:

Maybe I don't actually like Arctic Monkeys as much as I thought I did. Maybe they just remind me of a particular time of my life. They peaked at Favourite Worst Nightmare for me, so I think that says a lot.

I think this is the case for a lot of people tbh. When people think of Arctics, a lot of them are still thinking of those first two albums and the wave of hype that was surrounding them, whereas the current Arctics couldn’t be further from that and clearly have no desire to replicate it in any way, so much so that they more or less butcher that material live by playing slowed down versions with Alex keeping up his crooner voice.
 

It’s no surprise that a lot of people left that performance disappointed as I think a lot of people are still expecting the 2007 version of the band to be on stage, forgetting that they’ve released five albums since, four of which weren’t exactly well received by a lot of fans when they were first released. Imagine telling people when Humbug was released that that material is an absolute banger fest compared to what will come a decade later. 

[Lubic]

1 hour ago, Andy0808 v5 said:

Always makes me happy that I’m not alone in thinking Humbug and SIAS are two great pieces of work. 
Most of my pals don’t agree.

I loved Suck It and See, and it felt like a natural evolution of what had come before.  A nice jangly summer record, and I really like Alex's vocals during this period.  Don Valley 2011 was my favourite Arctics gig - setlist was flawless.

Favourite album alternates between that and FWN depending on my mood. 

[Benjsh]

50 minutes ago, Furq said:

Another nail in the coffin of guitar bands as headliners?

All eyes on GnR...

 

 

 

A balance is needed. If it turns into Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift types every single year it will get stale that way too. 

I love the Monkeys and saw them two weeks ago and it was great. Last night it just didn't work. But too self indulgent but also him not being well can't have helped. Still 2 out of 3 times they have played they have been class. More than lots of bands can say.