Payne's Pretzels

Rating:

SITTING IN THE STANDS of the sports arena, the atmosphere emanating from the eleven thousand people present was electric. Arctic Monkeys have a certain prestige among the residents of the North East. The songs from their first two albums have become local anthems and this transpires to be the reason the audience shelled out their pennies.

The music started with a crawl, rather than a bang. Traditional red stage curtains revealed the band in full swing with The Jeweller’s Hands, from their hotly-debated album Humbug. Immediately noticeable was the lighting and stage set. Video screens, impressive lighting, smoke machines and strobes show, they haven’t taken this change upwards to arenas too lightly. Brainstorm kicked in soon after and it was easy to tell where their true talents lie. Following some well received cuts from their first album, the first epic moment came with I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor. It was at this moment the vibrations from the standing pit at the front shook throughout the whole arena.

Soon after, we are traveled back to the slower world of Humbug. The three most accessible songs – Potion Approaching, My Propeller and Crying Lightning followed. The latter two tracks almost had the crowd singing and jumped along as well as any track from their latter works. The show started to loose a little direction, with one new cut following another and no one sure of whether to jump, sing or stare. When The Sun Goes Down came soon after and a beautiful mass sing along ensued. The encore of Fluorescent Adolescent and 505 brought the show to an end with 505 ending where they began – moody and atmospheric.


Regardless of whether you appreciate their new sound or direction, it was a fantastic show. With the young and energetic audience loving every moment, their enjoyment was infectious. The band nearly fell into the trap musicians teeter over by playing too many new and unknown tracks. Where Sheffield’s favourite musicians head next is anyone’s guess, but for now, they can still provide an excellent evening of rock and roll that highlights both where they can excel.

Originally published in Palatinate Issue 713