Arctic Monkeys @ Webster Hall, NYC 3/25/06
You won't find a superlative here. No hint of condescension either. Half of you want to see this band panned, the other to hear why Arctic Monkeys are the biggest things in Britain since Oasis. Or The Beatles. Or Jesus. And I'd be glad to play on your expectations, but my edict is utterly anti-climactic: Arctic Monkeys are a good band that put on a fun show at Webster Hall Saturday night. Nothing more. Nothing less. Like the band's first-ever US gig Scott caught at Mercury Lounge in November.
Though the group's super-hype status is a simple consequence of the Internet's hall of mirrors, there's reason for the clamor. Alex Turner, the brashly alluring lead Monkey, wields his snarky charm in incisive stares from stage, stoically hinting at vulnerability beyond his perfunctory detachment. There's that voice, affected with cocky Sheffield sneer, and there are his lyrics, speaking to suburban British youth in a way Yanks will never fully grasp. And though he has penned a few crowd-moving gems, the only extraordinary thing about the band is the manner in which they've captured the Anglo-adolescent imagination.
Saturday night's performance was enjoyable and spirited, then. Despite a demonstrative audience and a strong presence of chanting ex-pats, the crowd was tame in light of the riotous enthusiasm of last year's Bowery gig. With my focus on stage, I saw a poised band move through a brisk set of its spiky garage rock. While "Mardy Bum" had us singing and "Dancing Shoes" had us stomping, the lulls in the Monkeys' set were evident this time around. I joined the fray for "Fake Tales of San Francisco," I joined the chants for "Love Machine," but I never chimed into the unrequited pleas for an encore.
Walking out of Webster, 11th Street rife with opinions and interjections, I offered a thought on the band's circumstantial stateside success: the UK kids have spoken, so we're all listening. USA Today claims a new UK rock invasion is upon us ("Brits keep strumming ... Yanks keep succumbing"). Though nothing epic, Saturday night's blokes brought enough juice to justify the interest. Expectations are a bitch. Arctic Monkeys are holding their own.
Hit Village Indian for a few more of my pics.
Posted at 3:30 PM
Tags: Arctic Monkeys
Holding their own in the blizzard of hype is an achievement. Great comments on the performance.
Score = 0
I wish I could pull off their hairstyle.
Score = 0
The really show was amazing.
As for the British (Re)Invasion... is that the same damn British Invasion that they've been predicting for the last five years that never really happens because the big English rock bands never manage to sell any albums in the States? I think it might be.
Score = 0
Wankers are well-known for their ability to "hold their own".
Seriously though, I neither like nor dislike this band. They just seem like yet another act that the Brits go crazy for one week, and forget the next. Anyone remember "Gay Dad"?
Score = 0
I think it's important that, when another person likes something, to tell them they are wrong.
Otherwise, the terrorists win.
Score = 0
who. cares. i mean... another boygroup that rips off a (mediocre) band from 3 years ago that ripped of bands from like 20 y ago.
"I wish I could pull off their hairstyle."??! i hope that was irony...
Score = 0
I saw them at 9:30 club last night. I loved the 50 min set and no encore. I'll see them again for sure if it can still be in a small venue with more songs in their repertoire.
Score = 0
"cockney-by-way-of-Sheffield" !?
What do you think you mean by that exactly?
The guy has a Sheffield accent, simple as. Is our laughable stereotype of you guys actually true? Is London the only town Americans are aware of? Does every analogy based on our country have to be paired with the obligitory 'Cockney' tag for your readers to be able comprehendwhat you are saying...or are you just a lazy journalist? All pertinant questions.
Score = 0
you blockhead, do you realize they only have album worth of material. what do you want them to do play i bet you look good on the dance floor, twice ? like oasis was cajoled into doing with rock n roll star on their first us tour here in 94. as much i wanted to dislike them i don't. a certain romance is one of the best songs you will hear this year and while their debut may not be as good as definitely maybe or is this it ? it is a solid record.
Score = 0
Joey Headset, some of us will never scrub the majesty of Gay Dad from our tiny little minds. Like the third best band fronted by a failed music journalist ever!
To Earth With Love!
Score = 0
It is funny how critical American journalists are of foreign talent. Maybe if America produced more relevant, innovative bands there would be no need for jealous, sarcastic remarks about non-American ones. Plus, I second Chrish's comment haha
Score = 0
good band...
horrible name...
butwhoreallygivesafuckit'sonlyrocknroll...right?
Score = 0
I saw them in Philly a few nights ago. I really liked the set and I really didn't notice any "lulls." The crowd was into every song and it was a great time.
Score = 0
“Cockney” is a term that can refer to an East Londoner.
East Londoners can be known to be boisterous and cocky.
Alex is from Sheffield.
Cocky + Cockney + Sheffield = modifying and informing the “sneer."
I’m not sure what the problem is?
Americans aren’t jealous dude, tho Brits are apparently sensitive.
Score = 0
as a graphic designer I enjoyed the show a great deal. The crowd was extra juicy during "From the Ritz to the Rubble" singing along to the opening bit...
Score = 0
"cockney-by-way-of-Sheffield" !?
What do you think you mean by that exactly?
The guy has a Sheffield accent, simple as."
Remind me to go apeshit the next time a British person refers to a Long Island accent as a "New York accent."
That kind of thing is totally worth getting mad about.
Score = 0
I though the show was amazing! I had a blast, and I loved how energized the whole crowd seemed to be.
I agree fully with Mark's post. I am a LI-er and have been trying my damndest to lose the accent since I was in 8th grade!
Score = 0
Sheffield is a great little city, where else can you get a better late night kebab than the wicker? or a trip to the Balti King? ...but the Arctic Monkey's suck! They're just confused, they think they're from Williamsburg except they're not and they suck.
Score = 0
i wish they had played riot van.
Score = 0
Anyone else notice how much this kid looks like the guy from The Vines? Same hair-in-the-face-but-not-quite, same slack-jawed stare, same complexion.
maybe it's just me.
Score = 0
he got a new guitar :(
Score = 0
" Anyone remember "Gay Dad"?"
I love how you pulled that out of nowhere. I laughed so much I almost shat a lung.
Score = 0
" Anyone remember "Gay Dad"?"
I love how you pulled that out of nowhere. I laughed so much I almost shat a lung.
Score = 0
chrish and joe m need to blow it our their ass. americans aren't aware of the intricacies of british linguistic geography. why would they be? but we all got what v.i. was saying. and i'm not even american.
regardless, arctic monkeys blow. people should be lobbying for a deportation order rather than debating reviews of their performances.
oh and the gay dad reference? genius. i would have gone with reef myself, but gay dad was spot on. ha ha.
Score = 0
Beetlebum. I know they only have one album-ish worth of music. I wasn't being sarcastic you twat. I LIKED the 50-min set. That's what I said. I liked it! And I said I would see them again if they pass through DC - if it can still be in a small venue like 930. That's all I'm saying.
But if they were to take my suggestions: play a cover, talk to the audience, take one song out of the 45 min set and play a one song encore.
Score = 0
"cockney-by-way-of-Sheffield" !?
What do you think you mean by that exactly?
The guy has a Sheffield accent, simple as."
Remind me to go apeshit the next time a British person refers to a Long Island accent as a "New York accent."
No, "Cockney-by-way-of Sheffield" would be like saying "Massachusetts-by-way-of Little Rock".
Score = 0
Don't get hung up on the cockney comment.... you all are overlooking one of the most over-written sentences ever.
"Alex Turner, the brashly alluring lead Monkey, wields his snarky charm in incisive stares from stage, stoically hinting at vulnerability beyond his perfunctory detachment."
That's a joke, right? Who writes about a rock show like that? Incisive stare? snarky charm? perfunctory detachment?
Did the writer just string words together until he got a sentence that sounded "incisive"?
Score = 0
I just don't understand what all the fuss is regarding the artic monkeys, but anything that keeps people away from shit I like is a-okay by me.
Score = 0
I was at the we are scientists show in seattle last night at the crocidile, and the arctic monkeys were there for the show and nobody noticed them. Alex even came on stage to play guitar for keith, but the band only dedicated the song to the individuals in the band (never once did they say the arctic monkeys were there). the funniest part of the night was when we are scientists told the crowd to stay for the arctic monkeys show tomorrow (at the same venue), and the whole place exploded in cheers, little did they know the monkeys were right behind them the whole time.
Score = 0
Haha. These comments are hilarious. Okay, so I was at the show on Saturday, and I enjoyed. Well framed recap, great thoughts on the band's status vis a vis the insane hype. Good band, not my favourite. Incisive insightfulness.
Score = 0
"Anyone else notice how much this kid looks like the guy from The Vines? Same hair-in-the-face-but-not-quite, same slack-jawed stare, same complexion."
lol I was thinking the exact same thing! Those pictures confuse me sometimes...
Anyways, Arctic Monkeys rock.... saw 'em open for Oasis last week in Toronto. Would've been nice to see them at a smaller venue though.
Score = 0
Sounds like another great show. Can't wait to get back into the city.
Score = 0
There's only one band from Sheffield for me: Def Leppard!
Score = 0
this Yank fully grasps it......the artcic monkeys kick it up! the rest of the US will follow suit soon enough, if they haven't already. this band is a keeper.
Score = 0
don't believe the backlash (or the snarky, hipster comments by bored 20/30 somethings who think they know everything but in reality are clueless).
the arctic monkeys are IT. period. end of story.
oasis? pure shit. and there isn't an american band that can hold alex turner's dirty underwear. not a ONE. not from brooklyn, not from ANYWHERE this side of the atlantic. and that holds true for any canadien band as well.
the arctic monkeys can stop recording right now and they will have acheived a musical greatness that others can only dream of and scheme for.
the arctic monkeys are not 'good' or 'ok.' although solidly rooted in their punk past, they are light years ahead of any other band making 'rock' music today. this is apparent to anyone who has a knowledge of music history and knows something about LYRICS and chords.
but the haters and fence straddlers are soooooo amusing i just laugh at their ignorance. debating british accents? that's gold - pure gold!
Score = 0
Re: the more embittered and sniping parts of the thread: quit with the passive-aggressive shit, please. While biased perhaps because I happen to hail from the UK and yes, from Sheffield – respect the Brit rock revival, the renaissance, and save the disparaging (and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) for your bedrooms. Face it – Arctic Monkeys are clearly too cool for school. Time to catch up and admit what hurts, folks.
Score = 0
Must destroy the band. Imperative.
Must not disrupt the current chart which currently consists of...
Best recent US act..............
The hype followed the band. They haven't sold the numbers they have because of indifference to their music.
PS why are American crowds absolute shit. Are they too fat or are they just self conscious.
Score = 0
forgotten a week later?! oh how wrong you all were. this band have set a landmark in music history in the uk at least. if in america they arent appreciated because the american youth cannot (understandably) relate to their music the way the british youth can. then they should at least respect what the arctic monkeys have done in their own country and amongst their peers. for once the phrase "voice of a generation" actually applies in the case of alex turner. when you understand the slang and the accent and the referrences you realise that every line creates a poetic and insightfull representation of british youth culture without romanticising or condemning it, he's just saying 'this is what i know, lifes a bit monotonous, we drink too much, we get turned away from crappy clubs by bouncers on power trips, we might have a little scuffle and tell our mates about it the next day to make life a bit more interesting, kids roam the streets bored and wind up the police to pass the time etc etc but its quite nice at times too' and a whole nation listened and said 'yeah, we know exactly what you mean. its like you're singing about my life, but f****ing hell, we didnt know you could make the mundane sound that bloody good!'
there is no way the arctic monkeys will ever be forgotten in the uk. they have the adoration of a whole country. they did from the start and they still do well after the release of their second album. just look at their glastonbury performance earlier this summer on youtube and you'll see what i mean, thousands and thousands of people singing every word, every chord, intro, sequence and beat of every song as if they'd written them themselves and these four guys on stage going sh*t! how did this happen?! thanks very much! now its easy to see how they will not be as successful in the states because they will not be able to touch people over there the way they did here but show some respect for the fact that this band was able to do what probably no band was previously able to do and that was to unite people from all walks of life and in a very short amount of time seem to have defined a whole new era in british music. now no matter how much you say this is all hype you cannot argue with a whole nation who says its not, you just dont understand what they are saying like we do. if it was hype, you're right it would have been over within a week but its just getting stronger. seriously, check out their glastonbury videos. you might not be able to see what it is but you will not be able to deny there is something very special about these lads xxx
Score = 0
there is something very very special about any band who can do this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBMSa77jleE
and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvzy_ubmr8I
and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ySuWBIglI
and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kbNko-4-4w
Score = 0