ARCTIC MONKEYS PROVE THAT ROCK 'N' ROLL IS NOT DEAD

I remember the first time I heard Arctic Monkeys. It was 2004 and I was deployed to Kuwait. Like every other night for six months–after work, chow and the gym–Pat Quinn, Anthony Black and I were sitting in my corner of our tent playing NCAA Football on the PlayStation and listening to BBC’s Radio 1. While trash-talking and planning to visit each other’s hometowns when we returned stateside, a rusty-sounding, ascending guitar riff and a staccato drum beat stopped us in our tracks. Someone had given the show’s host a demo of ‘I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor’ on a burnt CD. Remember those? I was hooked. And also bummed that their first album wouldn’t be released for almost two years after that night.

Arctic Monkeys have become one of the biggest bands and my favorite band. The four lads from Sheffield, England, stormed into Merriweather Post Pavilion on Thursday for the 11th stop on their sold-out North American tour. It was the first tour on this side of the pond in nearly six years.

The morning before the show, I woke up and checked my email before getting out of bed to let the dogs out and saw that the publicist approved my request to cover the show. I almost screamed out loud before remembering my girlfriend was still fast asleep beside me. I did, however, wake her up immediately to tell her. Instead of griping about being woken up, she yelled, “Hell yeah, Babe!” Because that’s the incredible person she is. My biggest cheerleader.

But I digress.

I made plans with my cousin, Dirk, to meet at The Holy Hound for a beer and a bite to eat before heading down I-83. The rainstorm that followed us down the road beat on the windshield like it was Matt Helders playing “Brianstorm.” The harder the rain fell, the later our ETA became. Thankfully, parking at Merriweather is super easy–and apparently free.

Fontaines D.C. Open the Show

We made it just in time for Fontaines D.C.

I was excited to get there and see Fontaines D.C. because my colleague, David, said they are the best rock ‘n’ roll band in ages. I had listened to their albums and to say the least, I was underwhelmed. But I know from experience that sometimes albums don’t accurately portray how good a band really is. That is the case with Fontaines D. C.

The group from Dublin, Ireland, was full of energy and lead singer Grian Chatten knows how to put on a show. Bounding from one side of the stage to the other, Chatten’s energy was contagious. Stopping and facing the crowd, he delivered the literary lyrics the band is known for with his signature stance of leaning towards the crowd, microphone in his right hand, and left hand behind his back.

After seeing their live performance, I will give the albums another listen.

In between sets, I met up with my best friend, Justin, who was there with his 13-year-old daughter. Justin is the only person I know that is a bigger Arctic Monkeys fan than I am and this was his daughter’s first ever concert. She is also a huge Monkeys fan. While we were talking between the sets, she was growing increasingly anxious to get back to their seats.

“We can’t miss them coming on stage. It’s Alex Turner!”

Arctic Monkeys Merriweather — Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys at Merriweather Post Pavillion 9-7-23

Apparently she wasn’t the only teenage girl that swooned over the lead singer. I was surprised at the amount of younger people in attendance. I mean, this band started almost 20 years ago and used MySpace to grow their audience. Most people there weren’t even alive when Tom was everyone’s first friend. But they all knew every word to every song. I was impressed.

The guys from Northern England took the stage at 9:15 and started the show with a rousing, energetic version of “Brianstom.” The energy didn’t wane for the next hour and a half.

Touching every album in their discography, the crowd screamed louder every time they started a new song.

Towards the end of the set, they played “There Better Me a Mirrorball” off the latest album, The Car. After which, a large mirrorball descended from the rafters and cast tiny lights over the entire audience. Alex said to the crowd, “Get it?” And then went into “505,” which drew the night’s loudest ovation.

The set concluded with “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” and “R U Mine.”

And then came my “favorite” part of any concert. The preplanned encore. Ugh.

“Suck It and See,” “Do I Wanna Know,” and “Body Paint,” in which the boys played an extended instrumental outro that, for me, was one of the highlights of the night.

I have seen Arctic Monkeys 5 times now and it’s wild to see how far they’ve come. The first time I saw them was in 2009 at the Electric Factory in Philly in front of 2,000 people and this night, they played to a crowd of 20,000. Many of whom weren’t even in kindergarten in 2009.

Sorry David, to me, Arctic Monkeys are the best rock ‘n’ roll band in ages.