She's Thunderstorms
Brianstorm
This House Is a Circus
Still Take You Home
Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair
Pretty Visitors
Teddy Picker
Crying Lightning
Reckless Serenade
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
Potion Approaching
Brick by Brick
If You Were There, Beware
Do Me a Favour
Cornerstone
That's Where You're Wrong
===
The View from the Afternoon
The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
Fluorescent Adolescent
Holy hell was this crowd violent. I'm a firm believer that a good crowd can really elevate a live show (and, likewise, a dead crowd can deflate it just as easily), but what I experienced at the Electric Factory a couple of days ago was just too much. We got in line early to secure a good spot in the pit, and as soon as the show started, people from the back of the venue began shoving their way forward, crushing us against the barricade. We could barely breathe, and everyone in the entire front half of the pit had to spend the first few songs knocking each other around rather than, say, enjoying the music.
I get that roughness comes with the territory when you've got an enthusiastic crowd at a sold-out show in a small venue, but a girl I got shoved into during "Brianstorm" came very close to getting completely knocked down, which, in a situation like this, is pretty scary. The crowd was brutal to a fault.
Thankfully, it didn't last too long. Knowing I wouldn't enjoy myself if this kept up, I began forcing my way to the right and eventually back a bit, and by the time the Arctic Monkeys finished their third song, I began enjoying myself. If you were on the floor, this was always going to be a tight, exhausting and disgustingly sweaty show, but the crowd's energy really elevated some of the Monkeys' most enjoyable songs, provided it wasn't a life-or-death scenario (which, being up front, it certainly felt like).
The Monkeys themselves sounded excellent live, and while they didn't have an extravagant set or even a particularly lively stage presence, some great setlist choices and the rowdy atmosphere made it a memorable show. Frenetic stuff like "The View from the Afternoon" had the entire crowd jumping and screaming along in unison, while the slow-burning buildup and release of "Crying Lightning" was a pleasure to witness. The band's few subdued songs, particularly the wonderful "Cornerstone," gave us a chance to cool down and provided me with a few opportunities to snap some decent pictures.
The crowd was ludicrously responsive to virtually every song, save for some of the new stuff that the weren't familiar with. (The two new songs that have been officially released, "Don't Sit Down..." and "Brick by Brick," might as well have been old favorites for the way they got the audience going.) About halfway through the show, some people cleared out a space in the middle of the floor and starting a legit mosh pit -- the polite kind, where people can jump in and slam into each other and anyone who doesn't want any part in it can stand aside and watch the band. And I'm not gonna lie: I joined in when the Monkeys played "Fluorescent Adolescent," my favorite track of theirs and the last song of the night.
If I have a complaint about the band's performance, it's that they didn't play enough songs from their first album. I was definitely pulling for "A Certain Romance," and some people near me started a chant for "Mardy Bum," to which I joined in. It was made even more puzzling by some strange selections from Favourite Worst Nightmare, though I was incredibly happy that "Do Me a Favour" was played.
When I was struggling for breathing space at the beginning of the show, I had the crushing feeling that it would ruin the entire experience for me, but I left the show glad that I'd opted out of sitting on the balcony. Took a few songs for the crowd to, erm, "settle down," but for the following hour, it was a great place to be. Here's a video of their performance of "Fluorescent Adolescent." (The T-shirt Alex is wearing is the same one they were selling. If you think seeing an Arctic Monkeys logo emblazoned with an American flag looks weird, you're not the only one.)
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