Sound: Overall the sound was pretty good except on a few songs. I had previously seen the Monkeys at the Metro a few months earlier so I knew what to expect. You could easily hear all instruments and Alex's singing throughout the entire concert. Alex's singing was dead on the entire night as it always is. // 9
Perfomance: The audience was very much into every song of the night except for maybe "The Jeweler's Hands". The lighting and effects all night were very well planned out. A few moments the lights maybe could have been less on the crowd, nobody wants to spend long amounts of time in the light at a concert! There was tons of jumping and crowd surfing going on even through the slower songs. Below I'm not even going to mention how they played each song because they rarely make mistakes live. Of course there were funny Alex Turner lines in between songs and even cheers the crowd with his 40.
01. Dance Little Liar: wasn't too excited about this being the first song but ended up being one of the highlights of the night at the end. Song starts off slow but ends with great intensity and was a good segway to the faster paced songs to come.
02. Brianstorm: always great Live. Really got the crowd going.
03. This House Is A Circus: crowd favorite, well done.
04. Still Take You Home: changed the way they play this song but still was a great flash of old Monkeys style. Nobody likes to play the same thing forever.
05. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor: made a comment that referenced the Metro concert. At Metro few months earlier before this song Alex said something about how he doesn't "even want to talk about it" before they play this song. Obviously one of the most exciting songs of the night.
06. Potion Approaching: more of a favorite from the new album, crowd seemed to really enjoy it and they played it flawlessly.
07. My Propeller: it surprised me how excited the entire crowd was for this more mellow sounding song. Overall, definitely better Live sounding than on the record.
08. Crying Lightening: quickly becoming a huge fan favorite and got a great response from the crowd.
09. Pretty Visitors: another favorite from the new album. Intense song and you can tell the band loves playing it.
10. The Jeweller's Hands: least favorite song on the album and the liver performance didn't do anything to help it. Some sound issues also during the song. Maybe the bass was too loud? Anyways, least favorite song of the night and the crowd wasn't feeling it either.
11. Red Right Hand (Nick Caves cover): another favorite of the band. Wasn't expecting this song to be played because they have fazed this song out of their set list as of late. All red lights for this one obviously.
12. The View From The Afternoon: another early favorite and the crowd was into it. Alex changed his middle solo's during the song. See Live videos for examples.
13. Cornerstone: the new single from the boys, was actually played slower than the record.
14. Fluorescent Adolescent: may have gotten the biggest cheers from the crowd as they started this one. Lots of crowd interaction and had a changed middle part which is how they do the song these days.
15. Secret Door: always sounds good Live, not much to say.
16. Do Me A Favour: good ending song before the Encore. Lots of intensity.
17. If You Were There, Beware: always an interesting Live song. Lots of breaks and different noises.
18. 505: although the song is now played in a different key, it still evokes the same response from the crowd. Great ending song as always. // 9
Impression: Riviera Theatre Chicago IL, USA. December 6th, 2009. Ticket Cost: $27.50. Opening band- Screaming Females.
What I loved about this show is what I love about every Arctic Monkeys show I have been to, the great songs. I wasn't too happy about some of the songs on the setlist (Jewelers Hands, Red Right Hand) but overall I had a good idea of what they were going to come out and play by looking at previous setlists from the tour. They are dead on with every song and I wouldn't expect anything less. There are some points where I wish they would keep all of the songs the same as they used to be but they make them more interesting now. Since there are multiple levels at the venue, there are tons of great viewing opportunities. One thing I don't like is during 505, Alex's new thing is to walk off the stage before the song is over because he is no longer playing guitar in the song.
The most unforgettable moment of the show for me was not anything at the show but meeting Alex after the show before he went on the tour bus. I had already seen them twice this year, once at the Metro in Chicago and then the next day at Lollapalooza. They had similar setlists so meeting him after and taking a few pictures was great. He was more than willing to sign autographs and take pictures. All in all, even though the most memorable part was meeting Alex face to face, nothing compares to the music. They played everything flawlessly as always. // 10
