#bks18

The concert: Arctic Monkeys, Stage One on Friday June 8th The audience: Everyone. Except for those twenty people who were watching Sudan Archives instead. Was it good: It was hard for a large field, but definitely very good. The song: Not really a new song, but a recent one at that: yearning track ‘Do I Wanna Know?’

When Arctic Monkeys first hit BKS’ Stage One in 2013, the band was at a major turning point in its career. Those timid acne-covered boys whose musical performances were better than their looks could hold were blown into the past with one gig. Now suddenly the stage was holding a band with a direction, willing to perform. It was their best show on Dutch ground, though their setlist contained more songs from their first two albums. In the meantime, Arctic Monkeys have released two more albums to support the new vibe, a new stage of life. But this also means that their much praised older songs feel a bit uneasy.

Tonight, their most energetic songs are begin played right at the start. Right after their latest single ‘Four Out Of Five’ floorbangers ‘Brianstorm’ and ‘I Bet You look Good On The Dancefloor’ are being played; songs that make you urgently want to throw your beer up and hug all of your friends. But after that raging start the tempo slows down and we see a whole new band in its glory. Alex Turner in a loose-fitted black suit, with long hair, a goatee and a pair of great sunglasses which smoothly disappear into his pocket after a couple of songs. 

In the past, Turner used to be a sly observer of a rowdy beer-throwing crowd in a pub; now he’s quietly sipping his Martini in the back of the bar. He also used to write songs as the quickest of Britpop – a man speeding faster than his own shadow; now he’s becoming the untouchable gangster who lets others do his dirty work for him. And there he is, in the Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino, with a stack of poker chips in front of him. ‘What do you mean you’ve never seen Bladerunner?’ he snarls. Unapproachable as he is, he’s still able to tempt and desire if he wants to. 

The middle of the set doesn’t overwhelm or take you to some other place. But there’s definitely a lot of dynamics in this sequence of songs. There is a yearning romance in ‘Cornerstone’, sexy soul in ‘Knee Socks’ and the undeniable stubbornness of ‘Arabella’ where a slight crooner-like verse crosses paths with a Led Zeppelin-like solo. Turner even puts his sunglasses back on for this moment, even though guitars never take the upperhand in this set. Instead the bass sounds much more convincing tonight, which is their way into pulling old songs in to the vibe of the new album. 

Nearly all the songs of fifth album AM fit in extremely well and the audience wholeheartedly agrees. And not only the singles. It’s a different case though with their new oeuvre, which is not just a bit too new to have settled enough, but also isn’t that dynamic. The songs on there are more introvert and distant than ever, though they do sound quite intriguing on stage after all.