In less than six months, the four unbelievably cool young Brits of Arctic Monkeys have garnered unprecedented buzz on both sides of the Atlantic. Their debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, sold an astounding 360,000 copies in its first week of U.K. release, and American music critics are slopping on the acclaim in a frenzy to up their hipster cred.
As the band gains momentum worldwide, it finds itself with an increasing amount of premature praise to prove and a multitude of cross-armed skeptics to convert.
Thursday night at the Paradise, the crowd lurched as Arctic Monkeys launched into “The View From The Afternoon” with blistering intensity and infectious vigor. Singer and guitarist Alex Turner is an affable and enigmatic frontman – strutting, soloing and bantering, sometimes comically, with the fans.
Stellar breakthrough single “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” pogoed at a hyper-active pace and “Dancing Shoes” sauntered seductively. The dueling vocals of Turner and drummer Matt Helders on the epically titled “You Probably Couldn’t See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me” solidified the band’s unique chemistry and added dimension to the thundering two-minute anthem.
The hyped-up band wasn’t the only thing at the Paradise with a buzz – the intoxicated crowd remained engaged in a weeklong St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Arctic Monkeys’ tales of rebellious youth and late nights resonated well with this particular audience, especially the belligerent shouts of “Still Take You Home.”
Fan favorite “Mardy Bum” slowed the otherwise high-speed, straightforward set, but “When the Sun Goes Down” amped up the pace as the band hit the pinnacle of its signature raw energy. After less than an hour onstage, Turner ‘ Co. closed with the strong bassline and sad-but-true commentary (“There’s only music/so that there’s new ringtones”) of “A Certain Romance.”
The band’s flawless live show proved that the album’s title couldn’t be farther from the truth – everything people are saying about Arctic Monkeys is absolutely true.
