Arctic Monkeys: Arabella in Alpharetta
As the lights dimmed and the fog started to pump from both stage left and right, it's no wonder the rush of adrenaline and nostalgia overtook a sold-out Ameris Bank Amphitheatre as the Arctic Monkeys took stage on Monday, September 11. With the crowd warmed up by none other than Fontaines D.C., a night of ear-pounding and boot-shaking rock and roll was only going to be a success just north of Atlanta.
The first song up for the Monkeys? None other than “Do I Wanna Know?” Once the iconic guitar riff ripped into the speakers of the amphitheater, you could feel the excitement. Lead singer Alex Turner then kept the party going, leading straight into “Brainstorm” as the crowd was still collectively catching their breaths from what can only be described as icons living. “Arabella in Alpharetta — Let’s give it a go.” Turner croons into the mic before rolling back the years to 2013 with the band’s hit, “Arabella”. At this point, you could safely say the Monkeys weren’t the only band members on display — There were about 12,000 backup vocalists right there with them.
With all of the nostalgia-clad music and aesthetics on display, it’s only fitting that the boys get “the new stuff” in, right? After all, this tour is in promotion of their newest LP, The Car. Fear not, because as the setlist continued to roll on, specs of the band’s modern side showed bright with songs like “Star Treatment” and “Sculptures of Anything Goes”. With all of that said, nothing can compare to the closing verse of “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” where, quite literally, a massive mirrorball descended on the stage, illuminating the entire amphitheater in spectacular fashion.
At this part in the evening, just about anything the band played would be met with a deafening cheer from “one of the best crowds so far”, according to Turner. Continuing to bounce back and forth between the classics like “Knee Socks” and “Do Me A Favour”, a grand finale was in order, which for Arctic Monkeys found in their single “Body Paint” from the newest LP. Following a nearly six-minute instrumental jam session of the song’s closing verse, the band was received with one of the largest cheers I have personally ever experienced at a live event. As the lights dimmed on the stage, the crowd let the band know they wanted more, and that’s exactly what they got, with an encore with even more classics in “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” and “R U Mine?”
With all things considered, there was simply no way Arctic Monkeys could fail at this stage in their career. With a catalog of both classics and even more classics, the band simply knows how to work a crowd on technical ability alone. Pair that with the undeniable crooning nature of a lead in Alex Turner and you get Sheffield’s finest in the Arctic Monkeys. ♦
