20120127 ARCTIC MONKEYS @ MADRID (REVIEW)

COULD ANYONE ELSE BE SO ACCURATE? OF COURSE NOT!
After Touring Australia and leaving gradually previous setlist songs in the freezer, the Arctic Monkeys arrived to Spain with a hundred of gigs after releasing their 2011’s album ‘Suck It And See).
Preceded by an awesome supporting show by Miles Kane, the Monkeys started over with Don’t Sit down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair. Front man Alex Turner offer his most assertive pose and kept on going with Teddy Picker. The power of the themes themselves supported on their brilliant instrumental performances was patent during not their two first songs, as anyone can expect from any not-yet-everywhere-spread band. An example of this was their taking Crying Lightning beyond the sound of the studio.
Their compact post-punk, retro –rocker image (bassist exclude) made sense with their perfectly but slightly-high-tempoed performance. The Hellcat Spangled Shalala and Black Treacle gave oxygen to the attendants but not enough to relax up because the beat and the tempo would never let you do. Actually, guitarist Jamie Cook could hardly wait the first thirty minutes to take off his black leather rocker-style jacket (zips included!).
The Brainstorm came and explained loud and clear why tens of people where there spending Friday night. Now on the contrary The View From The Afternoon, I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor kept people on a high and dancing mood. Danceable guitars led now to Library Pictures as a via to a little ‘low’ in Evil Twin as compared to the previous electrical-shocking experience.
But if any dumb slept, drummer Matt Helders led the vocals as frontman and bassist Nick O’Malley went back vocaling Brick By Brick, which got everyone wide awake. Singer was able to show his skills as a guitarist with his black Gibson and without his twin black leather rocker-style jacket (yes, yeah, zips include just in case you wanted to know). We ‘missed’ Little Illusion Machine (Wirral Riddler) in the setlist, not in the venue or among the public, though. This House Is A Circus was in charge of keeping spirits high in an even-better-sounding kind of cover of their own song, where the drums and the guitars drove even more complexly and darker now than ever before.
Still Take You Home, guitars interlude included made even grandpas dance and bounce and after it Pretty Visitors, in which keyboarder John Ashton was introduced as leader took advantage of the wider support to leave his guitar and hold the microphone tight and act even more in a straight-forwarded way.
In She’s Thunderstorms and Do Me A Favour, those from the Arctic shed (off?) their best 6-stringed toys and used them in the ways only they could do. When The Sun Goes Down compared to the previous ones looked and sounded like in slow motion but really got everyone charmed as their first ‘bye’ arrived.
Three minutes after going stairs down backstage they came back, looking a bit more tired in Suck It And See. Non-as-veteran-in-setlists-as-the-previous song that perhaps should be reconsidered for banging the encore. Anyway, Fluorescent Adolescent came to the public as it is, claimed by everyone (as slow songs are not too popular for a standing crowd).
‘Muchas gracias!’ frontman said goodbye with 505 wearing his T-shirt with no guitar on it. He had a brief speech that synchronized perfectly with technicians and Miles Kane back to stage now as lead guitar (mute this time). Keys again and neverending delays and reverbs create the perfect ambient for a song that deserves its role as ‘show closer’ scratching the rank of hymn for people sharing one the best shows there.
Players did a perfect gig but instruments were not bad at all. Jaguars, Gibsons and Sex-Pistols-Style Union-Jacked drum set.
Good luck, guys!!! Go for it again tomorrow in Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi!!!
2012 01 27 MADRID SETLIST:
  1. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
  2. Teddy Picker
  3. Crying Lightning
  4. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
  5. Black Treacle
  6. Brianstorm
  7. The View From The Afternoon
  8. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
  9. Library Pictures
  10. Evil Twin
  11. Brick by Brick
  12. This House Is A Circus
  13. Still Take You Home
  14. Pretty Visitors
  15. She’s Thunderstorms
  16. Do Me A Favour
  17. When The Sun Goes Down
Encore:
  1. Suck It and See
  2. Fluorescent Adolescent
  3. 505
20120127 ARCTIC MONKEYS @ MADRID (REVIEW)

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