Reading 2009: Arctic Monkeys
Let’s take a trip back in time for a bit. Back in 2006, the Arctic Monkeys performed on the Main Stage at the same festival, second to last on the bill. There was lots of anticipation for their performance but the reality was that their set, as no nonsense as it was, was lacking in a spark to really set it alight. Subsequently, by the time headliners Muse had finished their opening song (Knights Of Cydonia), everyone quickly forgot about the Sheffield four-piece and in the days afterwards people began to sense that they still had a lot of work to do before they could become festival headliners. Even their 2007 headlining appearance at Glastonbury was plagued by the now infamous sound issues that plagued the Pyramid Stage that year.
And now we’re back in the present. It’s two years on since Glastonbury and the band have shunned the more commercially viable path and gone down a route that they want to go and a path that makes them more adventurous and ambitious than before. But what does mean for them as a live band and have they managed to improve on their own performances from two years ago to justify their status as a headlining act?
As festival setlists go, it’s pretty risky to stuff it with songs from their last two albums when you consider that their debut is still the best-selling album but, to their credit, it flowed really well and the older songs didn’t stick out like sore thumbs. The likes of Still Take You Home, Fluorescent Adolescent, and 505 almost feel like new songs altogether when put up against the songs from Humbug. The lightning is also well suited to the show – moody and low-key with the band’s shadows making silhouettes as tall as their stage backdrop. The band are also now a solid unit and playing as well they ever had done, recruiting a fifth member for their live show to beef up the live sound.
Despite this, things still feel a little bit cagey. Alex Turner’s stage banter still feels a little bit forced and it also lacks the spontaneity, cheek and humour of the previous version of the band. What’s more, the crowd were seemingly unenthusiastic about the newer material and seemed to be only there for the hits (maybe this was the crowd Caleb Followill moaned about, except it appeared on the wrong day). If anything, you just felt that the entire set was lacking in a bit of fun.
The Arctic Monkeys are still not a band that could slay a festival audience. Whilst musically they are heading in the right direction, they still don’t have the stage command that other headliners have in abundance. Maybe the band are overplaying the ‘serious’ shtick and something a bit looser wouldn’t go amiss. However, much like after hearing their new album, it’ll be interesting to see where they go next.
The setlist was:
My Propeller
Red Right Hand
Crying Lightning
Brianstorm
Still Take You Home
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Potion Approaching
Pretty Visitors
This House Is A Circus
If You Were There, Beware
When The Sun Goes Down
Dangerous Animals
The View From The Afternoon
Cornerstone
Only Ones Who Know
Do Me A Favour
Fluorescent Adolescent
Secret Door
505
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Posted on September 2nd, 2009 by Max
Filed under: Reading Festival 2009
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