Arctic Monkeys performed a sell out show at Old Trafford Cricket ground last night and wowed the crowds.
This was the start of two consecutive nights at the cricket ground, as part of their first UK and Ireland tour since 2018.
Kicking off the show with fan favourite Flourescent Adolescent, the Sheffield-born band hinted to the crowds that the show would be littered with old favourites, which was met with screams and pyrotechnics.
Despite the tour being for their 2022 album, The Car, the band only played the songs Body Paint, There’d Better Be a Mirrorball, and Sculptures of Anything Goes.
Although these songs might have been a miss with the crowd, considering their slow melodies and the general age of the crowd appearing to be 16, the majority hummed the tune and belted out the quirky lyrics.
The band transformed the tunes into songs that mesmerised the crowd, with Alex Turner’s smooth vocals and the stunning musicality and stage presence of the band.
This – combined with throwbacks such as Mardy Bum, which before this week hadn’t been played as a full band performance in 10 years – showed the band are willing to combine new and old, which is a refreshing change as they showed reluctance in the past with Alex Turner telling BeatRoute in 2018 that they feel like they’re doing a cover when they sing songs from their first album.
Classics like Brianstorm and I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor encouraged mosh pits and dancing, and overall the vibe of the audience was that of happiness and enjoyment on a nice summers evening.
Turner’s classic attempts at playing with the crowd kept us in our toes, with his famous ad libs and slowing down of lyrics catching out even his most loyal fans.
Support from British band The Mysterines and Swedish band The Hives were also appreciated by the many fans who arrived early to secure their spots up front, with The Hives’ frontman Pelle Almqvist’s crowd surfing and conversing with those up against the front barrier.
Overall, the show was amazing and appeared to be just what the crowd wanted from the band, with many happy faces leaving the cricket ground.
Arctic Monkeys at Manchester last Night, what a band. What a night 😍 pic.twitter.com/bVfc4lBg5D
— Phil Rees (@York_Villa) June 3, 2023
