Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

I have to admit ever since getting my tickets in late August I've been anticipating this gig more than any other. It'd had been along time since I last saw the Monkeys. At Reading Festival 2006 they played a barnstorming set before headliners Muse. Where they blew threw seemingly every track they had as fast as humanly possible. But now three years on and two albums later, and the Monkeys have changed, they're crunchier, groovier and they've become rather fond of ballads. This experience as going to be very different to my previous encounter with the Sheffield foursome. But before we get to the Monkeys we have the small matter of the support:

I've never really been a fan of Eagles Of Death Metal, I don't have anything against them, they've just never excited me, I've always found their music, competent but rather bland. However in the live arena they serve as the perfect support band. You know what your going to get with the Eagles, you'll get big crunchy riffs, huge bass grooves, some sly solos and a good light hearted sense of humour. While they hardly enthused a crowd unfamiliar with their work, the Eagles never threaten to disappoint and did a fine job of warming the crowd up. They threw in a sneaky cover of Stuck In The Middle With You before launching into a set closing run of Wannabe In LA and The Boys Bad News, finally finishing with a suitably epic guitar battle. All in all a top notch warm up, they didn't set the world alight, but they didn't alienate anyone either. A Job well done.

Arctic Monkeys: The Monkeys appeared as shadows behind a red curtain before being revealed and starting with a slow atomspheric track from the Humbug LP, the crowd was buzzing instantly and begging to explode. The Monkeys allowed the momentum to slowly build before unleashing Brianstorm and turning the crowd into one giant mosh pit, pits were opening up everywhere, as they blew threw Still Take You Home and I'd Bet You'd Look Good On The Dancefloor. The crowd was shattered after half and hour and they wisely slowed the pace, incorporating the sinister and surprisingly epic renditions of My Propeller and Crying Lightening before segwaying into a gorgeous and show stealing ballad section. This section of the gig really highlighted just how far the Monkeys have come as an act, back in 2006 they had one gear (albeit an incredible one), it was an hour of pure moshing. Today the Monkeys showed off their staggering lyricism and dense arrangements, they created a real mood and paced the performance with remarkable subtly. Allowing the crowd to relax and regain their stamina during beautiful performances of Jeweller's Hand, CornerStone and culminating with Secret Door; during which the arena suddenly exploded with confetti creating an unforgettable visual, and a timeless moment.

The set had so many highlights, When The Sun Goes Down is still the amazing communal moment that it always was, and the hybrid of Florescent Adolescent and Mardy Bum (Flouresent Bum?) incited arms around shoulders singalongs but it was the more subtle tracks from Favourite Worst Nightmare that

proved to be the ultimate highlight. If You Were There Beware, Do Me A Favour and of course the devine closer 505 were unparalleled. While the first forty five minutes of non stop circle pits was an undeniable thrill, the Monkey's have developed to the extent that they no longer rely on lightening fast guitar work, and snappy one liners. This performance was a journey, it took you wonderfully from one point to another seamlessly, changing pace and mood and creating these divine moments of euphoria. This was more than a mere thrill ride this was an unforgettable experience, this was a show put together by true artists not just this months hot topic. While the Monkey's fanbase may grow more discerning and smaller with time, the Monkeys are most certainly on the right track, they've developed as musicians, artists, songwriters and now they've evolved into a truly top notch draw live act.

On A Side Note: Me and My friend had our phones picket pocketed at this gig. Talking to the steward at the previous gig 200 phones were stolen, and 400 were taken at Kasabian earlier in the week. Now this is just the reported thefts, I didn't report mine, I suspect the real number is much much higher. It's only a small tarnish on an otherwise fantastic night, but it does ruin the gig experience if you have to spend half your time worrying about being pick pocketed.