Setlist

Do I Wanna Know?
Brianstorm
Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
Snap Out of It
Pretty Visitors
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
Fireside
Knee Socks
Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?
Arabella
Dancing Shoes
Old Yellow Bricks
Crying Lightning
Do Me a Favour
I Wanna Be Yours
Fluorescent Adolescent
505
— Encore —
Cornerstone
One for the Road
R U Mine?

Tour Dates

02/15/14 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
05/02/14 Auckland, New Zealand Vector Arena
05/03/14 Wellington, New Zealand TSB Bank Arena
05/06/14 Darling Harbour, Aus Qantas Credit
05/07/14 Boondall, Aus Brisbane Entertainment
05/09/14 Melbourne, Aus Rod Laver Arena
5/10/14 Hindmarsh, Aus Adelaide Entertainment
05/13/14 Perth, Aus Perth Arena
05/23/14 London, UK Finsbury Park
05/24/14 London, UK Finsbury Park
06/06/14 Bremen, Germany Pier 2
06/07/14 Berlin, Germany Spandau Zitadelle
07/04/14 Rock Werchter Festival
07/10/14 Optimus Alive! Festival
07/12/14 Dublin, Ireland Marlay Park
07/19/14 Festival Les Vieilles Charrues

“It’s f***ing Friday, and you’re with the Arctic Monkeys in Minneapolis!” shouted Arctic Monkeys’ singer Alex Turner, to a very sold out First Avenue. Clearly the British band has outgrown the historic venue, but they keep coming back, time and time again.

Opening up for the Arctic Monkeys was Saint Motel. I had low expectations, but by the first song, they had already won me over with their brass / dance / pop / Caribbean / jazzy sound. It seemed like the band took the best elements of various music genre and made it their own. The six-man team (including a saxophonist and trumpeter) was full of fun and energy.

Singer A/J Jackson confessed that he is from Minneapolis, so he seem excited to be back in the city. Jackson does his best to keep the banter between the songs to a minimum, since they had a limited opener time slot. Most of the talking is to introduce the song title and, also, sometime comment on Minneapolis’ brutal cold, “It’s cold outside, but it’s warm in here!”

From my notes, the band kicked off their set with “Honest Feedback”, followed by “Feed Me Now”, “Benny Goodman”, “Daydream / Wetdream / Nightmare”, “My Type”, “Puzzle Pieces”, and the set finale “Stories” (most of their set is taken from their 2012 album Voyeur).

Like I said, Saint Motel has a lot of potential, and the band is taking advantage of all the sold out Arctic Monkeys shows to play their very best on stage.

As for Arctic Monkeys, they are currently on tour in support of their latest album AM (out now on Domino Records). The new album was hailed by critics as one of 2013’s very best albums, including NME’s Best Album of 2013, Q Magazine’s #1 Album of the Year, Mojo’s #4 on Top 50 Albums, and W♥M Brody calling AM #2 on his Top 10 List. AM, with “R U Mine?”, “Do I Wanna Know?”, “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?”, “One for the Road” and “Arabella”, would prove to be Arctic Monkey’s most successful album to date.

With that said, a good portion of their setlist was dedicated to AM. AM served as a sandwich of some beginning songs, a healthy ‘meat’ middle, and with “One for the Road” and “R U Mine?” finishing off with the encore.

You can tell right away, which songs were the audience’s favorites by the dancing and singing (“I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”, and a string of classics “I Wanna Be Yours”/”Fluorescent Adolescent”/”505”).

Since I’ve seen Arctic Monkeys every time they play First Avenue, I should let you know the differences between all the shows.
The first time I saw them, in 2007, I felt it wasn’t terribly exciting to watch. I noted that their performance was similar to Oasis’ style. The same “didn’t do much on stage” carried on their 2009 appearance. However, by 2011, I noted in my review that Turner has grown up, “whether it’s jumping on the drum stands, or talking a little more between songs.”

With the latest 2014 appearance, Turner has really come into his own. The guy is more confident than ever, and it shows in his hand gestures, his poses, his dance moves. Turner still doesn’t speak that much between songs, although the random dedications (“for the girls”) can be heard.

I think my favorite moment was at the encore, Turner substituted “Tracy Island” to “Minneapolis”, on the first line of “R.U. Mine?” That got a huge roar in my section of the audience. I love that kind of change that only a live performance can bring…. of course, I also imagine the band change that line to every city they play at! It’s still very fun to witness though.

Now for something completely irrelevant: Alex Turner’s various haircuts throughout the years. Currently, Turner is sporting a sort of 50s look, which goes incredibly well with his dress shirt and leather jacket. Isn’t it fun to him grow over the years?

Arctic Monkeys are currently on a very successful tour in support of their much beloved latest album, AM. If you’ve never seen the band, do yourself a favor and get your tickets early before they sell out.