Arctic Monkeys, Pivot @ PalaisTheatre, Melbourne(24/01/2009)

Sun 25th Jan, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Arctic Monkeys have just proven that they’ve grown up, with one hell of a show at the Palais theatre. Back in 2006, the then teenagers from Sheffield had played next door at the Palace nightclub. A rowdy crowd had moshed away to the ever so delightful tunes from Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and it was a really great gig, except that the Monkeys weren’t exactly the most exhilarating performers and kind of just, well, stood there. Since that show, they’ve toured here once again and now they’re back with the Big Day Out – a seemingly odd tour that is preempting the release of the next album. That fact is the least of the oddities though, as Saturday night’s show proved that the Arctic Monkeys know how to turn strange choices into strange successes.

The first of these surprises was Pivot. This trio was a bizarre choice of support act, given their sound is hardly as accessible as the Arctic Monkeys. The trio delivered a stellar performance of their progressive tunes that either impressed or confused the seated early comers. Richard Pike struggled to control his guitar early on with a broken strap, but pulled through and proved himself a great performer with his jolting about and brilliant psychedelic wailing. The whole trio were as tight as ever and played with a professionalism and energy to be admired. Sure, Pivot might not be what Arctic Monkeys fans expect, but their musicianship is certainly something to keep an eye and ear out for.

The next oddity – the choice of a seated theatre for the venue – should actually have come first, although the irony of it all didn’t fully sink in until Alex Turner was singing songs like I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor to a packed house that wasn’t even allowed to venture so far as the isles to dance. The moment the lights went down for the Monkeys entrance, the entire (well almost entire) venue was at its feet – proof that a seated venue wasn’t exactly appropriate. At least it’s better than Festival Hall. The now upright, cheering fans soon calmed as the Monkeys played not one, but two unfamiliar songs to open their set. New track Pretty Visitors and Da Frame 2R (a bonus track from the Japanese release of Favourite Worst Nightmare) seemed to make the crowd itch for something more familiar and when Still Take You Home took off, so did the crowd – each punter with their own little quarters to shake it all about in.

You might have read the FasterLouder review for the Gold Coast Big Day Out by now and noticed a rather unflattering response to the Arctic Monkeys set. There have also been reports that at that show they seemed to provide a stand-still-and-deliver set, much like the energy lacking show at the Palace three years ago. Well that all might be true, but at the Palais, the Monkeys showed that they’ve grown beyond their juvenile, not-quite-knowing-what-to-do state, and looked as confident as ever, moving about the stage like rock professionals who wanted to give their audience the show they’d paid for. This was a truly vital step for the Monkeys success in any further releases and revived deliveries of favourites such as View From The Afternoon, Dancing Shoes, From The Ritz To The Rubble, Brianstorm and Fluorescent Adolescent made sure everyone was genuinely appreciative of what they’ve produced so far.

As for the new material, four new songs could be counted on the setlist. Of these, Crying Lightning was a success with the crowd, and showed a haunting side to the Sheffielf quartet, whilst the spelling friendly chorus of Dangerous Animals is bound to eventuate into a crowd-pleasing sing along in the future. All the new material was delivered with the newfound energy of the favourites and the Monkeys thankfully managed to showcase what’s to come without overindulging.

The final surprise for the Arctic Monkeys was when they returned to stage following the main set closer Do Me A Favour and announced they’d be playing a cover of Nick Cave’s Red Right Hand. This is the kind of cover that makes you shiver with delight and pray its not utterly destroyed and, albeit surprisingly, the boys actually managed to pull off the diabolical Cave classic. To say that it had the Arctic Monkeys flavour is a bit easy, really, because anything Turner sings is going to make you think of his band. It was really a case of staying true to the original with a thick Sheffield accent, and it did manage to fit nicely into the set.

It seems that from this performance, the Arctic Monkeys have still got a fight left in them. We’ll have to wait patiently to see if album number three is going to match the superiority of their debut, but in the meantime it seems the band’s fans are pleased to have such an impromptu tour whilst they wait.

CHECK OUT THE PIX FROM THE SHOW HERE