[Music] Arctic Monkeys at Hard Rock Live

If I had to pick one band that really summed up my generation, I would choose Arctic Monkeys. For one, all the guys in the band are around my age. Secondly, their lyrics tend to be about problems I can relate to. And finally, they just plain rock. The band has progressed a lot over the course of their three albums, and if they keep going at this rate, they might just prove to be one of the best bands ever.

This was the first time I had ever seen the Monkeys live and by God, this won't be the last. They were one of the tightest, most precise live bands I've ever seen. Songs like "I Bet You Look On The Dancefloor" and "Still Take You Home" sound just as fresh and fierce as they did five years ago, only this time the guys decided to shake things up a bit. Most of the old songs they played contained new guitar solos and breakdowns. During the encore of "Fluorescent Adolescent", Alex Turner broke it down for a bit when he strummed a cover of Dion's "Only You Know" and then seamlessly brought the band back up to speed to finish the song.

The majority of the setlist was devoted to songs from their newest album "Humbug", which was fine but I would have loved to hear some more older stuff. The band only played three songs from their debut album and didn't play two of my favorites, "When the Sung Goes Down" and "Mardy Bum". While that did disappoint me a bit, the rest of the show was too damn good to hold any grudges. It wasn't all new stuff though as a good chunk of the set was made up of tunes from "Favourite Worst Nightmare". Songs like "This House is a Circus", "If You Were There, Beware" and particularly "Brianstorm", were brilliant, and sounded even better live than on the album.

The highlight was definitely when the band exploded into "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor". The ground at Hard Rock Live felt like it was going to break and the walls shook. The crowd knew every word and not a single person was standing still

So while I did have a few gripes (not enough old songs, some stupid people in the crowd, a few technical glitches, and lame security) I can't say enough about how good the band was. Here's hoping that they make their way back over to Florida before too long. This was definitely one of the best shows ever.

Setlist:

Fire and the Thud

Brianstorm

This House is a Circus

Still Take You Home

Potion Approaching

Joining the Dots

My Propeller

Crying Lightning

The View From The Afternoon

I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

Cornerstone

Secret Door

Red Right Hand

If You Were There, Beware

Pretty Visitors

Do Me A Favour

Nettles

Fluorescent Adolescent

505

Video: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor