all photos: Francis Chung and Shauna Alexander
all words: Peter Heyneman
Let's play a game. It is called: what British Invasion group does the Arctic Monkeys remind me of?
It's a classic British story, sort of their Horatio Alger. In fact it's quite Arthurian: obscure youths pull instrument from rock or vice versa, become top popular, head off to conquer foreign countries and get betrayed at home. Since the dawn of history ie the mid-1960s so it has always been and so it was at the 930 club on Tuesday when the latest (well not the latest but a recent) version came to town and proved (to this simple peasant anyway) that they are the crown achievement of what Englanders are still calling 'indie rock" but I would rather term: hard alt. Let the games begin!
While it's pretty much guaranteed that anyone admitting to be a fan of Doo Wah Diddy or Blinded By the Light is a primordial asshat, that doesn't discount the fact that the band had some
great singles from Soul Of Mann '67. By a similar token it would be terribly unfair of me to pre-judge Arctic Monkeys by the preponderance of dicks in argyle sweaters shouting dumb shit during the opening band right and grinding on their vapid blond girlfriends? Right.
Well no, this is what Screaming Females remind me of. I know Cale loves them madly, but I just don't get it exactly. Maybe it was the 930's unforgivably sharp sound but the bass sounded farty, Marissa's guitar squealed thinly, and either the drum mics were off or Jarrett's pained rock faces indicate carpal tunnel syndrome is forcing him to tap the skins lightly rather than bash them. I can see really loving them in a basement, but on a big stage they didn't sound quite right--noodly and trying too hard. Fortunately they have something like 25 more years before they're washed up, and Marissa is so scary talented with the scream/warbling the chances of a Kristen Hersh moment in her future are high.
Wane Fontana and The Mindbenders
After an absurd amount of buildup (fading out songs and then playing another song, pouring dry ice into the pit, keeping the house lights off for 15 minutes) the Monkeys popped out for a glimmer. That was my attempt at British slang it doesn't mean anything. Right off the bat my question is: how's the voice live? Answer: it is fantastic. Crackling, hurrying, wounded but literary, Alex's vocals are the first thing anyone notices about the band and they definitely carry well from my perspective. Like Wane Fontana or his more famous Irish cousin Eric Burdon, Alex has one of those naturally arresting baritones that can give authority to any stupid thing he cares to sputter. In the Monkey's case, it's cheap sarcasm he's redeeming through bluesman growling, and at his best he melts the Stepping Stone snideness into hot pathos. And I do mean hot like chips--if I had the hair of any member of this band I'd be a star, even the keyboard player who kept disappearing offstage presumably to do his hair some more. Gorgeous. Crisp. Twigs and berries and other cockney fruit slang terms. Anyway everyone went apeshit right off the bat, so the crowd totally redeemed their lack of fashion sense by jumping up and down and waving their phones in the air like they just didn't care whether their videos turned out crappy.
Blickem Blickem Blickem Blickem Blickem. Pause. Blickem blickem blickem.
Dave Clark the singing drummer played basically one 2/2 beat on every song but it was amazing, mostly because he wrote these pregnant pauses in the midst of the chaos. AM has pauses that come to full term: the audience actually finishes applauding before they resume playing the song. It's a great trick that keeps crowds bouncing. Matt Helders also sings and drums. And man oh man do those drums sound huge. They played some quieter tunes towards the end, but I would have been perfectly happy if they had never slackened, mostly because of how full and strong his playing is, even during the completely furious bits you can make out every slap and punch. He's clearly their secret weapon.
What do we love so much about seeing polite young gentlemen do dark things? They (AM not HH) covered Nick Cave's Red Right Hand and while it still was well menacing at double speed afterwards Alex went: "Good evening DC. Is it a good mood you're in then? Yes?" I always enjoyed the Herman's ability to make a song asking Mrs. Brown politely about her daughter's wellbeing seem prurient and disturbing, but the Monkeys have the opposite effect: they play hard and fumbling psych-punk full of depravity and madness but somehow make it seem like they'd rather be playing Polo with the White House crashers at Oxford. Maybe that's why people still call them Indie Rock? Their fluffy portentousness is more akin to At The Drive In than Death Cab, but hey I don't make the rules. Unlike the Hermits they show no sign of being out-moded anytime soon--their new songs are just as interesting as that original pan flare hit--and it's hard to imagine anyone not having fun watching the gentry slum around like Oliver.
These were a bunch of cool proto-garage butch chicks that sang in husky voices and banged the shit out of the German cellar scene. This doesn't have anything to do with the Monkeys, I just really like them cuz they sound like the Runaways. You gotta problem with that, govner? Bugger off!
Previously in Live DC:
i want that first crowd shot blown up into a tapestry sized poster
It really was fantastic. I have to say I agree with the sentiment about Screaming Females. Something about their sound just didnt lend themselves to the venue. Their singer is really talented, with a wicked growl and serious guitar chops. I would have loved them in a sweaty basement. I think theyre coming back in a few months, so maybe I'll get my chance. Anyway, Arctic Monkeys for $25? What a steal. I sent a few texts to the UK just to rub it in.
Agree, Svetlana... that first crowd shot is fantastic.
Show was great. Although I feel bad for some of the people that were on the floor some girl next to me vomited off the balcony. Pretty gross.
I wasn't thrilled with the show...not that they weren't talented, but it wasn't what I expected. Thier old stuff sounded stale but the new stuff was just out there. I'm not a big fan, but I didn't leave a big fan either. The musicianship was there but I felt like I was listening to circus music on mushrooms. Man was it packed though!