Friday, August 07, 2009

Review: Arctic Monkeys at the Paradise

Posted at 03:07 by Lisa Spinelli

Photo: Lucy Sherman

The Arctic Monkeys' manager had the right idea picking such an intimate venue for the band's Boston show on Wednesday - it's just too bad the band didn't follow through on it. While the Paradise Rock Club was packed with fans who were getting down and sweaty to the music, the band stayed stiffer than a Jack and Coke on stage.

As the crowd jammed out to the Monkeys' new album Humbug, a decidedly more hard-punk album than their earlier material, but still distinctly "their sound," the band hardly swayed. The crowd continued to go nuts for old throwback faves like "Crying Lightning," "I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor," and still the band hardly seemed to bat an eyelash, let alone bust a move. During "Florescent Adolescent," the crowd was so into the music, they actually sang the lyrics louder than Alex Turner, the lead singer.

Regardless of the audience's positive reaction, the bottom line is that a dance-punk band needs to... well... dance. One could listen to the Monkeys turned up on a stereo and basically get the same show that took place at the Paradise on Wednesday. When a fan like myself attends a performance, I expect more than playbacks from the album I was rockin' out to the night before, I want some energy and creativity. There was more movement on stage when the staff threw balled-up set-lists into the crowd after the finale than there was all night from the band.

Hopefully the Monkeys will lose the constipated look on stage and get loosened up as they continue to tour for their new album - if so, their performance will certainly be more convincing, and less disappointing.

VIEW: Photo slideshow of the Arctic Monkeys at the Paradise.

 --By Keir Bristol

• Abe said:

  What a superficial review. AM is better than any of the other crap "dance-punk" bands you seem so fond of because their songcraft is superior and they devote more attention to that than inferior bands who can shake it nicely but couldn't sound as good or interesting as AM on even their best songs.

  August 7, 2009 5:13 PM

• Bill said:

  ummm.."Crying Lightning" an "old throwback fave"?? Perhaps some research before the review..

  August 7, 2009 10:13 PM

• jack bauer said:

  they let the music speak for itself......

  August 8, 2009 12:33 AM

• NotIforone said:

  What a rubbish review! Arctic Monkeys are not even a dance/punk band, you stick to what you know Keir. They were incredible at the Paradise, one of the best I've seen, full of energy and the crowd was loving it

  August 8, 2009 4:53 AM

• willie nelson said:

  Hmmmm...so you're a fan but believe Crying Lightning is an old throwback fave? Haha. And if you want dancing get to Vegas. Arctic Monkeys dancing on stage????? Hahaha.

  August 9, 2009 12:23 AM

• nat said:

  this just sums up all the bad reviews i've heard about these lads. uneducated writers attempting to give us an 'exclusive' look into the band's psyche, and the result is this bollocks. Yes they're stiff at times but it's better than those bullshit artists that get into it WAY too much, particularly those that drag songs out for 15 minutes to fit in some interperative dance.

  Why not stick to studying coldplay's every move?

  August 9, 2009 5:37 AM

• KLYAM said:

  I highly doubt that you were actually there, not to mention a fan.

  August 9, 2009 9:21 AM

• Jacob said:

  Haha, you are the most pathetic reviewer ever, and are absolutely not a fan of the arctic monkeys. Stick to listening to kiss 108 you snobby pitchfork  wannabee

  August 9, 2009 5:41 PM

• aj7945 said:

  Pathetic. You have either never been to an Arctic show before or you had too many Jack and Cokes and forgot how the show actually went. Telling by the very short snappy review, I'm going with the latter.

  They don't "dance" and never would.

  "...the band stayed stiffer than a Jack and Coke on stage". You might get some laughs from the crowd at High School reunion class of '56. That's a fairly weak attempt at humor.

  "...let alone bust a move.", this is not a bboy event.

  Throwback? "Crying Lightning" is the first single from Arctic Monkeys' third album Humbug. Do your research.

  The band's genre is, if anything ,"English alternative rock" definitely NOT a "dance-punk band"

  If you're going to write a review in the future and didn't like the show:

  1. Do your homework and research the band's Discography.

  2. Do not attempt humor.

  3. Pay attention to the show, and takes lots of notes. (Pen and Paper required for this step)

  4. Be diverse in your criticism, picking one negative aspect of a show makes it look like you didn't pay attention to anything else.

  August 10, 2009 11:10 AM

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