Noodle arms

i saw arctic monkeys last night and now i have to write an essay about how amazing it was

arctic monkeys are my favorite contemporary band (and possibly my favorite band in general but i like too many to easily choose a top contender), and i knew they were a great live band because i’d always heard that and also watched live videos of them several times before, but it still exceeded my expectations by far. and i’m biased obviously, but my sister and i also went with our brother too, who isn’t a huge fan of them but even he was absolutely blown out of the water by them. and i was thinking the entire time they were playing “i have to tell everyone about [x point i realized watching them]” because i was such a wide-eyed baby all the way up on the balcony. i have to tell you this shit.

i’m gonna start with their opening act mini mansions. now i’ll admit i’d heard of them because i know alex turner worked with them over the hiatus but i’d never really listened to them before. and i just have to say, they were really good. do check them out. i ended up buying their shirt when the merch place had run out of the tour shirt that i wanted (i’ll get into them, i’m listening to them on spotify as i type this). the last few songs they performed especially kicked ass, they really got more and more into it as their set list went on, and it was smart the way they did that. so, i recommend them. they were a good opening act and you should check them out. “honey i’m home” was my favorite i’d heard live (that i’ve figured out the name of yet jgfidhu the last song they did was still a little more kickass).

but as good as those guys were, when arctic monkeys came on they immediately blew every other band i’d seen before right out of the water. all the instrumentalists killed it, never missed a beat, alex’s vocals were unwaveringly as good in person as they are on the studio version (except for in some cases on tbhc where his low singing was sometimes kind of noticeably harder for him and came out breathy, but he actually had no problem with any of that live) - and not just that. as much as i feel like listening to an arctic monkeys album is an experience, and that many of their songs feel like they surround you..... at the concert, it was so different from listening to the studio version. it really was better, it was stronger, it not only surrounded you but closed in on you. it was so engaging yet it didn’t seem like it tried to be at all. i’ve seen a good amount of bands in person - 4/6 concerts i’ve been to featured a total of four bands - but no band i’d seen before was that entertaining. it had never felt miles more than listening to the cd before. i don’t know how they did it, but it was incredible. it was constantly surprising. like i said, i’d really never seen a live band that surprised me more than that. no gimmics either (unless you count the cool ass lights but plenty of concerts do that), they didn’t tell any jokes or anything, and they were serious in their execution, they didn’t appear to be half as stoked as the entire crowd seemed to be yet.... they just blew you away. not just the songs, but each one of them.

as i’ve stated before my favorite arctic monkeys album is humbug all day any day, and like a lot of big fans of arctic monkeys i don’t think am is their best album even though i absolutely understand why that was the album that attracted so much of their fan base and gave em a second peak. but i gained a new appreciation for it after seeing those songs performed live, in person. i’d never seen it captured in live videos of them before (again, it really does feel unimaginably different really being there) but most of the am songs they performed live were some of the most entertaining songs they’d performed live, especially knee socks, r u mine? and do i wanna know (in that order). it made me think... i think the only way they could have written and produced that album, was after years of touring and playing for crowds and getting better and better at getting the audience into it. i swear those songs were made first and foremost for the purpose of playing it for an audience, whether or not all the members had that in mind during its production. of course brianstorm and crying lightning and pretty visitors and the view from the afternoon and even four out of five kicked ass live too, comparably as much to those, but... i don’t think those were made for the audience as much as the studio version. i don’t think those were as much more entertaining live as the am tracks.

and you know the fuck what???/ do you KNOW the fuck what???? i absolutely adore nick o’malley. i adore all of marctic onkeys as musicians and people unconditionally, but nick o’malley made my autistic lesbian heart stop. i just wanted to pat him on the head and give him a hug he’s the cutest person and i love him. and he wore this really nice ;_____; long sleeved white dress shirt that looked ;______; so darn handsome on him this is nick’s era before it is anyone else’s fite me i just *crushes rock w my fist* *crunches on remains* I LOVE NICK O’MALLEY

and one last anecdote...... i didn’t think anything hilarious was going to happen that night. and for most people in that stadium to my knowledge, nothing did. but..... well, so i was sitting on the balcony, right? there was a row below me, and the people’s heads in that row were at the same level as people’s knees in mine. and in front of me was this dad-looking guy. probably in his late 50s like my parents. there was a fair amount of dad-lookin guys i noticed. and at some point during songs mostly on fwn and humbug, for a couple of songs, he just... laid his head against my knees, and fell asleep. and he was really pushing his head on them, i don’t know???? what he thought my knees were???? did he realize that they were a person’s knees??? did he think it was the seat???? did he not wonder was he was resting his head on before he fell asleep???? he stayed asleep for at least two full length songs and then during “r u mine?” he was fully awake and JAMMING along this bastard was doing air guitar like sHE’s a SiLVeR LiNIn LOnE rANgEr riDIn THrOuGH aN OpEN sPAcE IN MY MIND WHEN SHE’S NOT RIGHT THERE BESIDE MEE I GO CRAaAZY and it was all ??????? so fucking WEIRD so for all the “true fans” of arctic monkeys (or whatever they think of themselves as) who bitch about 15 year olds who only know do i wanna know and r u mine getting better seats at a concert than they got i’ll have you know..... the only one of those i saw all night was a 50 year old man who - rather than not recognizing earlier monkeys material - literally fell asleep during it. what point am i making with these???? i don’t even know exactly. but uh, i guess it isn’t fifteen year olds who are the least.... true(?) fans of arctic monkeys at the concert. and it shouldn’t be surprising be young fans to be engaged either now that i think of it - young people are all over this band, they’re the ones who are most obsessed. it’s the 50-something dads who only know the am hits i guess.... i guess.

that’s all i can think that i wanted to say last night. basically, i just wanted to get seeing my favorite modern band live off my bucket list in my youth and while i still had the chance, and it still managed to be way better than i expected it. if you like this band to any degree, if you have a chance, see them live for yourself. i really can’t believe how different it was from watching live videos of them all these years - for most bands it doesn’t feel that much better in person. but i genuinely hope i see arctic monkeys at least once more in the future. i’m sure my twin sister diana does. heck, my brother dan said he does too, and he’s seen a lot of concerts. i can’t recommend it enough. but you know now more important i have hugging nick o’malley to cross off next on my list of arctic monkeys-related life goals. i’m not sure how i’m going to execute that one, but. i have time.