With Alex Turner pulling a sicky, forcing the band to cancel their Marlay Park show back in June, the band had a lot of making up to do.
Lucky to even attend, fans were given a treat, an intimate masterclass with one of the best bands of this generation. The Monkeys had played stadiums and parks throughout the UK, and the reschedule forced the band into playing 4 arena shows instead due to permits and planning permissions with Turner’s laryngitis really being a blessing in disguise for fans.
These Irish dates have been lucky enough to be the only ones on the tour to have an orchestra and strings added to some of the tracks. The band opened with Sculptures of Anything Goes with Alex Turner emerging through the darkness.
'How am I supposed to manage my infallible beliefs / While I’m sockin’ it to ya'
The drums closing the track was instantly greeted by an ‘Hello Dublin’ which kicked off Brianstorm. Pints thrown, chants being sung, the Irish amplifying the song’s main opening riff and every lyric being mirrored back to the band 10 times louder.
Snap Out of It, the first of 6 AM songs to be played throughout the night, and the only one that I’d happily miss out of the set. Regardless of my opinion of the track and its undeserving place in a regular Monkeys’ setlist, it still riles up the Pinterest crowd, Doc Martens wearers and girls in fishnets.
Unfortunately, the only song from their 2011, Americana album, Suck it and See, Don’t Sit Down, Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair to be played. I would’ve loved to see more, the title track was a recurring character on earlier instances of The Car tour, but not this one.
Don’t Sit Down was the catalyst for a run of their faster paced tracks, being followed by Favourite Worst Nightmare’s Teddy Picker and Humbug’s Crying Lightning.
The title track of their first album in this new lounge rock era, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino was beautifully crafted, introducing particular piano and string interludes, this was probably the best instance of this song I’ve seen live so far.
With a brief pause and a brief interaction from Alex himself, asking if the crowd was high, Nick O’Malley introducing the hit song Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High with its precise bassline. Arabella followed and had the typical ‘War Pigs’ interlude that they have played with the last couple of tours.
Perfect Sense, The Car’s album closer, is one that always gets me excited when played live, being one of my personal favourites from their new album.
The View From the Afternoon introduced plastic cups filled with beer and the venues atmosphere to one another, becoming fitting friends throughout the night.
Knee Socks, Pretty Visitors and Fluorescent Adolescent were up next, being played with swagger and composure. The frontman dedicated the latter, to the tour’s support act, Mr Miles Kane.
The main set closed on fitting tracks, There’d Better be a Mirrorball, 505, introducing the mirrorball, glistening throughout the venue, Do I Wanna Know? and Body Paint, all with strings sections and orchestrated to perfection. Body Paint is a live spectacle that gets better with every listen and every watch. The track truly embodies what the band has been building up to all these years, a masterclass in musicianship.
The lights dimmer, and the band disappears into the darkness. Chants of ‘we want more’ and ‘one more song’ filling the room.
The crowd screams, the band has returned, opening the encore with AM’s I Wanna Be Yours. Alex singing out of time to what is usually heard on the album, tricking everyone into singing at different times. The song ends on a blend of I Wanna Be Yours and the intro to Star Treatment and Jet Skis on the Moat.
'I just wanted a Jet Ski for the Moat / Look at the mess you made me make'
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor and R U Mine? closed the set fantastically. Fans pouring their hearts out to this band as they leave the stage for the last time that night.
This being written a week or so after the tour concluded, rumours of the band splitting up are everywhere. With footage of the band closing their final show of the entire album tour with Perfect Sense and the band showing their admiration for the Dublin crowd, is this the end of Arctic Monkeys?