Arctic Monkeys at Forest Hills Stadium

Alex Turner of Artic Monkeys

Alex Turner grew up in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, where he took piano lessons until he was eight years old. At the age of seven, Turner bonded with his neighbor and classmate Matt Helders over rap music and spent their weekends making hip-hop beats; they became interested in guitar bands following the breakthrough of the Strokes in 2001. When Turner was 15, his parents bought him a guitar as a Christmas present. Inspired by their friends in local bands, Turner and Helders formed Arctic Monkeys in 2002 and became one of the first bands to capitalize on public attention via the Internet. In 2006, the band's debut album became the fastest-selling debut album by a band in UK chart history, and the band maintained its popularity with a succession of number one albums. Arctic Monkeys' sixth and most recent studio album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, was released on May 11, 2018. The band presently consists of Turner (lead vocals, guitar), Helders (drums, vocals), Jamie Cook (guitar) and Nick O'Malley (bass, backing vocals).

Headlining tonight at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, the core Arctic Monkeys quartet was joined by touring musicians Scott Gillies (acoustic guitar),Tom Rowley (keyboards, guitar), Tyler Parkford (keyboards), and Davey Latter (percussion). Best known for energetic bangers with catchy but insightful lyrics on romantic complications, the band's most recent album radically changed directions and is comprised mostly of softer space-themed songs. In concert, Arctic Monkeys alternated between the two flavors, only briefly meeting in the middle by reworking the older "Do Me a Favour" into lounge fare and animating the new album's title track. While the standing crowd in general admission floor space might have preferred more danceable songs, the calm grooves of the newer material gave greater prominence to Turner's smooth David Bowie-like croon. Overall, the audience responded favorably to the mix of old and new songs, but notably moreso for the older adrenalin-pumping anthems and for the Strokes cover in the encore. A curious question remained unanswered: did the fans enjoy the new songs because they were good songs or because they were Arctic Monkeys songs?

Visit Arctic Monkeys at www.arcticmonkeys.com.

Setlist

1. Four Out of Five
2. Brianstorm
3. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
4. Crying Lightning
5. Teddy Picker
6. 505
7. Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino
8. One Point Perspective
9. Do Me a Favour
10. Cornerstone
11. Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?
12. The Ultracheese
13. Do I Wanna Know?
14. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
15. Knee Socks
16. Pretty Visitors
17. Arabella

Encore:

1. Star Treatment
2. Is This It (The Strokes cover)
3. R U Mine?