Arctic Monkeys at Roseland

The record I’ve listened to the most this year so far is unquestionably the Arctic Monkey’s debut record. That’s true for most of the members of my family too. So we were pumped last night to go up to the Roseland Ballroom to see the boys. It was the Gotham Gal, her sister Sue, our three kids, and me. And we had a blast.

We split up early on with the Gotham Gal, Sue, and Josh up by the stage on the far left and me, Jessica, and Emily on the right by the elevated platform. By the start of the show, we’d gotten up on the platform but it almost got me tossed out of the show. Thankfully the security guards took mercy on a 45 year old father who may have been the oldest guy in the room.

As a result, the three of us had an awesome view of the show and the boys put on a good one. Alex Turner, the lead singer, guitar player, and I assume the guy who writes the amazing lyrics, is not the most dynamic frontman, but he kept the audience mesmerized with songs coming as fast as the band’s signature machine gun guitar riffs.

My favorite song was their rendition of Who The ***** Are The Arctic Monkeys, off the new EP. The finish was particularly great; Mardy Bum, Fake Tales, and Certain Romance.

There was no encore. They threw their drumsticks, picks, and towels into the crowd and waved goodbye and that was it. I was expecting it since that’s what they’ve done at every show I’ve read about, but I must say it was disappointing nonetheless.

But we had a blast anyway. The girls said it was tied with Coldplay and the Rolling Stones for the best shows they’ve been to. We sang the songs in the cab all the way home.