Arctic Monkeys Take New York by Storm

Arctic Monkeys - Roseland Ballroom - June 14, 2006

At about 2 p.m. day of show, I received an e-mail from a girl that I had e-mailed last week about a ticket for this show. No response until 2 pm day of, when she offers it to me for face value. Without hesitation, I ran to 36th and Madison to snag the ticket and the perfect concert experience began right there.

Roseland Ballroom is a pretty great venue, at least so far as general admission venues are concerned. There was no hassle getting in - although there was a line, it was fast-moving. The drinks were easy to get, with two big bars in the front and another "secret" bar all the way behind the stage. And as the website for the Roseland stated, you could feel the history in this place. . .

I arrived at the show at about 8:15 and caught the end of the opening act, We Are Scientists. They were pretty solid, but I couldn't really concentrate on them, as I was too pumped to see the Arctic Monkeys and my anticipation caused me to just wish We Are Scientists would get the hell off the stage immediately.

Well, they finally did at about 8:40, and the Monkeys came on at around 9:15. I worked my way through the GA crowd and settled about 20 feet back from the stage, dead center, in the midst of a sea of a capacity crowd. It was pretty hot and sweaty in the center of it all, but I made some room when the music began. The AMs opened the show with an crisp version of "Riot Van," which was very well-received and well-chosen by the Monkeys. Throughout the night, we heard nearly everything, so in no particular order (I didn't keep a setlist), they ran through "From the Ritz to the Rubble," "Mardy Bum," "Bet you look good on the dancefloor," "Still take you home," "Dancing Shoes," "Perhaps vampires is a bit strong but. . . ," "When the Sun Goes Down," "Red Light Indicates Doors are Secured," "Fake Tales of San Francisco," and a few other excellent new songs.

During "Fake Tales," the AMs had the crowd absolutely shaking the floorboards, especially during the end chant part of "He's not from San Francisco, he's from Hunter's bar, I don't quite know the distance but I'm sure it's far. . . yes, I'm sure it's pretty far!" followed by the "get off the bandwagon" screams. "Fake Tales" was certainly one of this night's highlights.

The AMs closed the show with a high-energy version of "A Certain Romance," which was an excellent and fun choice with its ska-reggae beats that lead into a rocking guitar solo. I personally love this song - in fact, I'm addicted to it on my iPod, playing it like a chain smoker at times. Needless to say, the Monkeys ended the night on the right note.

Unfortunately, the Arctic Monkeys are leaving the US after this week. When they will return next is anyone's guess, but I doubt that they will be playing venues like Roseland Ballroom for much longer. Catch them now if you can.

Concert Update

So I've been remiss in keeping this thing current, but I'm going to try to atone here by bringing it current. I've seen quite a few amazing shows (and a few disappointments) in New York already this summer. Here's my quick take:

1. Gnarls Barkley - Webster Hall

Gnarls Barkley played at Webster Hall a few weeks ago. Cee Lo is hysterical and Dangermouse is a master of the funk, but this show was simply too short. The opening act involved a militant black rapper with racist lyrics. This pretty much set the tone of failure for the entire night. By the time Gnarls Barkley took the stage, the crowd was ready for some real music - and unfortunately its anticipation was met with a VERY short, 45-minute show that was only fair at best. I think that Cee Lo was hammered on stage. Both the fact that Gnarls may not in fact have more than 45-min worth of material and that they were blind drunk may have contributed to this show's mediocrity. But the Gnarls recorded material is great, so I am not left with too bad a taste in my mouth with regard to the group.

2. Mike Gordon - Irving Plaza

Now, this show was downright phenomenal. For anyone that ever enjoyed a Phish show, this was a concert that should not have been missed. Mike Gordon, former bassist of the now-defunct Phish, played a show with his new group "Ramble Dove" at Irving Plaza in New York City. I must admit to have been ignorant of this show until about 9:30 p.m. day of, when I was awakened by a text message from my friend, El Doctor Meext, telling me that he got wind of the fact that Trey (former lead guitarist of Phish) was joining Mike and his band onstage. We arrived to a great crowd (I ran into some old friends from high school) that was anticipating a Trey sighting. The alcohol service on this night was truly magical - waitresses skillfully navigated the less-than-capacity crowd taking drink orders and timely delivering drinks. Ramble Dove played a two-set show, but the suspense of a potential Trey appearance was very short-lived, as Trey came stumbling out onto the stage in just the third song of the night (he ended up staying out onstage throughout the first and second sets!). The jams were country-fried funk that sometimes drifted into the spacy grooves that characterize late-90's phish. The highlight of the night, without doubt, was when Ramble Dove and Trey broke into a RIDICULOUS performance of "Possum," a true phish classic. The crowd was completely stunned and everyone was dancing hard. Simply amazing.

3. Radiohead - the Theater at Madison Square Garden

I overpaid for my ticket to this show, plan and simple. I saw Radiohead last time they came to town, which was about two years ago, when they played the Garden proper. This time, Radiohead has decided to play small venues throughout the world, and for some reason their booking agent chose the Theater at MSG, which has a VERY low ceiling and is often hotter than Gambia (while waiting for a beer, I was sweating profusely, and I'm not a sweaty guy). Radiohead's booking agent should be fired. I kept on thinking that this venue was chosen STRICTLY based on its capacity, such as that Radiohead decided they would play nowhere bigger than "x" amount of seats. Why Radiohead chose not to play Radio City Music Hall is beyond me, as that venue is absolutely perfect and would have made the concert infinitely better with its high vaulted ceilings, plush seats, efficient and top-notch drink service, and general good time party emporium nature. Anyway, we took what they gave us and went to MSG Theater.

The show itself was pretty good, as I'm sure any Radiohead show is (the one two years ago was phenom). However, this show was not nearly as good as the prior show I saw - many many favorites were left unplayed.

I want to go on a rant here. That guy in Radiohead that plays guitar/keys/strange instruments such as plugging cords into a box. . . he is the absolute worst. I kept on getting into the grooves that the other band members were creating, only to have them destroyed by this other member, who shouldn't EVER be allowed to play a guitar again. He was playing some hideously discordant scratching noises on his guitar that completely (and horrendously) ruined the lush, thick bass and other guitars that were otherwise melding into a deep groove. This other guy, who I shall herein refer to as "Thom's Childhood Friend," (for otherwise how can you justify what Radiohead let's this guy get away with - they know he sucks too), boldly takes on a myriad of instruments in an attempt to show off his musical skills. Although I heard him playing interesting sounds on a variety of instruments - but his guitar playing was atrocious and should be condemned. He ruined the show for me. And his general terribleness would have been forgiveable if the setlist from the show had been more solid.

Oh well - Arctic Monkeys play tonight at Roseland. Trying to find a ticket and hoping to go check it out!

The Roots!

I went to an amazing show on Friday night at Radio City Music Hall. This was a all-around fantastic experience - I scored awesome orchestra seats from some great girl whose post I discovered on Craigslist for face value. Got to the show exactly at 8 pm, which was the scheduled start time. Easy entrance into the venue, and at 8, the doors opened and down the center aisle the Roots came a'marching. Led by Q'uestlove and followed by Black Thought, the Roots took the stage with authority. . . and never really left it until nearly midnight. Various other rappers and artists came onto the stage at different points in the night - Mos Def, Erykah Badu, others. But the biggest surprises (theretofore unannounced) were when Dave Chappelle took the stage with the Roots sitting behind him. Chappelle told a 25-minute joke about why he went to Africa. Shortly after Chappelle, Jay-Z came onstage to perform with the Roots. The house DJ for much of the night was DJ Jazzy Jeff of Parents Just Don't Understand fame. And, although vastly unappreciated by nearly the entire sell-out crowd: The Roots flawlessly covered Radiohead's "Everything in it's Right Place." There were about 7 people standing during this trance-like song, and my friend Mitch and me could not but help considering this cover a personal gift to the cross-over fans in attendance. Unbeliavable show.

Tonight I've got tix to see Gnarls Barkley at Webster Hall. Should be a true funk odyssey. Will review it later this week.

-Elliott H.