Arctic Monkeys Pull it Off

The Verdict: Yes, the Arctic Monkeys are a brilliant band, and yes they still kick ass live.

But, I warn ye, any hyperbole beyond that needs to be looked at more closely.

Amrit, Jen and Matt Music Sluts, Laura Modernage, Angela, and myself and a couple others all met up at Cherry Tav beforehand for a few drinks and general revelry. At the venue an hour later, the Spinto Band sounded better than ever to my freshly inebriated ears. They didn’t play “Atari” unfortunately, which is the only thing I wanted to hear. Both Laura and Jen go pretty rough on the band, “It was all one long half hour tune.” Of course, this argument can be made for almost any band (A’monks included) when you’re hearing them for the first time. And Webster Hall is not renowned for highlighting intricacies of a band that doesn’t have dancebeats. I thought they did a commendable job, and their album is worth picking up.

The Arctic Monkeys came out at 9:15 and from the first notes they played the crowd was encouragingly enthusiastic. Unlike their Bowery Ballroom show, which had a distinct crescendo leaving us all breathless by the end, this time the energy ebbed and subsided for their hits and non-hits. Of course, even those non-hits are fairly good; Not everything can be "Mardy Bum" or "Dancing Shoes", and these lesser moments aren’t numerous enough to be a problem. They have the rare ability to make a full Webster Hall jump around with only a few notes on the guitar. All in all left me satisfied and convinced that they will only continue to grow into larger and larger venues.