After years of waiting and even more time spent trying to get to the bar, Arctic Monkeys returned to their first UK show in four years on Saturday night, at Reading Festival 2022.
The sense of anticipation from the crowd was truly palpable after a long, hot, day watching the likes of Enter Shikari and Wolf Alice. The audience was a mixture of all ages, but as always with Reading festival, it was most prominently a younger crowd and they had an appetite for a riotous end to the evening.
The festival’s main stage has become a second home to the Arctic Monkeys and this year’s performance was their third time headlining. For a band who are still only in their mid 30’s and have recorded six studio albums (with another on the way in October), it is a pretty impressive achievement. It was obvious from the get-go that the four lads from High Green, Sheffield were more comfortable in their own shoes than ever.
When the lights finally turned on and the first notes of ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ began to play, the crowd erupted into cheers of excitement and anticipation (and that was just me!).
Without question, the band’s iconic back catalogue of music and lead singer Alex Turner’s unique star power can still draw huge crowds. Turner has evolved into a full-on crooner at this point, complete with his hip gyrating moves and breezy swagger.
A standout moment was when he sang ‘Cornerstone’ - a delightful and achingly self-aware ballad from their third album, Humbug, and it felt for a moment, that the crowd were with him at an intimate jazz club. Drummer Matt Helders’ energy was unmatched throughout the set and his backing vocals are still a highlight, particularly on favourites like ‘The View From The Afternoon’ and ‘Knee Socks’.
Unfortunately, it appeared that the festival organisers had put more energy into the new giant screens either side of the stage, rather than the main speakers as they were not loud enough and it didn’t quite do the band justice.
Several people have noted that Turner and the band didn’t have much crowd interaction, which hasn’t been the case in the past, and it leads to the question: is it part of the show, arrogance, or were they just tired from their European tour? The band mentioned years ago that that they do not like playing festivals which may suggest the lack of a rapport with the crowd, but their nonchalant approach was most certainly noticed by fans, especially if you compare it to previous appearances at large festivals like Glastonbury - or Reading itself.
Fans at Reading were treated to a new track from the band’s forthcoming album ‘The Car’, titled ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’, which has a funky disco feel. Some in the crowd appeared to have mixed feelings about another change of direction - but the upbeat groove has undeniably a likeable pull to it. The band have since dropped a new single ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’, which echoes a Bond theme, complete with sweeping strings and it seems that the Monkeys have been thinking outside of the box yet again.
The triumphant return of the Arctic Monkeys playing on their own soil again was goosebump-inducing and it is hard to conceive how it must feel to be playing songs that 100,000 people can still sing back at you.
Gone are the days of a set list only comprised of only their high octane songs like ‘When the Sun Goes Down’ (which interestingly, they did not play) and instead, the band included slower moments such as ‘Tranquillity Base Hotel and Casino’ from their previous album, much to the audible disdain of some of the crowd, who appeared just to be waiting to hear ‘505’ - which later in the evening did incite the crowd into almost mass hysteria, potentially in part thanks to a resurgence on Tik Tok.
What struck me the most was that the Arctic Monkeys have now refined an elegant balance of songs for their performances - they serve ginormous guitar heavy hits such as ‘R U Mine?’ and can then change the tone with 70’s inspired lounge numbers, like ‘One Point Perspective’.
Their confidence and close comradery is still undeniable, and fans were still able to see the band joking around between tracks and Alex Turner effortlessly controlled the helm - crooning and strutting from start to finish. They are not the same band that you heard on Myspace back in 2006, but wouldn’t it be dull if they were?
Alex, Matt, Jamie and Nick have affirmed their status as one of biggest bands on the planet and as a group that defined a whole generation, who still have some new tricks up their sleeve. The forthcoming era for Arctic Monkeys promises to be just as intriguing as the last.
Arctic Monkeys’ new single ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’ is out now and will be followed by the release of their next album ‘The Car’ released on 21 October 2022.
(Above image credit - Leah Bryan)