GIG NUMBER SEVENTY-SIX
Who
I was lucky enough (and it's not often I'm lucky - it may be a first!) that a mate pointed out that an advertised gig by Nine Black Alps had Arctic Monkeys listed as support. I could barely believe my eyes but knew we'd spotted something no-one else had so I ordered two tickets immediately. I observed it was a Radio 1 show which immediately explained why such a hyped band could be playing such a low profile spot and it hinted that this probably was a real show and not some kind of mistake. I also braced myself for the disappointment if the Monkeys didn't show by trying to convince myself I would be happy enough to see just Nine Black Alps, especially if I knew it was on Radio 1. When the night came I still had not heard any songs by any of the bands playing. We chilled out in Big Hands before going into the venue and, as I was supping on my Hoegaarden, we realised that the Monkeys had come in!! Already Alex looked like an iconic rock star, but as we were all just surprised and couldn't think of anything worth saying we just let them be, although I nearly had to knock Alex out of the way to get out of the place!
There was a bit of a queue to get in but it proved little trouble to get a good place in the moshpit. I admired the lighting and Radio 1 logos, feeling a rush of excitement that a show I was at would be broadcast to the whole nation! The crowd gathered and we knew this was a special occasion the second the ageing Steve Lamacq arrived onstage to a heroes welcome, introducing us to first act ”Forward Russia!. Although I know Steve is quite into them, I just cannot overlook the fact that they were simply dross. At first it was quite funny watching the singer screaming like a maniac and really going for it, but this eventually become unbearably tiresome. Their white outfits covered with exclamation marks just looked cheap and the rest of the band are only worth mentioning because they had a female drummer which is unusual. It also made me feel slightly sad that this show will probably go down as the absolute high point of their careers. The band knew it, the crowd knew it, and still the show was not remotely exciting! It wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't memorable at all.
The crowd then really filled up and the atmosphere became thick with excitement as we all knew that the Monkeys were on next. Steve came back on and introduced them, we all surged forwards and raised our hands to welcome them, then they struck up I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and everyone in the room just went mental, me included!! I had never heard this song in my life but joined the crowd in jumping really fast and sung back at them on the "WELL I BET THAT YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR!!" scream towards the end. Next up was Fake Tales Of San Francisco which completely blew my mind, with its glorious introduction and chorus that could rival any early Oasis song for universal appeal. I was chanting "I don't want to hear you, KICK ME OUT, KICK ME OUT!" for quite a while afterwards. The songs continued but nothing quite seemed to scale the heights of the opening duo, perhaps because I had exhausted all of my energy moshing like a road drill enjoying them. We were already sweating like never before and beer was flying everywhere. Although Alex had a sore throat, he clearly was treating this as a very important show and his intense vocals were exciting enough to equal any hype NME could throw at the band.
Other songs played included Still Take You Home, Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But..., Dancing Shoes, Mardy Bum, When The Sun Goes Down and A Certain Romance. I just remember a general high quality of tunes, especially everyone erupting to the intro of Mardy Bum, but nothing seemed quite as memorable as the openers, and I only got this list from the Radio 1 website so can't offer any more specific details. It was very special to see that the crowd seemed to know every word to all these songs that hadn't even been released and the level of devotion on display must surely rank as the most hype any band have ever had ever! However the fans definitely calmed down a bit and I gradually let myself get pulled back to a quieter part of the crowd, which made the next moment a total surprise. Normally I keep a close tab on my glasses in the moshpit but my shoelaces had come undone and much of my concentration was in trying to stand upright. Thus I was completely shocked when someone to my left managed to knock my glasses off my face. I immediately screamed, pushed people out of the way and got everyone to look for them but it was no good - they'd completely vanished! The only ray of light was that I probably needed new ones anyway, although it meant I had to suffer the rest of the night in near blindness. In a double shock, I got back afterwards to find that my phone had been crushed in my pocket by the crowd: the expense of this night out was close to £300! So was it worth it?
The Arctic Monkeys finished and I was left to survey the wreckage, eventually finding my broken glasses. Another poor soul had lost his trainer and I just felt all my energy had gone. I can't blame the majority of the crowd for just heading for the exit. It was clear that the best part of the night was over and that whatever came next could only be an anticlimax. Steve Lamacq came back and apologised for grinning like a fool, and said he'd definitely have to get a show up to Manchester again very soon. This wasn't just a DJ whipping up hyperbole: we all sensed we had experienced something very special. Nine Black Alps were then introduced and strangely provided the chill-out element of my night. Apparently they had a backdrop on stage which I couldn't see thanks to my broken glasses. The crowd got going with a small moshpit but excitement was a fraction of what it was before. However, NBA had definitely improved. One or two songs stood out and you got the feeling that they were actually starting to go places. At the time of writing they have been discussing that their second album will break away for the Nirvana stylee into more tuneful fare which bodes very well for their future!
However, I was still shell-shocked by the impact of the Monkeys and losing my glasses so by now was not paying much attention. I had two Pepsi's outside to try and restore some energy then got back and turned on the radio to hear the set we'd just come from, which was a nice moment! I had taped most of the show and heard a few seconds of ”Forward Russia! who still just sounded tedious and I committed the Arctic Monkeys performance to Minidisc to listen to again and again. I didn't even bother listening to see if I'd taped any of Nine Black Alps. In the future I am fully aware that this review will look silly, as the Arctic Monkeys will either have fallen flat on their faces as a product of excess hype, became victim to a terrible second album which has made them a great wasted hope, or they may have become even more brilliant and lived up to all expectations but then the inevitable backlash comes about and everyone turns against them for no reason. I have no idea which way it will go for them, but they're a very exciting new band with a clutch of incredible songs and this was an awesome show. There's little doubt it was the best set I'd ever seen where I didn't know a single song and I can't wait to see where their careers go from here.
Mark: 9.0/10
Nine Black Alps
Arctic Monkeys
”Forward Russia!
Where
Manchester Debating Hall
When
3rd October 2005
Price
£10.00
Who with
Matt, Jon
Position
Towards the front, in the moshpit
Comments
At the time of writing (20th December 2005), Arctic Monkeys are without doubt the most exciting new band in the world, and by my reckoning must be the greatest group ever to go to number one with a first single (the strongest other contender I've found? Pet Shop Boys). Whenever NME spout their tedious hyperbole about whoever the latest Next Big Thing will be, I usually can spot a band that may have something. I find a frighteningly accurate assessment can be made by just looking at the pictures. Groups such as Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs all jumped out and caught my interest, whereas I was immediately turned off the likes of The White Stripes, The Strokes and The Bravery by observing what total knobs they all looked like, despite the crap that the NME were writing about them. I nearly jumped on the Monkeys bandwagon as early as June but tragically didn't make the effort to catch them play Jabez Clegg (a Manchester pub) so missed out. Even without hearing a note of music I just knew there was something exciting going on.
