Arctic Monkeys Have No Post-Millennial Tension

For a moment during the Arctic Monkeys' final live performance of 2009, perhaps even a micro-fraction of a moment, I was fully sold and convinced the lads from Sheffield were the world's biggest rock stars. Listening to all three of their distinctive records, I can believe it, but up until this point each of their Montreal shows were listless and provided conclusive proof there were in fact teenaged Britons hidden behind their shiny Brit-pop armour.

So what made this gig, in support of the supremely underrated and mature Humbug, that much different from the generational zeitgeist that followed them to the late Spectrum in 2006? Or the alcohol-free daycare snoozer a year later at Olympia? Or a deuce of Osheaga sets? Well, like any good rock band in the proper British tradition, the Arctics have been taught to stand there and re-enact, occasionally pacing around with Gallagherian/Brownian swagger to denote old school, "I Am The Ressurection"-style attitude. Their early shows suffered as the hyperactivity of the material prevented them from even taking a swig of beer in-between songs, but conversely that was a major part of their youthful charm — they played fast and they played infallibly. Top marks for not trying, if you will.

Anyway, the aforementioned Arctic Monkeys eureka moment happened not as they were hammering out crowd pleasers "Brianstorm" and "I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor" with the type of blinding speed that would have you assuming the stage smoke was emanating from their melting hands. It was during the southwestern-flavoured Humbug openers "My Propeller" and "Crying Lightning," both of which make up for their lack of flash with steady build-ups and intricate layering. They might seem like stoner rock downers on the Josh Homme-produced record, but on stage, the lugubrious, ominous "coax me out my loves" from the former ticked like an imminent time bomb set to go off, and frontman Alex Turner didn't disappoint when the time came to whip the crowd into a frenzy, over-annunciating every "propeller" like a skeevy cowboy who'd spent too much time in the cactus patch. Humbug is twisted, horny and less about the big hook than the murk in-between it. Turner got most of the credit, but Jamie Cook stole the show on "Lightning," with every piercing guitar twang cutting through the dusty musical desert.

I was sold but it came as a slight shock that the capacity crowd at Metropolis wildly cheered the new, slower material. The mostly casual music fans enthusiastically danced like robots from 1984, but they also cried lightning, swung from your only ocean and waved their arms in unison to the likes of "Secret Door."

Now that the first true decade of the web age come to a close, and despite the backlash surrounding their meteoric ascent to Brit-pop's torchbearers in 2006 all it takes is a packed audience of 2,000-plus screaming fans to understand why they, among the hundreds of bands you devoted time to in the past 10 years, were plucked from the cabbage patch and deemed a band of destiny.

Simply put, in bulk they wrote better, more accessible and surreptitiously deeper songs than your or my favourite band of the aughts. At each stage of development, the group churned out a song beyond their means, that hinted at an even brighter future without diminishing their previous output. First it was the two-part tale "Leave Before The Lights Come On," then the first hint that Alex Turner could write a really disturbing relationship song in "Do Me A Favour," to finally album highpoint (and concert lowpoint) "Cornerstone." Sadly, it was a bit too sing-songy and cornball to work at a rock show, although an acoustic version showcasing Turner's lascivious croon might be in order.

Moreso than any band in this decade, almost any Arctic Monkey song in their growing catalogue could potentially be defended as being their best. Many will contend there isn't much variation in the material, and they certainly do stick to a well-worn British pop rock formula, but like an expert wood carver sanding away until his sculpture is perfect, no one cares if he didn't personally chop the wood.

Setlist:

"Dance Little Liar"
"Brainstorm"
"This House Is A Circus"
"Still Take You Home"
"Potion Approaching"
"Red Right Hand"
"My Propeller"
"Crying Lightning"
"Catapult"
"The View From The Afternoon"
"I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor"
"Cornerstone"
"If You Were There, Beware"
"Pretty Visitors"
"Do Me A Favour"
"Fluorescent Adolescent/Last Christmas"

Encore:

"Secret Door
"505