20 September 28–OctOber 4, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Cold Comfort Arctic Monkeys were at their indie sleaze best at their Dickies Arena concert in Fort Worth with Fontaines D.C. BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY E nglish indie band Arctic Monkeys played Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Saturday. The show was, of course, excellent because they’re easily one of the best rock bands of their generation. (Don’t bother with any “what about” comments; we’re including whoever you’re thinking of.) The band is coming up on two decades of existence, going from being one of the first viral phenomenons of the internet age to darlings of the aughts blogosphere to eventually creat- ing cerebral, flamboyant concept albums about gentrification on the moon while experiencing several slumps and come- backs along the way. Their Fort Worth show, both in the qual- ity of their performance and the intensity of fans’ enthusiasm, made it abundantly clear why they’ve stuck around this long. Irish rockers Fontaines D.C. set the tone for the show with their opening set, bringing a post-punk flare that was reminis- cent of the ‘80s alternative scene and its revival movement, which the Arctic Monkeys originally sprung from. It helped create the perfect state of mind for audience members: nostal- gic for the past while excited about something new. Arctic Monkeys’ current tour is technically in support of their 2022 record The Car, but you could make the case that it serves just as much as an anniversary celebration of 2013’s AM. Seven of AM’s twelve songs made the setlist on Satur- day, including lesser known tracks “Snap Out of It” and “Fireside.” Only four songs from The Car made the cut. There’s a couple of potential reasons for this. One is that AM is the band’s most commercially successful album to date. Another reason is they recently celebrated its 10th anniver- sary —both are solid reasons to give the album some extra love. What their more recent output lacked in setlist repre- sentation, it made up for in aesthetic dominance. In alignment with The Car and 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’s jazzy midcentury lounge vibe, frontman Alex Turner sported a leisure suit and aviators against a sort of retrofuturist backdrop. The show was filmed and pro- jected on what appeared to be vintage TV studio cameras. The unpredictable mix of new and old songs kept the audi- ence on their toes. While some older hits such as “Fluorescent Adolescent” had slower arrangements and made the set more cohesive (maybe because even Turner can’t keep up with his own rapid fire wordplay anymore), it was not uncommon for the vibe of the show to flip on a dime and create a bit of a tonal dissonance. The band made it clear what kind of night it was going to be from the start, with sultry The Car single “Sculp- tures of Anything Goes” abruptly leading into the nervy, fre- netic “Brianstorm.” The group’s fans, however, have long since learned to embrace the band’s wavering energy and had no trouble keeping up. Arctic Monkeys broke out during what has now been dubbed the “indie sleaze” era, with their early singles offering sharp and witty observations of British youth culture and their hometown music scene. Their first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, was a staple of the MySpace generation. AM, in turn, solidified their longevity by becoming the soundtrack of the early 2010s Tumblr scene. The slick, moody greaser aesthetic of the album defined the very last generation of teenagers who thought cigarettes would make them look cool. Even at Saturday’s show, every woman in attendance seemed to be channeling the titular dream girl from “Ara- bella’’ with their punk chic ensembles. But the scrappy club kids from Sheffield were nowhere to be found this past Sat- urday, nor was there a leather jacket to be seen. These may be their most enduring sounds and imagery, but Arctic Mon- keys have bigger and better things to do these days. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino opened with the jar- ringly funny lyric, “I just wanted to be one of The Strokes / Now look at the mess you’ve made me make.” It’s a humble- brag, but a deserved one. They’re been creatively outpacing The Strokes for years. What separates Arctic Monkeys from the other buzzy in- die bands of yore is that they put in the work to be timeless. By drawing inspiration from the past, the band is making it clear that they won’t be defined by just one era. Their un- wavering creative curiosity, fearless experimentation and re- fusal to rest on their laurels is why they’re selling out arenas in 2023 while even their most fondly remembered contem- poraries are considered relics. After an evening of pulling the audience back and forth, the band finally managed to perfectly consolidate their vi- sion with “505,” one of many songs to gain popularity years after its release thanks to TikTok. The fan favorite track was further elevated by the inclusion of a glimmering disco ball casting reflections across the stadium. It was every- thing fans loved about the band, new and old, condensed into a magical four minutes. One repeated line in the chorus of “Fluorescent Adoles- cent” goes, “The best you ever had is just a memory.” While that may apply to whatever girl drama Turner was going through in 2007, the band has made sure it’s not true of their career. We hope they bring their best back to North Texas soon. Vera “Velma” Hernandez | B-SIDES | t Music Arctic Monkeys put on one of the best shows of 2023. since 1978! New Location! 609 N Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75201
