Venue: Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Date: 28th February 2023
Promoter: Lushington Entertainments
Review by: Maisha G.
Special Thanks: The Lushington Entertainments team
Photos by Cliff Y.
After being deprived of live shows for a good three years, we have finally returned to the new normal and 2023 just barely got through its first two months but we are already returning to the days when there was a live show every other week. This year had proven itself to be the revival of gigs and what more that landed my jaw dropping to the floor after learning about Arctic Monkeys finally gracing our shores.
There was a point of time when we could only craft fantastic lineups in our heads, just waiting for our country neighbours to hold a massive festival for us to travel to but low and behold, though just a red smidge on the world map – they did not miss us this time.
I hate to admit the fact that Covid has affected my choice of music and that I was not as vivacious or forward-looking as I used to be. I settled for listening to podcasts on Spotify and I am also embarrassed that I haven’t been checking out new music or listening to songs as often as I used to and should but the news about the shows coming up fast in Singapore has brought me back to dust off the old playlists I have. I have one playlist titled ‘Harry Pothead’ for many whimsical reasons but that playlist was the truest transition of my music taste and I have the bulk of my ‘indie-phase’ enveloped in that particular playlist with bands akin to Arctic Monkeys and being a massive fan of The Strokes myself (that has never changed), Arctic Monkeys made it known to the world that they look up to the band for inspiration and even did a cover of one of their popular numbers, “Take It or Leave It”, which had me hooked to the band. I followed them silently, but I won’t call myself a massive fan. The random inklings of wanting to listen to “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala” or even “A Certain Romance” serves as a reminder of how it was when I was in my teens, approaching 20 years of age and thinking of how life could’ve been if I was a touring groupie for these indie bands, but life had other plans.
The wet weather didn’t stop the concertgoers from queuing up in the rain just to get their hands on the merchandise and at every corner turned, were fans decked up in what I call ‘the different phases of Alex Turner’. With familiar faces and knowing that the crowd is of similar age range, I was glad to know that there won’t be piercing screams that will send my ears bleeding by the end of the night. I have learned to enjoy my own company at shows and that I am free to do what I want. No one around me knows me which means I do not have to live through the mementos of my janky awkward dance moves in the form of videos or singing my heart out to no one in particular.
The crowd covered every inch of the venue as it was a sold out show and for the first time in a long time, I felt revived and alive. It was way overdue and I was in my zone as I seated patiently waiting for the men clad in suits to greet the many eager fans who have waited for them since their debut EP Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys in 2005.
The light went out and the crowd went wild and there stood, four suave individuals with their touring musicians rocking the night out with a number from their latest album The Car, “Sculptures Of Anything Goes”. This was the first time I was listening to the song that I almost couldn’t recognize them with their sound that I am familiar with, but it was refreshing to learn of the direction they are moving towards in their music. I was bobbing my head and not mouthing the lyrics as I knew none, but I was confident that the night would progress into the old numbers that made my youth a memorable one.
As just when I thought most of the setlist for the night would be off the new album, Alex strummed his guitar with the familiar tune and Matt’s hard hits on the drums belted out the anthem of many alternative-music enthusiasts as the crowd roared to the lyrics of “Brianstorm”. I dare say that this was the track that placed them on the map in the music world and I remember watching the music video over four times a day while tuning in to MTV and just learning about the genre that I originally loved before I explored metal music. I was always an indie fan at heart and that night jolted awake that part of me as I stood up and danced away like no one was watching me, singing out to “See you later, alligator!”
The night transposed straight into the AM album with the song “Snap Out Of It”. It was the album that changed the course of their music and it took a while to get attuned to their sound, but they proved to have matured over the years and have progressed to keep abreast with the times when great music was released that year in 2013, having to compete with beasts of musicians like Daft Punk and My Bloody Valentine, just to name a few. This record placed them on the radar again, garnering the band an increasing number of fans as more people were listening to them.
Nick O’Malley plucked his bass to the song and I literally screamed my lungs out, I knew it was one of their best songs yet. “Crying Lighting” off their Humbug album was a crowd favourite if I might say so myself. I could see from where I was seated, people started skanking and dancing, it has been the anthem to the ‘Mod Crew’, a sight to etched in my head and I remember every word to the song like it was just yesterday when I was reading off the lyrics on the net and dancing to myself.
Alex and the boys took us on a trip, playing songs of different albums at a time and jumping in no particular order, often catching us by surprise. Not because it felt haphazard but knowing full well that we were on a nostalgic trip and right until the song that got me hooked and having it on repeat – “Cornerstone”. It was one of their mellow songs that gives one time to just unwind and feel the music. The lyrics spoke to me when I was going through a tough time in my life, and I was brought to tears; I couldn’t mouth the lyrics proper, but I managed to catch a breath and smiled to myself. Hearing and seeing it being performed live has elevated the song to a whole new level and is forever branded in my memory.
The song “Arabella”, each time having listened to it, would send me chuckling as it reminded me so much of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and I couldn’t shake that off as they performed the song and sang to it in the tune of the metal song arrangement.
I had myself planted on the seat for most of the night until “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” came alive and I was up on my feet again and dancing while shivering from the cold but managed to still bust a move or two in the dark whilst I looked around to see everyone in their own zone, doing the same thing. We all had a special moment to ourselves and it felt amazing, no words could ever describe that feeling.
Of course, the band couldn’t let us go without playing “505” that sounded different for my liking initially, but I soon got hooked with the giant disco ball reflecting the groovy sounds of the eclectic arrangement. The band closed the night with “R U Mine?” and the crowd’s energy did not falter at any juncture of the show and in fact, it grew as the night came to an end with that fan favourite track.
It was definitely the start to reliving the pre-adulthood days and I didn’t break a sweat even after dancing with my two left feet for the few songs I held most dear to my heart and the teenage energy that was bestowed upon me that night left me feeling an all-time high. Though the weather was the opposite of how we were feeling, I left with a smile. Thank you, Lushington Entertainments for making the dreams of many ‘post-teen-mid-30s’ fans who felt their adolescence returning to them on this night to remember.