Not the "Monkees" but the Arctic Monkeys. Back for their second tour of duty here in San Francisco (they played Popscene a few months ago), they once again played in front of a sold out, boisterous crowd full of Anglophiles and Crazies. The crowd wasn't "crazy," as in mentally crazy, but more like Mad Fer It! I think this is the only time where grown men can yell, scream and clamor for young 17 year old teens without being perverts.
Right from the get go, the Monkey's supercharged rock/pop extravaganza got the crowd fired up and ready to bounce. This was especially present during the band's second song, it's mega worldwide hit single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" from their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. The entire crowd got riled up in a panic, and you can see football hooligan-like men raise their fists in the air like they are ready for war. Lots of singing along happened in this song. Indeed, the band paused momentarily midway, as if timed perfectly, and the crowd yelled the song's main chorus.
There wasn't a dull moment at this show. Even I had to leave my perch on the balcony and fly downstairs to join the Crazies in the front. They pretty much played all the songs off of Whatever..., including "All You People are Vampires," and a couple of other ones that I did not recognize.
I think the show's zenith was reached when they played "Fake Tales of San Francisco." Not only was this song about our lovely city, but it's probably one of the best tracks in the album. Lyrics such as, "and all the weekend rock stars are at the toilets, practicing their lines" just cracks me up (hello Arrow Bar! Rickshaw Stop!). I had to get closer to the front, so I did, and I hopped around like mad along with the other crazies. There were a whole bunch of Brits, Scots and Irish in the crowd, as evidenced by the accents I heard when they all yelled "get off the bandwagon and put down the handbook!" Amazing!
Fantastic musicians! Fantastic show! Probably the best show of the year thus far. Definitely more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
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