It Doesn't Take No Sherlock Holmes... An Arctic Monkeys Review

It Doesn't Take No Sherlock Holmes... An Arctic Monkeys Review

Sometimes I think to myself that, at the ripe age of twenty, I might be too old for intense concerts. In between Modey Lemon and the Arctic Monkeys sets, my surroundings at Highline Ballroom began to overwhelm me. I’m already accustomed to the amount of pushing and overcrowding within a rock crowd. For some reason, I couldn’t handle the teenagers last night. It’s a known fact that high schoolers are kind of annoying. The combination of someone’s lack of personal hygiene, another girl’s Rapunzel-like hair ending up in my mouth and the wave of those needing pictures of the roadies setting up the stage made me a bit enraged. I was oh-so close to losing it and moving towards the back of the venue. Just in the nick of time, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs parted the crowd like the Red Sea.

Who would’ve thought that Diddy would redeem an entire concert for me? We’ll get to that part in a bit.

The opening band, Modey Lemon, set the mood for the Monkeys with their high-energy performance. Appearance wise, they were a bit mismatched. Singer/synthesizer Jason Kirker was wearing a sweater vest, while guitarist Paul Boyd resembled a 90’s grunger and drummer Paul Quattrone looked like he was soaked in blood. What lacked in their lack of coordinated outfits was forgotten with their strong garage-based set. They were naturals on stage, and they knew exactly where to position their fingers on their instruments with their eyes closed. While it wasn’t entirely necessary to have their final song become a 15-minute jam session, seeing how much effort they put into their craft is much appreciated.

Arctic Monkeys’ twenty-song set was full of instrumental highs and technical lows. They had some sound and guitar difficulties scattered throughout their 80-minute set. Lead man Alex Turner jokingly brushed off the troubles. Playing a good assortment of songs from past and present (their latest release, Humbug), surprisingly muscular Turner, guitarist Jamie Cook, bassist Nick O’Malley and drummer Matt Helders brought their ‘A’ game to the states. Crowd-pleasers such as ‘Brianstorm’ and ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ made the floor shake, and lighters and cell-phone lights were brought out during slower tunes such as ‘My Propeller’. However, the rambunctious crowd reminded me of piglets running amuck in their pigpen. The crowd was a mess, and it made me a bit sick. I thought that they could possibly ruin this experience, the night I’ve been anticipating for at least a month, for me.

Cue to Diddy splitting the crowd with his sumo bodyguard with him. When he first appeared in the balcony with his posse, I expected him to stay put up there all night. However, I don’t know what provoked him to get into this crowd, but it was like he wanted to experience the music that night. He got in deep and plopped himself next to me. It didn’t hit me that I was touching arms with him until I looked over and literally saw his Proactiv-treated face right next to me. I had to embrace the moment. I moshed with him until I lost him during ‘Potion Approaching’.

With people lining up in front of the venue since the morning (luckily, the kids who got to Highline at 5 AM managed to score some last minute tickets), this show was the concert of the summer for some. While both Arctic Monkeys and Modey Lemon had extraordinary sets, the crowd was on the verge of ruining my experience. I can thank Mr. Combs for redeeming my night and making it an experience I’ll never forget.