Reviews

Surely the next logical step would have been a month’s tour around the skies in a blimp navigated by Bowie? Hey, I’m just saying what you’re all thinking. But no, instead they decided to take a mini-tour around the UK. Does it make them any less of a phenomenon?

Try the exact opposite. Tonight, Arctic Monkeys are moving to a more familiar sized stage at Manchester Central, playing to a crowd of all walks.

Supporting are garage-surf rag tags The Horrors, which means front man Faris 'Rotter' Badwan and his gang of oddities unleashing all the psycho funk they constantly churn out down London way, entertaining a handful of their giddy fans and garnering confusion and unsure distaste from the rest of the crowd.

But then, they’re not the reason why anyone’s really here anyway, and the venue rings with adoration as four young men adorn the stage. This band before us is not the same Arctic Monkeys that last year played second fiddle to Maximo Park on an NME university tour.

Tonight, they literally hammer out a set of face-melting crowd favourites with their new brand of stand-alone psych-rock.

Glasto-thrashing aside, this dark circus troupe has somehow retained their laddish gang mentality and thrown the stadium theatrics in the lion’s cage, instead opting to get to know the crowd and share banter.

"Are you lot fighting over there? Or are you just getting off with each other?" says Alex to a pumped up circle pit. Tonight is a prime example that yes, a band can become even better after that 'difficult' second album.