Seen It>>Arctic Monkeys - Don Valley Bowl, Sheffield 10.06.2011

The quartet returned home to deliver tracks from their eagerly-awaited fourth album, "Suck It and See" and play to some long-lost live favourites. The Monkeys played to a packed 10,000 strong tent, borrowed from the near by Leeds festival site, with fans travelling from all over.

Their intro was a quick and no-nonsense start to proceedings, with "A View from the Afternoon", quickly followed by "Brianstorm." They mostly played homage to their first two albums, including the Yorkshire-clad 2Still Take You Home", about nights out on their home turf. The hometown show, perhaps, was always a best place to debut tracks from their new album, with the crowd singing along with every word, despite the fact that their album had been out for barely a week. "Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair", "Library Pictures", "Brick by Brick, "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala" and "She's Thunderstorms" being the new tracks.

Though the big moment of the show, was the live return of fan favourite, "Mardy Bum", played to Alex Turner's sole guitar and the bellowing crowd. "You've always been better than me at singing this", Turner revealed looking emotional and struck for words. The band are later joined on stage by support act, Miles Kane, for anthem "505", before ending on "A Certain Romance", with Turner forgetting the words only for the crowd to support.

They may not have gone for the same stage show they had on recent tours, but all Arctic Monkeys needed was a hometown show and a return of live favourites, to once again regain their tag as "Britain's most loved band."

Setlist:
A View from the Afternoon
Brianstorm
This House is a Circus
Still Take You Home
Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair
Library Pictures
Teddy Picker
Crying Lightning
Brick by Brick
The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
Cornerstone
Mardy Bum
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
She's Thunderstorms
Pretty Visitors
If You Were There, Beware
Do Me A Favour
That's Where You're Wrong
505
Encore:
When The Sun Goes Down
Fluorescent Adolescent
A Certain Romance

Reviews>>Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See (Domino Recordings)

Alex Turner and co return with their fourth album, hoping to once again be crowned 'Britain's Best Band'. After the experimental, desert-rock of 'Humbug', which many felt was a backwards step for the Sheffield quartet, Turner promised the new record would be a "more poppier" affair.

With song titles named after what would seem, a drunken booze up, the Monkeys have stopped taking themselves seriously, with the after-effects being positive. Lead single "Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair", driven by its Alice in Chains bass-riff, contains lyrics such as "do the Macarena in the Devil's Lair" and "go into business with a grizzly bear", whilst "Library Pictures" contains "Library pictures, of the quickening canoe. The first of its kind to get to the moon."

Whilst 'Humbug' was recorded in the California desert with QOTSA front man Josh Homme in as producer, 'Suck it and See' was recorded in a LA studio, with James Ford back in. Homme, however, does return to add background vocals to "All My Own Stunts", where his voice is almost un-recognizable. In short, the album sounds nothing like the early March teaser, 'Brick by Brick', many predicted it would have been. Turner brings some of his crooning and balladry from the "Submarine" soundtrack, "Reckless Serenade" and "Piledriver Waltz", to show how he has developed as a musician from the days of writing songs about "fucking taxi ranks", a Turner himself put it.

Arctic Monkeys show how they have grown out of their contemporaries and have reclaimed their crown as both Britain's 'best guitar band', but more importantly, as Britain's 'best band.'

8/10