Arctic Monkeys’ “AM North American Tour” – REVIEW

We recently had the chance to attend and photograph the Chicago date of the Arctic Monkeys’ current U.S. tour at The Riviera Theater. You can check out our review and live photos, after the break.

Monday. First day of the work week and people usually do not even want to get out of bed. But leave it to Arctic Monkeys to have a show on a Monday night to get people looking forward to it.

On their AM North American Tour, they made a stop at The Riviera in Chicago and if you weren’t there, you sure missed a show.

Let me start off by saying I was surprised by the age difference of the attendees when I walked in.I expected the older people, considering the band has been around since about 2002, but there were many young faces in the crowd, even up front at the barricade. I’m glad though, that their music is still being heard by the younger generation and can be appreciated still.

However, I was more surprised when before they came on, security called for more security guards to the front. I silently laughed thinking to myself, ‘It’s Arctic Monkeys, it’s going to be so chill’. Boy, was I wrong. By the second song, people were already crowd surfing and some were even moshing in the front. I saw them at Lolla, a few years ago and I don’t remember people going that crazy. Nonetheless the crowd seemed to be having fun so I guess why not?

So for the rest of the show, I stayed clear of those people and was near the back where it was pretty packed but not as wild. With five albums out, they had a lot of material to cover and they wasted no time jumping into their set starting with “Do I Wanna Know?” and continuing on with “Brainstorm”, “Dancing Shoes”, “Old Yellow Bricks”, “Teddy Picker”, “Snap out Of It”, “Fluorescent Adolescent”, “Anabella”, “Crying Lightening”, “Knee Socks”, “Why’d You only Call Me When You’re High?”, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” (which was dedicated to the ladies of Chicago),“R U Mine?”, and more. This show was complete with strobe lights and dance numbers as well as slow songs and just a real good time. Pausing at some points in between songs, Alex would talk to the crowd. One of the things he said was “Love you til we die, Chicago” and well, yes Alex, the feelings are mutual.

Opening for them was Chicago’s very own, Twin Peaks. This four piece band is making a name for themselves. With already playing at Riotfest, and now opening for Arctic Monkeys, you really need to go check them out. They were a great start of the night and I would definitely love to see them again live. I would suggest listening to their songs, “Baby Blue”, “Stand in the Sand”, and “Fast Eddie”. One number that really got the crowd going, was when they played a cover of the show, Malcolm in the Middle’s theme song. Currently they are on tour and if they are coming near you, I would not miss the chance to go see them.

If the AM has not yet rolled through your town, go get tickets now and prepare yourself for a night of dancing and great music.

Information about the review…
Tour: AM North American Tour
Bands: Arctic Monkeys, Twin Peaks
Reviewer/Photographer: Ali Jimenez
Date: September 23, 2013
Venue: The Riviera Theater in Chicago, IL