This past Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009, two of the better live bands out there right now, The Arctic Monkeys AND The Airborne Toxic Event, played a show together at In The Venue in Salt Lake City, UT…and this lil’ blogger was there to feel the magic! Here’s the scoop on the mad awesome that went down:
The Airborne Toxic Event
Airborne Toxic started their set off acoustically, which was a very nice, more personal experience than I was expecting for this show. There were very few stage theatrics, with very low lighting (as you can see in the first pic up above), and a very down to earth vibe.
However, I personally believe Airborne toxic works best when they switch over to the electric vibe. They have a trademark sound once they turn the pickups on and throw a little more energy into it all, a sound that feels a lot more honest and heart-wrenching than many bands have the ability to capture. This, in all fairness, may be due to the singer’s lack of vocal ability; you don’t need to be a professional anything to be able to yell along with him and feel like you know exactly where he’s coming from. All around a great set, and, as they played a new song of theirs during the show, I’m very excited to see where this new group goes.
The Arctic Monkeys
It’s two days later and my neck is still aching from this band’s set. Known for their head-banging, punk-ish/ska-ish/rock-ish sound, the group delivered a mind-blowing set that had the perfect dynamic of ups and downs, giving the crowd a chance to take a break before ripping back into a mosh pit-filled “View From The Afternoon.” With a good amount of begging for it, the audience at In The Venue was able to coax the band out of their standard set for this tour, in honor of their new album titled “Humbug,” and into playing a dance-y “Mardy Bum” towards the end of their set.
For a band that has already sold out the Wembley Arena in the UK two months in advance of the show’s date, one would expect there to be some element of “big” lost in translation once their show is brought to a more compact venue such as In The Venue, but the Monkeys knew exactly how to make things work for the September 22nd show. Looking at their past of playing in bars around England, however, it is not too surprising that the group still knew the ropes of playing smaller shows, as they revisited their roots that Tuesday night. And a big round of applause to them for doing so!
