ARCTIC MONKEYS FOH 2005 // The @rena, ku-stockton, the empire // MIDDLESBROUGH

Thursday, May 19, 2005

1. The View From the Afternoon"
2. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"
3. "Fake Tales of San Francisco"
4. "Dancing Shoes"
5. "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured"
6. "Mardy Bum"
7. "Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts"
8. "Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But..."
9. "From the Ritz to the Rubble"
10. "When the Sun Goes Down"
11. "A Certain Romance"

After providing PA systems at The Arena for a while I was asked if I could provide all the necessary stage gear for a gig upstairs in the big room, I had played there about 10 years prior in my college band before moving to London, so getting the chance to be the sound guy on this felt like a bit of a step up at the time.

This gig was for 2 bands, a local band called The Romance, who'd be supporting a band called Arctic Monkeys. I was told that The Romance would provide all the backline equipment for this gig as the headliner would be travelling light with their manager in a car from Sheffield, and they would also be late for a soundcheck, no problem..

Now the Arena had no windows, so I was oblivious to the crowd that was building outside, neither had I heard of this band from Sheffield. I did know the lads from the Romance quite well, so was happy with the setup..

Upon arrival the stage lights didn't work, so the hire company had to be called in at short notice to sort that out, ( I think we ended up with about 6 functional par cans) before I could soundcheck the support band. Maybe an hour later the headline arrived, fresh from of a car journey from sheffield with a very important looking business man type and armed with a handful of cymbals, sticks and some guitar bags finally we could quickly soundcheck these guys and set up for The Romance.

So as I've already said, I had never heard of these lads before, I asked the drummer what mix he wanted in his wedge "As long as I can hear my vocals and his (points to Alex Turner) I'm good", The Singer said roughly the same thing, so I left them to set up and go for a song when they were ready (finally).

So soundcheck, they blast through "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and declare themselves ready, at this point I realise this track has been played in most of the indie clubs for a little while and wonder if this will be a good gig..

The house lights go down and the doors open and the venue is full, absolutely packed as The Romance go through their set, and the lads of Arctic Monkeys obviously deliver an awesome show for what is now one of those nights you hear about for years after, similar to when Oasis played at the same venue in 1993.

A few months later they returned to the north east to play at Ku-Stockton, followed by a show at The Empire, this time they had more gear, and a small team of crew to run around and take care of the FOH duties, both shows again featured The Romance as support..

A couple of weeks later the video for "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" was released, and The rest is history



What an evening....