Concert Review- Arctic Monkeys at Stubbs, Austin TX 8/2/2011

So I keep wondering to myself, where are the great rock bands? Surely there are better bands than Arctic Monkeys, but let's be honest, how many pure rock bands do we have that are consistently good? Arctic Monkeys have been tearing a hole in England for the past decade but have suffered a bit in the states. Popular? Yes. But these guys are headlining stadiums in their homeland and they're playing clubs here. That being said, they're a live band that work in any venue, they're just that damn good at what they do.

Set opener "Library Pictures" off of this year's "Suck It and See" is a terrific way of displaying the band's talent, and probably their most underrated card is Alex Turner's delivery on his often sly and cryptic lyrics. He's a good singer, but the dark material of the Monkeys' last two albums has been enough put a little whoop ass into Turner's persona which was that of a Teddy Boy.

Oh but then we have Matt Helders. Helders is probably the best drummer out there period. Listening to him pound away on "Brianstorm" is something to see because you can't believe someone can actually go that fast and keep up with the band. "Crying Lightning" is also a spectacular showcase of his skill as well, the twists and turns in that song are enough as it, but Helders can keep it up and pound and not outshine the band, in fact he seems completely modest and comfortable on stage compared to the others.

The Austin crowd was perfect. The crowd had fun, knew most of the words, lost their shit to "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor", and largely appreciated the band as well as their fans back in the old country. New cuts like "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair" sounded great and were played with an added jolt compared to their album counterparts. They're young, hip, and have made four good albums and rival The Strokes as the best pure rock and roll band of the past decade. It's a shame they're not as big in the states, but those of us in attendance on Tuesday will appreciate them either way.

-brosport