Arctic Monkeys roll back the years as they bring dazzling gig to Glasgow

Arctic Monkeys put on a thrilling show in the Southside of Glasgow last night at Bellahouston Park as they rolled out some of their much-loved tunes alongside tracks from their latest album release.

Many had been anxious that the gig would not take place after the band had to cancel their tour date five days previous to the Glasgow gig in Dublin due to frontman Alex Turner having laryngitis. The 37-year-old made a swift recovery and returned in time to play a headline set at Glastonbury on Friday evening which was met with mixed reviews due to the band’s ever-changing ways.

The day on the Southside of the city did not get off to the best of starts as the rain was constant throughout the afternoon until it eventually ceased around five o’clock with those concertgoers who had turned up early to get a good spot in the front pens or at the front of the rear barrier being absolutely drenched.

Eventually, there was a break in the weather and the sunshine came out with Liverpool band The Mysterines opening up the gig with a few tunes before Swedish rockers The Hives took to the stage who undoubtedly got the place going after an electric set which saw lead singer Pelle Almqvist get involved into the Glasgow crowd which built the anticipation for the band who everyone had came to see.

There was an explosion of noise as the Arctic Monkeys took to the stage and opened up with Brianstorm which was then followed by tracks off their albums AM, Suck It and See and Humbug before diving straight into Teddy Picker with the crowd matching the unbelievable energy of the band on stage. One of the funniest moments about the set was Alex Turner imitating to be a bird as he announced, “Release the rest of the birds” as seagulls swirled around the sky at Bellahouston Park.

The full setlist at Bellahouston Park was:

1. Brianstorm
2. Snap Out of It
3. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
4. Crying Lightning
5. Teddy Picker
6. From the Ritz to the Rubble
7. Cornerstone
8. Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?
9. Arabella
10. Four Out of Five
11. Pretty Visitors
12. Fluorescent Adolescent
13. Perfect Sense
14. Do I Wanna Know?
15. Mardy Bum
16. There’d Better Be a Mirrorball
17. 505
18. Body Paint
19. Sculptures of Anything Goes
20. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
21. R U Mine?

The biggest alt-rock band in Britain certainly put on a show for their adoring fans as they worked their way through some of their best tunes which were complimented by four tracks off The Car which was released last October. The opening notes to Perfect Sense sounded big in sound before the large mirrorball suspended from the top of the stage took centre as it glistened on the beautiful Glasgow summer’s night. However, the real star of the new live debutants was ‘Body Paint’ which sounded utterly brilliant.

For anyone who may have been doubting the Monkeys after their Glastonbury set, the encore would have been enough to show that this band which has made such a huge impression on people’s lives is still at the top of their game as they closed the show with ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ which was met by thousands of fans giving one last push of energy to cap off a terrific gig that ended with ‘R U Mine?’ before the band departed to a rapturous applause and sent a buzzing crowd home happy.