Almost an hour after the scheduled time, Arctic Monkeys took to the stage on March 9 at Bitec Bangna, inside halls 101 and 102 to be precise. There was no fanfare or intro video as silhouettes of the four members walked to their positions on the stage, to the audience's screams and applause.
There was a sea of mobile phone screens as everyone tried to capture the British band make their much-awaited Thailand debut. Lead vocalist and guitarist Alex Turner, guitarist Jamie Cook, drummer Matt Helders and bassist Nick O'Malley kicked off the night with Sculptures Of Anything Goes, the latest single from their seventh studio album The Car, on an intense and moody vibe. They then launched into the high-energy and hectic Brianstorm, the opening track of their second album, which fans enthusiastically jumped and cheered to, creating vibrations felt on the floor.
The band then took the audience through standout hits from their early years. Up next was Snap Out Of It, one of their most groovy songs, before frontman Turner briefly greeted the audience and resumed with Crying Lighting and Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair (DSDCIMYC).
Frontman Alex Turner.
Their set wasn't the flashiest production but was still memorable. They performed in front of what looked like very long curtains while two screens that flanked the stage shifted between the four members. There were many moments when the stage lighting was put to good use to deliver an impressive effect; lights flashed and flooded the stage to accentuate the "Oh, yeah, yeah yeah" part of DSDCIMYC.
They then took the audience forward with more recent hits, namely I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am, Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?, Four Out Of Five, which was played with a new arrangement, and Arabella, which contained the War Pigs outro.
They then went all the way back to From The Ritz To The Rubble from their debut album, in which Turner impressively sang the long verse seemingly without taking a breath, and then took a breather with Cornerstone from their third album that fans automatically swayed their hands to.
Guitarist Jamie Cook.
The mood turned rousing as Do I Wanna Know?, which is their first song to cross the pond and enter the Billboard Hot 100, stomped along as fans enthusiastically sang along to the chorus while the stage lights flashed in white in rhythm with the drum. Turner yelled Bangkok towards the end of the song, to the crowd's cheers. Definitely a highlight.
Bass guitarist Nick O'Malley.
Do Me A Favour, the break-up song from a bad guy's POV from their second album, was up next before they performed moody Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino from their sixth album of the same name, which marked a shift in their musical style compared to their previous works. Things then turned rowdy and nostalgic with Teddy Picker from their second album and Pretty Visitors from their third.
They treated day-one fans with I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, their first single from 2005, before Body Paint, the second single from their latest album was chosen to close the show. The latter started off soft and slow before it built up to an intense crescendo and closed with a prolonged outro to highlight their respective instrumental prowess before they left the stage.
They didn't keep the fans waiting long before they returned for an encore, which started off with a mellow vibe of There'd Better Be A Mirrorball, which ended with a spinning mirrorball light effect on the stage for a rather spellbinding performance. The crowd got excited with 505, which was done with a new arrangement, before they rocked the house with a high-energy performance of R U Mine?, closing the show for real.
They didn't dilly-dally with chit-chats or crowd-pleasing Thai phrases during their 21-track setlist, which lasted 90 minutes and Turner, with his unique baritone and swag, was vocally on point throughout the memorable show.
