Ahead of a Glastonbury headline slot, Friday night saw Sheffield at a standstill as their own Arctic Monkeys played to a sold-out Hillsborough Park, nearly six years after they last played Sheffield Arena and almost twenty-one years since they debuted on Trippet Lane in the city centre. Olivia Hannant took the journey to witness the homecoming.
A journey from Nottingham to Sheffield’s Hillsborough Park saw us joined by many other excited and like-minded fans buzzing to catch sight of the four-piece on home turf and was assisted by a real sense of community. The demographic spanning all ages - and the kind lady who offered me her wristband for the front pit during the second song - made it a night that cannot easily slip my mind. Opening with The Mysterines and The Hives, both sets were well received by an already packed out park, as the Swedish garage rock band got the crowd chanting.
As the band took to the stage there was widespread shock when Turner began to play the opening riff of A Certain Romance, which the band hasn’t played live since 2013. What a way to open the first homecoming show, followed up with a dive into their vast discography with the likes of Brianstorm and Snap Out of It, echoing through the 50,000-capacity park.
It felt rather cinematic to be able to run into the front pit as the set had just begun but cemented in my mind as a real bucket list moment for me just seeing Arctic Monkeys live, yet alone being blessed enough to make it to the front.
Their 2014 album AM took pride of place in the set with six hits being played including the likes of Arabella, R U Mine? And Do I Wanna Know? They truly played all of their hits with Mardy Bum and Fluorescent Adolescent also being additions to the setlist again for this tour, showing that this was more of a greatest hits tour than a run for their new album The Car, which was released last October. The span of fishnet tights and battered Converse showed that these hits have matured as timeless classics and still have much more life in them.
For lovers of the most recent two albums the likes of There’d Better Be a Mirrorball, Body Paint and Perfect Sense off The Car were played to the crowd. Despite a lack of crowd enthusiasm for certain newer songs, I believe they have been overlooked and thoroughly enjoyed being able to hear some of their evolved sound. Dare I say, I even wished there had been more from the 2018 release Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. However, I understand most fans were in attendance for the band’s classics.
Another deep dive into their past was taken as Turner yelled out ‘To the Cornerstone!’ in the way a train conductor would as the crowd was transported through the narrative of Cornerstone, one of my highlights of the evening.
Seeing the reaction of the crowd as a mirror-ball descended from the ceiling and the familiar opening of 505 resonating throughout solidified that this was a night to remember, from the atmosphere of the crowd to Turner’s stage presence. The Arctic Monkeys are still in their prime and by the looks of things have no intention of wavering anytime soon.
Olivia Hannant
Edited by Ali Glen, Photos courtesy of Lili Petals, Video Courtesy of Arctic Monkey's official Youtube
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