A rare airing for a genuine modern classic.
On Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, Alex Turner and the Arctic Monkeys managed to do something few bands achieve: to capture the essence of a generation.
For many people now in their late 20s and early 30s, the lyrics encapsulated a coming-of-age as anticipation set them up, hazes ascended and they went looking for romance.
None of that album’s social commentaries were as wide-ranging in their scope and vision as their former set closer ‘A Certain Romance’.
The song hasn’t been played by the band for a number of years, however, in keeping with the malleable nature of their recent set lists, ‘Romance’ was played at their show Saturday night.
Alex Turner performed the track alone with a minimal drum machine loop accompanying him.
Watch it below.
Clip via MrSecretDoor
It comes after punk poet John Cooper Clarke joined the band for a performance on Friday, kicking off proceedings with a reading of his 1982 poem ‘I Wanna Be Yours’, which the band turned into a soothing, reverb-drenched masterpiece on their album AM.
Arctic Monkeys are over to Dublin next for two shows at the 3Arena on Monday and Tuesday night, which should prove box office appointments indeed.
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