Arctic Monkeys kicked off the final leg of their world tour last week (get tickets here), and on Saturday they stopped by Montreal’s Bell Center for a tantalizing show. Nearly a year after the trek’s initial announcement and subsequent release of their latest effort, The Car, the band finally were back in North America, bringing along their classics, a few surprises, and yes, there was indeed a mirrorball.
Irish rockers Fontaines D.C. have joined Arctic Monkeys for this latest round of shows, an excellent addition to the concert experience. The five-piece played a handful of tracks from their 2022 album, Skinty Fia, such as “I Love You” and “Nabokov,” while also including a few cuts from their earlier material.
Though nominally a four-piece, Arctic Monkeys brought an even bigger band arrangement than their openers to the stage. Alex Turner, Matt Helders, Jamie Cook, and Nick O’Malley have continued to perform as a seven-piece band, expanding their lineup with some new friends supporting with the percussion and keys.
Things kicked off with “Sculptures of Anything Goes” from their new LP before the band dove into older materials with fan favorites such as “Brainstorm” and “Snap Out of It.” Although this outting primarily serves as supporting The Car, the setlist mostly leaned more on tracks off AM, perhaps because the record’s 10th anniversary is quickly approaching. Aside from the singles, the band has dusted off “Fireside” during their first few dates, which is a pleasant addition.
While classics such as “From the Ritz to the Rubble” have remained on the setlist over the group’s recent tours, Alex Turner and friends have reintroduced older cuts like “Florescent Adolescent” and “Suck It and See” back into their song rotation. That’s perhaps come at the expense of their second-most recent album, 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, of which “One Point Perspective” was the only song to appear during their Montreal gig.
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With much of the set design focused on an alluring, retro-space-aged circule screen playing back pixelated footage like a VHS concert film, the show also featured an appearance by the iconic mirrorball during the encore (which opened with, you guest it, “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball”).
