We Saw Arctic Monkeys At The Hollywood Bowl Last Night; Here's What Happened

After quality chats with the Uber driver about the changing climate of hip hop and its inevitable connection to branding these days, he somehow coaxes a stern-looking security guard to let him continue on and drop us off right near Hollywood Bowl’s entrance. We arrive when it's still daylight and it’s easy enough to find ushers to direct us to seats, but $US29 for a sangria? COME ON!


We heart the Mini Mansions intro tape choice of Everyday by Buddy Holly. Whoever came up with that idea is a genius and deserves an immediate pay rise. The band arrive on stage immaculately suited-up in clashing (obviously individually chosen) shades of electric blue, salmon pink and tweed. Opener Double Visions gets us going from the get-go. “Thank you very much, we’re Mini Mansions from Los Angeles,” electric blue suit-wearing Zach Dawes proclaims, before adding, “Oh, shit, we’re here!” For their second song, Death Is A Girl,  keyboardist Tyler Parkford takes lead vocals and having multiple accomplished lead singers in a single band is an absolute treat. "Go Dodgers!” Dawes enthuses - they must’ve won today! The Creeps riffs wonderfully showcase this natural Amphitheatre's enviable acoustics and Any Emotions is a further display of this band's instrumental mastery. The harmonies during Vertigo (the one that goes, "Oh you know..." repeatedly and features Alex Turner on the recorded version) are everything. 


They’ve been touring with Arctic Monkeys for a while now and, in the spirit if this fact, Dawes introduces Honey, I’m Home since they’re Los Angelenos. Wow! Proceedings take an intriguing turn when guitar strings rub up against cymbals during the Mini Mansions closer. 


The Lemon Twigs storm the stage next and lead singer/multi-instrumentalist Michael D'Addario looks more like a '70s rockstar than an OG ‘70s rockstar in his (are they corduroy?) flares, striped off-the-shoulder crop top, Joan Jett haircut and insistent stance. "Miniature mansions are houses, you know?” he deduces before doing an imitation of Arctic Monkeys that is basically a brrrrr motion, hugging and rubbing his arms, followed by a monkey impersonation. 


"The next one we’re gonna play is our biggest hit from our newest album Go To School," D'Addario announces and his multi-instrumentalist brother Brian takes lead vocals on this one. Their shades eventually come off and these adorable cats are impossible to hate on. Michael's banter tells tales of “Hollywood schmoozefests", “micro-dosing” and dating a string of tall supermodels. Brian sits at the keys and sings The Lesson with perfect diction. Drummer Andres Valbuena really puts his back into it. Michael's high kicks dazzle. Closer If You Give Enough seals the fact that The Lemon Twigs are the real deal. 


The smell of weed smoke hangs thick in the air (hello, contact high!) as Arctic Monkeys arrive onstage, opening with Four Out Of Five from their loungey Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino album. Dashing frontman Alex Turner rocks a crew cut with accentuated widow's peak like he's recently been cast in a vampire flick. Matt Helders' galloping drum patterns boom impressively throughout Hollywood Bowl. He takes a drum solo and Turner encourages our applause: "If you like it, why the hell wouldn’t you tell ‘im?" We're up on our (dancing) feet come Dancing Shoes, turned on by the way Turner sings, "You sexy little swi-ine” (no, you are!). For someone wearing a beige three-piece suit, Turner could not be any less beige as he sits down at a piano to perform 505. 

In this live setting we note that The Ultracheese calls to mind Don't Let Me Down by The Beatles. It's absolute mayhem once Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair drops. During Why’d You Only Call Me When You're High?, Turner dons sunnies and drapes himself seductively over the piano lid - suaveness overload. The sinewy riffs of Do I Wanna Know? sound spectacular. The band's main-set closer I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor sees us all busting out our very best moves as if we're auditioning for the role of Turner's private dancer. 

But they're yet to play R U Mine? so an encore's a given. The band commence their encore with this one, Turner returning to the stage wearing those super-cool dark shades. The stage's back wall is illuminated by the word “Monkeys” as the Black Sabbath-channeling Arabella totally takes us there. 

Any concerns as to how easily AM's new material would slot in amongst their previous, rockier output are immediately put to rest. The flow of their setlist is effortless and we're left well impressed and gagging for more.