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Four out of five: Arctic Monkeys smash it on their return to Sheffield

It was a homecoming like no other


Arctic Monkeys returned to Steel City on Tuesday night as they continued their tour following the release of their latest album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.

Following a number of successful shows in Manchester and London already, frontman Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, and guitarists Jamie Cook and Nick O’Malley took the night by storm at Sheffield’s FlyDSA Arena.

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Photo credit: @ottokeo

Where the band have already played a number shows around the UK thus far, this gig was a homecoming like no other. Despite division over their latest releases, the four-piece didn't disappoint on the evening as the audience, a mix of students and locals, relived anthems of the past.

The setlist was formed of songs from a number of their albums, including award-winning Favourite Worst Nightmare and Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I Am Not. Hits from AM composed the majority of the set though, including ‘Arabella’, ‘R U Mine?’ and ‘Do I Wanna Know?’

Popular songs like ‘505’ and ‘Cornerstone’ also featured on the setlist, but the band took the show to whole other level with performances of songs not usually performed on the tour, including ‘From The Ritz To The Rubble’, but most excitingly, a special piano segment of ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ for the Sheffield crowd.

"I ain’t seen ya in ages!" cried Turner, to which the crowd responded with multiple chants of ‘Yorkshire!’ throughout the night.

Everyone remained in full voice, still, as the band played some of their newer material. The show opened with ‘Four Out of Five’ which set the stage for the evening, and performances of 'One Point Perspective’ and ‘The Ultracheese’ shone among others.

The reaction to the gig was equally as outstanding as the show itself. It was not just the standing area up on their feet, but indeed, most of Sheffield Arena clinging on to every lyric.

One student told The Tab: "They played banger after banger right from the start. Brianstorm straight into Arabella – it was insane."

There was a wish for more of the old stuff, though, from those who showed mixed feelings towards the new album. Another student said "I just wish they played Mardy Bum, man."

Others took to Twitter towards the end of the night, describing the performance as 'perfection'.

Clearly then, everyone was a bit mental, continuing the party after at Leadmill. And after many beers and 22 songs later, it wasn’t just the girls who lost their voices screaming whenever Alex Turner opened his mouth.

Having started their career in Sheffield’s pubs, Arctic Monkeys have gone on to headline major festivals including Glastonbury in both 2007 and 2013. The band have also collected a number of awards over the years, including seven BRIT Awards, rightfully making them one of the biggest bands to come from the Sheffield music scene.

After such a memorable homecoming, we should expect more brilliance from Arctic Monkeys in the next few days. The band are still yet to perform further sets in Sheffield, before they continue their tour in Dublin and then the United States in the coming month.