He stood among the howling audience with fingernails scraping his cheeks and what appeared to be tears forming in his eyes. "I love you. I f#*king love you! Arctic Monkeys RULE!!!" he shouted.

It is rare to witness a thirty-something year old man acting as hysterically as the one I just described. In fact, the only time I have seen someone expressing such extreme adulation towards any group of musicians is in video footage from the 1960s that shows fourteen-year-old girls screaming and crying for the Beatles.

But when the Arctic Monkeys took the stage at the Uptown Theater on 13 September 2007, even I felt a little more hysterical than I had expected to be. Previously, I had considered this group of young British gentlemen to be nothing more than the object of the latest middle school hype – like Mandy Moore with a British accent or ‘N Sync playing actual instruments.

I was wrong about the Arctic Monkeys and am glad to admit it.

Arctic Monkeys

There were a few things that were especially refreshing about the Monkeys’ live performance: There were no stale jokes or corny anecdotes between songs, they didn’t try to impress the audience with rock star poses, and they forfeited any attempt to promote a high fashion, hipster image.

It seems that, resembling very few bands that attain widespread popularity these days, the Arctic Monkeys really were about the one thing that matters most – that is, music.

They seemed like nice, tidy lads who were probably kissing their grandmothers or rescuing babies right up until the minute the show began when, reluctantly, they felt obligated to play some tooth-pulling, eyelid-blistering rock ‘n’ roll.

Their arrangements remained unchanged from their albums, but with unpredictable twists and turns already existing, their set remained interesting. Songs moved from off-kilter rhythms and layered guitars to danceable beats with catchy melodic phrases.

At times, songs would fall into absolute silence for fifteen seconds or more and then -- BANG! BAM! WHAP! -- all of a sudden descending octaves were being paired with ascending power chords, the drums became as frenzied as a cafeteria food fight, and the bass somehow held on with a grip like that of an acrophobic on a parachute drop.

As I insinuated earlier, there were practically no frills. However, the light show – which I usually find annoying – was, in this case, actually a complementary addition to the frantic nature of the Monkeys’ music. One of the lighting effects made the band look like an old, black-and-white photo set in motion, and another gave the illusion that if you cut along the dotted lines, you could take a life-size poster of the band home with you.

Arctic Monkeys

The only thing lacking from the Monkeys’ performance was the element of surprise. They played all of the arrangements exactly as they were recorded, never throwing in an unexpected twist. For example, it would have been groovy if they would have applied their own style to a rock ‘n’ roll classic such as "Johnny B. Goode" or "Crimson and Clover."

The ultimate test question to ask after seeing a band live is: “Did I like them better before I saw them live, or do I like them more now?” In this case, I walked away with an all new perspective of the Arctic Monkeys and a new found respect for what they have done, and could potentially do, for the future of rock ‘n’ roll.

As far as demographics are concerned, a surprising number of twelve to fifteen year olds, and even some children as young as five, were present, shaking their asses to Monkeys' favorites like "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor." On the flipside, there were also plenty of people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s in attendance.

Opening for the Monkeys was Voxtrot, a pop/indie group from Austin, Texas. I don’t really care to talk about them too much. All I will say is that there are much more interesting things happening right here in the basements of Kansas City, and it was a little disappointing that the Monkeys didn’t invite a local band to open up for them.

The Monkeys are scheduled to sweep through Texas and then hit the West Coast before finishing up their North America tour and heading home to Sheffield, England. But they won’t have much time for rest and relaxation because they’ll head to South America just three weeks later on October 24.

To find out more about the Arctic Monkeys, visit their official website at (http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/) or check out this Monkeys' bio at StarPulse.com: (http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Arctic_Monkeys/Biography/).

Copyright 2007 Metropolitan Community College