Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Changed the Music

Replacing Britney after her two night stay for their own two nights were the Arctic Monkey supported by The Vaccines – and the contrast couldn’t have been greater – there was absolutely nothing synthetic about the sound filling the venue from start to finish…

From Arctic Monkeys 2011

The Vaccines brought their take on British guitar based rock to the O2, adding a little punk to the mix – very different to the sound I’d heard from Justin Young as Jay Jay Pistolet a few years ago in the same venue supporting Katie Melua. For a band only just about to celebrate the anniversary of their first single release the sound was mature and it can’t be long before they will be headlining similar venues in their own right… With their first four studio Albums all having reached No 1 in the UK, the Arctic Monkeys clearly have a large fan base in the UK and I suspect they could have easily filled the O2 for more nights… By the time they came on stage there was a buzz building up – and as soon as they engaged their guitars the crowd were fully with them – mush pits formed – the largest of which must have briefly cleared a quarter of the space in front of the sound desks – quite an achievement given the packed standing area… I don’t recall a single song from the 21 strong set list that seamed out of place – the strong start with “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” continued right through to 505 that closed the evening – all as rock and roll as Alex Turners Elvis quiff…

Both of the night’s acts proved beyond doubt that live rock music is alive and kicking in the UK and quite capable of filling the largest of venues for multiple nights – even in these tough economic times….