Arctic Monkeys return to Raleigh with Smith Westerns

English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys returned to Raleigh tonight, Oct. 12, and performed at Disco Rodeo. The band visited the venue April 2010, but this year brought along Smith Westerns to open.

Chicago-based Smith Westerns released their sophomore album earlier this year. Since then, they have played with TV on the Radio, Cults and Yeasayer,  in addition to international festivals including Austin City Limits Music Festival, Fyf Fest, Leeds Festival, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. The guys were dressed like they were straight out of "Dazed and Confused," and the smiley face-patterned banners behind them just reinforced this thought. They were fun - I sang along and danced. Their hair flew in their face as they strummed popular singles like "Weekend," "Smile" and "Still New."

During the 30-minute set change, I scanned the crowd. Unfortunately, this took away a lot from the show. I was behind a young fist-pumping boy and constantly trying to hold on to my standing room, only with mild success as chains of high schoolers tried to squeeze by. The musically-oblivious bystanders seemed to give more applause at times for the roadies doing soundcheck than the Smith Westerns received, but that may have been in my head.



 

A hooded figure in a golden mask finally came out on stage and hit notes on a keyboard to set the mood for the show. The lights reflected gold beams off the mask into the crowd. The rest of the band came out on stage and began their first song with a blast of energy and great reaction from the crowd. One thing I instantly picked up one is that an Arctic Monkeys show's core is the strobe light - which is amazing, unless you have epilepsy. Luckily I do not, so I could stay. A bit theatrical at times, the band performed with special effects like lights, flashes and smoke. One of my personal favorite moments is when they paired a past-picking guitar riff with an intense strobe-light-only light show. It created the illusion that electricity was coming from Alex Turner and his guitar and filling the room. The crowd went especially crazy for "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "Brick by Brick." At about 10:15, they played their "last song" and went off stage while the crowd chanted their name and screamed with approval of the show.

 

The Best Albums of 2010

WKNC Pick of the Week, December 2, 2010

By John Gomes, WKNC Daytime deejay

It's that lovely time of the year where we put up Christmas lights, enjoy egg nog shakes at Cook Out and look back on the year that was. 2010 proved to be an eventful year, despite all the terrible moments -- earthquakes, oil spills, that bad call in the Maryland football game -- this year saw the release of some good albums. I highly recommend my personal Top Five list for your listening pleasure over break.

1) Yeasayer—Odd Blood

The sophomore release from this eclectic group is a warm, pop-infused masterpiece—a curious departure from the darkness of their 2007 debut album. Yeasayer introduces huge, pulsing synths and primal rhythms into their sound, resulting in some infectiously upbeat and organic numbers. Odd Blood isn't one-dimensional, however. The album features a couple of heavier, darker tracks to balance out the pop sound. Yeasayer remains experimental as ever, exploring everything from R&B to Middle Eastern dance music. The end result is a well-rounded, highly enjoyable album. (Bonus points for the band self-producing it.)

2) Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Possibly the most anticipated album of the year, Arcade Fire's third release garnered universal praise. Like Odd Blood, The Suburbs represents a new sonic direction for Arcade Fire—gone are the Baroque sounds and grand crescendos that defined the band's sound. Instead, the album maintains a latent energy throughout every song, steadfast rhythms layered with rich textures and tones. These elements form the perfect vehicle for the album's main concept -- innocence and coming-of-age set in the backdrop of suburbia. Poignant and poised, The Suburbs is Arcade Fire's best release yet.

3) Best Coast – Crazy For You

Though many artists are doing the retro surf-rock thing nowadays, Best Coast does it best. The group is led by Bethany Cosentino, whose approach is refreshingly simple -- reverb-heavy guitars, easy chord progressions and honest lyrics about boys, her cat or getting high. Sure, it seems like a third-grader can write these songs -- "One day I'll make him mine / And we'll be together all the time" -- but there is beauty in the simplicity. The songs on Crazy For You are little pieces of pop perfection -- they're sweet, short, and will stay in your head for days. Put this album on and you'll feel like you're on a beach.

4) Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record



Broken Social Scene is a rather apt name for the group whose massive lineup continuously changes. With so many band members playing so many instruments and adding so many sounds and textures, Forgiveness Rock Record is inevitably orchestral and grandiose. Each song exhibits a different dimension of beauty, from the majestic climaxes of "World Sick" to the melodic angularity of "Art House Director." Though not as cohesive as previous albums, Forgiveness Rock Record is still classic Broken Social Scene -- lush, resplendent and larger than life.

5) Caribou – Swim

Dan Snaith, who operates under the name Caribou, is an electronica artist and British mathematician. Naturally, you wouldn't expect those two things to go together. Swim evokes the same reaction with its out-of-left-field collection of tracks. Flip-floppy synths, divine bell chimes, and even jazzy flute flourishes all coalesce atop powerful, danceable grooves while whispery vocals echo and modulate in and out of your consciousness. This is not your father's electronica album. Each and every song evolves into something surreal at the end, with elements of rock, jazz and psychedelica thrown in the mix. Out of all the albums on this list, Swim sounds the most transcendental.

88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week is published in every Friday in the print edition of Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.