More mature Arctic Monkeys still raise the roof

NOW might be a good time to put on your dancing shoes, suggests Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.

The Arctic Monkeys, pictured at the Marlborough Hotel, Newtown, have come a long way in nine years.

Arctic Monkeys: Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney. Tuesday, May 6.

NOW might be a good time to put on your dancing shoes, suggests Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner as a way of introducing Dancing Shoes, a few minutes of furious, delightful disco punk from their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.

That understatement from Turner came a bit late, five songs into the first date of the Sheffield band’s Australian tour, by which time the former Sydney Entertainment Centre was a sea of hands and swaying bodies.

Arctic Monkeys have come a long way since I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor announced them to the world nine years ago.

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Five albums in they appear more than comfortable on the big stage, not least with the songs from last year’s AM, which adds a soulful undercurrent to their confronting and wordy rock n roll.

Turner, with his sharp Sheffield tongue and a suit to match, is the consummate rock star, more cool than flamboyant, but always engaging.

The set touches on all five albums, with the accent on AM, including the caustic rumble of Arabella and the wry Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High among the highlights.

Not surprisingly Dancefloor raises the roof and lifts the band — Turner, bassist Nick O’Malley, guitarist Jamie Cook and drummer Matt Helders into higher gear.

It’s a slightly less frenetic, more refined Monkeys than the one that turned Britrock on its head when they were teenagers. They’ve grown up and so has their music, but lyrical smarts and punky swagger remains at the heart of what Arctic Monkeys do — and they do it awfully well.

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