Arctic Monkeys Play Music, Be Your Own PET Play With Themselves

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A few days ago, in previewing Thursday's Be Your Own PET / Arctic Monkeys show at the Showbox, Seattlest said something like, "This could be a band to watch in '07 and '08" -- referring to Be Your Own PET. Today, we modify this statement a bit: "...band to watch, like a horrible car accident on I-5."

To be clear, the singles released thus far, such as "Adventure" and "Bicycle..." really are good, infectious punk songs with solid riffs and fierce vocal deliveries. Everything in between, however, (as portrayed Thursday night) is the same formulaic punk song played over and over again. When Be Your Own PET first took the stage, we were really into it but halfway through their set, we just wanted them to please go away. Seattlest recognizes that lead singers are often the focal point for an audience, but singer Jemina Pearl was actually really distracting with her stage antics and faux punk sneer. That said, we're not totally giving up on BYOP. They're a young band and if they tighten up their act and focus more on the music than on stage antics, then they might have a chance in hell at actually producing albums and performances worthy of their idols.

Arctic Monkeys, on the other hand, were nothing short of phenomenal.

Not known for their showmanship, Arctic Monkeys placed far more importance on delivering great music with dead-on precision, than on playing the part of the rock star and for that, we thank them. It's one thing when you can strut your stuff and still nail a tune, but when the music itself is compromised by dry-humping the guitar and gyrating around the stage, there's just nowhere to go but down.

Considering the band's new album, Favourite Worst Nightmare (which is just as brilliant as their first LP), only recently came out in the U.S., Alex Turner and the rest of the gang produced a smart set list, placing initial emphasis on earlier, more familiar material and then working in the new songs once the floor began to shake.

We have to give it up for the all-ages crowd, by the way. You kids throwing your arms in the air and dancing your little asses off really contributed to a great scene Thursday night. You rock. We will, however, refer you to Seattle Metblogs for some helpful tips on improving your crowd-surfing abilities.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jack in Arts & Events on May 7, 2007 9:07 AM

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Ryan

I remember when BYOP played El Corazon last October (which I can still say is worst show I've ever been to). They played through all of their (very short) songs at lightning speed and with no attempt at concealing how sick they are of their own music. Then after about 20 minutes of actual music, members of the opening bands joined them on stage for an extended noise-making session that just went on and on and on... it was probably about half an hour of people screaming and aimlessly wandering around on stage looking for things to bang against drums. Finally, the bouncers at El Corazon got fed up and started shooing out the few people who had stuck around, saying "Shows over folks! Move on out!" We were pushed out onto the streets while the band was still screaming on stage. 5 minutes later the band members themselves were kicked out, and brought their drums with them out onto the streets to keep on beating. Overall, I have no clue what the hell that was, but I sure didn't feel like I got my money's worth...