Arctic Monkey’s Frontman Woos Crowd At Fillmore

During the 20-song set the Arctic Monkeys played on Jan. 30 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, Alex Turner probably combed his hair 47 times. He said things like “We are the Arctic Monkeys in case you just walked in off the street,” and “we really are a lovely bunch.”

Whether he’s slicking back his gelled hair with a pocket comb and rolling up his sleeves in between songs or spitting out smooth lyrics about late-night hookups and striking riffs on his guitar, Turner makes being the lead singer of an indie rock band look effortless. It’s this suave demeanor on stage—which always produces earsplitting screams from girls in the crowd—that helped the Arctic Monkeys break America.

Beyond image reinvention, Turner, lead guitarist Jamie Cook, bassist Nick O’Malley and drummer Matt Helders achieved commercial success with their 2013 album AM—a seductive, after-midnight album that changed their careers. The Brits went from opening for the Black Keys in 2012 to playing sold-out venues and arenas in 2014.  The Jan. 30th show was sold out in minutes.

Songs from AM were played throughout the performance, from opening with the sleek “Do I Wanna Know?” to “One for the Road”, and eventually closing with “R U Mine?”

In between all of that, they played earlier hits from four previous albums that helped the Arctic Monkeys first gain widespread attention for, songs such as “Brianstorm” and “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor,” which Turner dedicated to “all the ladies out there.”

Toward the end of the show, a bra flew from the crowd and wrapped itself around Turner’s microphone. “You’re very kind Miami. Thank you,” he said. One for the road.