Arctic Monkeys - The Hives

The people of Norwich well and truly put on their dancing shoes last night for the eagerly anticipated arrival of the Arctic Monkeys to our humble stadium at Carrow Road. As expected, the crowd was in fantastic spirits and it was wonderful to see people of all ages; families, couples, teens and people like lil old me who have been fans since day one.

The Hives kicked things off at 100miles an hour with a super energised sampling from their new album The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons (due to be released in August) as well as playing the classics we know and love from the early days of their career such as Hate to Say I Told You So and Main Offender. Front man Pelle Alqivist acted as part stand up comic and epic rock legend as he got everyone ready for the main event- I for one had some real laugh out loud moments with this guy! The band are so unique, stylish, funny, extremely talented and was such a treat to see them perform again after a 10 year hiatus. Rest assured- The Hives have still got it!

There was a short wait after the support act until the main event but fortunately some DIY entertainment at the back of the stand kept us amused. A performance of a repertoire of cartwheels,forward rolls, twerking and boob flashing delivered to the back of the stadium by a hilarious woman in an orange dress who just took it upon herself to start a small fan club for herself during the interim. The crowd loved her so when security came to have a polite word saying something along the lines of "maybe stop showing hundreds of people what you ate for breakfast" everyone booed them away and cheered her on even further. A guy behind me also watching this unfold turned to his mate and simply sighed, "Ahhhh, I love Norwich- only in Norwich!"

On with the show! I was delighted to see front man Alex Turner arrive on stage looking deliciously dashing as always; shades on, hair perfect, outfit giving 70's style icon with an effortless swagger and charisma that just engulfed the stadium. What. A. Babe. I mean, seriously?! I know its not just me....Fan girl crush feelings aside the set had everything the audience after. I loved the medley of old material, lesser known album tracks, absolute chart topping bangers and moody new ballads. I love how this band has developed, grown and changed over the years without ever losing their relevance or identity.

It's really difficult to pick a highlight stand alone favourite moment from a show that kept us all singing along, dancing and swaying with out phone torches ablaze throughout. My favourite tracks included; R U Mine, Cornerstone, When the Sun Goes Down, Dancing Shoes and Crying Lightining to name just a few. The whole set was just superb and really well crafted intermingling bangers and ballads, sing alongside and powerful instrumentals too.

The Arctic Monkeys are simply phenomenal live act and they put on a show that is hard to even justify with words- I just loved every second and felt so lucky to have had the opportunity to see them play in our little city of Norwich- what a treat and privilege!