Arctic Monkeys & The Like @ Holllywood Palladium, CA

Ever since their debut "Whatever People Say I Am...That's What I'm Not". I have wanted to see the Arctic Monkeys live. But again they are not coming to Las Vegas, so I will go to them. With work a little quiet, I have taken a couple of extra days off, talked Spoon into coming to California for the night to see some rock.

We drove down in separate cars as I am going to San Diego the following day and Spoon is going to do some furniture shopping before heading back to Vegas. We met up at our hotel, the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, just after 2.30pm We wandered up and down Hollywood and Sunset and spent a lot of time at Amoeba, looking through actual records and posters, before heading back for an afternoon kip before the show.

I had seen Bloc Party earlier in the year at the Palladium and suggested we get there early, as last time they only let a limited number on the floor. And we were there as doors were due to open, and the queue was around 2 corners. However there was no limit to who was on the floor for this show.

We got in, checked out the merchandise (meh!), bought a couple of $12 beers - yeah worse than Vegas - and was in our spot as The Like kicked off. This LA all girl band played a good blend of pop/surf rock, though it got a bit samey in the end. Was a fairly good match up for an opening act.

But we weren't there to see the Like. And when the Monkeys came on stage the noise from the crowd was deafening. At first it seemed if being on stage was a hassle (geez it's only the 2nd show of the tour), but it wasn't long before they lightened up and really let go. Sound was fantastic and the songs brilliant. I knew they'd play a lot of their latest album, which I'd heard only a couple of times, but it was all good. Definitely was an enjoyable show, even though they only played 3 songs from the 1st album (which is my fave). Actually in hindsight, I'd have gone to San Diego the night before if I'd known how good the show was going to be. Definitely worth the drive down from Vegas. Highlights were I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor and the cover of Nick Cave's Red Right Hand.

Afterwards we caught a cab to Chateau Marmont to have a couple of late night drinks. Quiet there, and unfortunately no celebrity spotting.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 290th concert.

This is my 2nd concert at Hollywood Palladium .

This is my 2nd concert in Hollywood .

This is my 5th concert in California.

This is my 98th concert in the USA.

The Like are the 361st band I've seen.
Arctic Monkeys are the 362nd band I've seen.