Supporting big bands can be a hard days work. Ego and attitude are often never far from the surface and if the main act don't blank you, their crew often do. They can make your lives a misery. You cannot touch anything, they talk down to you, and even the most genuine of questions is answered in a manner that would suggest you have really f****d up their day.
We walked in to the arena at 4.30pm and found it hard not to feel quite awe struck by the size of the production. The venue was bigger than a football pitch but the real eye opener was the sheer scale of the the stage and rig. Who are we opening for tonight? It must be Muse or Queen or maybe The Who. But its not. It's a straight up indie guitar rock n roll combo from Yorkshire England. Fred Perry shirts, Converse sneakers and cheap jeans off the local market. Jesus, these boys have come along way fast. Put your helmets on and get ready for the egos. The thing was, it just didn't happen like that. Welcome to the strange and ego-less world of The Arctic Monkeys
Alex and Jamie are having a bit of one on one with a football, kicking 40 metre balls arcoss the floor. Then Tim, the productiuon manager, appears. The only person with more power than Tim is God.
He can make life easy or he can make it hard. But Tim is a typical Yorkshire man. Friendly , straight to the point, and says it how it is. " You load in from that side of the stage, you load out from that side." He points right then left. " These guys are your crew for tonight. They will get you anything you need." He introduces us to two more of the team.
Scott appears, radio crackling on his hip, cheaper jeans than Alex and Jamie. 'Ello Lovers'
Not the greeting we were expecting from the tour manager. An hour later we are sitting in our dressing room eating fresh strawberries and drinking ice cold Heineken export in bottles. {the only way to drink it} We are still getting used to the stage. It's f****** gigantic. As for the lighting rig? It looks like it took 50 people a week to build it.
Frost and Tom appear {MJs front of house sound man and on-stage sound man} Until one hour ago they had never laid their eyes on their working equipment for tonight. Its uber hi tech and complicated to say the least. Artics team have spent time talking them though it, showing them the tricks, and making sure they are totally happy with their tools. They could be eating dinner or catching a couple of hours sleep.
Molotov Jive have a fabulous show and the crowd are mad for it. A/Ms sound man sits in with Frost, just in case he needs to know something quickly. Nothing was too much trouble for this crew. Mj finish their set and the gear is off the stage in 3 minutes. They go to do press and A/Ms people have it packed properly and in the elevator in 5 more minutes.
Scott comes to find everyone. 'Ello Lovers. If every support to the Monkeys were as professional and sussed as Molotov Jive, my life would be a hell of a lot easier. Well done guys and a F***** pleasure to have you here with us"
We go out to watch the Arctic Monkeys. They are amazing. Simple, edgy, powerful, full of charisma. The thing is, they make it look like its no effort. The sound and lights are simply off the scale. But its not easy, there are 30 people making this happen. Upstairs are 3 portable offices. Each one full of computers and people sat over them. It's a big thing to move around each day.
If anyone ever wonders why this band have gone so big, its not difficult to see. They seem to breed good will and their crew love them to bits. Egos seem to be left somewhere else, everyone treats everyone else with respect, and , at the end of ther day, everyone just wants to make and hear good rock n roll.
A/Ms crash down into the end of the last song and we head off for an aftershow party. I see Scott standing by the stage. He looks at me and smiles. 'Good ain't they?"
He really was not joking
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