Arctic Monkeys' rapid rise seems to have very much been based on capturing a moment and riding that wave of success. No doubt Alex Turner has a talent with a pen, his sharp observations and witty turns of phrase from their debut still standing up a few years down the track.Can Sheffield's latest paragon's of musical hope really nail down a Main Stage headlining slot? No. Not really.
The band don't show any real energy on stage and every comes across just a bit flat. With little interaction between band and crowd, the Monkey's begin to run out of chances to save themselves. "I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor" lifts spirits a little but poor stage sound and the lack of any really big tunes to fill the cold evening air, the band fall some way short of pumping out a rousing end to the day.
When you consider some of the headliners of years gone by such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rage Against The Machine and Smashing Pumpkins, like those artists or not, there's no denying their stature and their ability to really deliver on a huge stage.
If Arctic Monkeys had have been headlining the NME tent it could have been a much different story, though material from their debut is still the strongest stuff in their arsenal, but on this enormous stage, they just end up looking and sounding somewhat lost.
