Eugene Symphony vs. Arctic Monkeys

Not many newspapers can boast of music critics who attend the resident symphony company’s season opener on one night and nearly get a concussion at a post-punk show the next. But that’s why we’re not a newspaper. That’s why we can still use the word “alternative” in our mission statement and not sound all hypocritical.

So first, a few thoughts on Thursday’s Eugene Symphony performance at the Hult Center. Contrary to what you may be thinking (“Hey, did this dude go for the free champagne and chocolate, or what?” or “Hey, he’s not on a respirator!”) I skipped the booze and sweets in favor of a much-needed five mile run. Arriving at the Silva fresh from a warm shower really sets the stage for a relaxing evening.

Unfortunately the opener by Hector Berlioz (“Roman Carnival Overture”) was a little too relaxed and, well, run-of-the-mill. The sweep of the string section was competent enough, just lacking energy; mostly faulting Berlioz’s hackjob for this one.

The next piece, by Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos, made up for what the Berlioz lacked; namely, using instruments other than strings to much effect! For example, the key plunk percussion of the second movement added a simple and sweet contrast to the lush tonality of the strings and woods.

After intermission, where I ate a Monster Cookie (I had to skip dinner to make it to the show on time), the symphony launched into Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, a rather robust piece that probably works better in small condensations. The laboringly slow build-up of the first three movements got repetitive, but once the fourth movement — Andante maestoso: Allegro vivace — picked up steam the audience had its reason to perk up and pay attention, with special aggression coming from concertmaster Kathryn Lucktenberg and assistant concertmaster (and pregnant) Lisa McWhorter, both on violin.

While not ovation-worthy, the symphony’s season opener was a taste of (hopefully) good things to come. In retrospect, I should’ve probably had a few bubblies pre-show.

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AS FOR THE ARCTIC MONKEYS: Who knew their fanbase was so, um, under 21? Well, with the band members barely breaking the legal limit to drink, it’s not a stretch to assume their largest audience would be younger than themselves. But jeez louise, it was eye opening to see what amounted to the synchronous flipside to what was going down at the Hult Center with the Resident Companies in Concert.

Drummer Matt Helders (© Photo by Todd Cooper)

The excitement built about ten minutes before the Monkeys took the stage, with the sound check guys getting rapturous applause each time someone in the audience looked away and looked back and thought they were seeing the band on stage. When the lights finally dimmed, the band still took their time to get onstage. As canned music blasted out some beats, the Monkeys finally took the stage. The crowd was so warmed up at this point that it didn’t take long for the bodies to start flying.

The Monkeys played equally from both Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare, with their best dance numbers coming from their latter album. In fact, they may have played all songs from both albums over the course of the evening. More on that later.

Lead guitar and vocalist Alex Turner (© Photo by Todd Cooper)

Ah youth! Where bruises, bumps and broken bones are just a fact of life. But what good would a music reviewer be if he were not in the thick of it? What good would any journalist be, for that matter? So it came as no surprise that in the middle of “This House is a Circus,” someone pushed me from behind, two bodies collided and two cheekbones made vicious contact. My personal bodyguard (i.e. my housemate) escorted me from the scene before I could fall asleep on the dancefloor. Luckily the McDonald had a very useful First Aid station and they got me an ice pack right quick. I noticed they had free ear plugs as well (something the WOW Hall shouldn’t be charging for).

Left to right: bassist Nick O'Malley, Alex Turner, Matt Helders (© Photo by Todd Cooper, click on image for slideshow)

I retreated to the balcony for the remainder of the first act to ice my cheek. The first act, it turned out, included one more song and no encore. Maybe the band was concerned someone might get hurt in the mosh pit, but the synergy certainly was there for an encore. One other sneaking suspicion: They exhausted their catalog of 2-minute rock ditties and didn’t have any more songs left for an encore.

Opening act Voxtrot failed to impress largely because they are a standard rock act following a standard rock script. YAWN!