When the word went out back in February that the Arctic Monkeys would be playing select dates in the United States for a quick promotional tour promoting their new cd, "Whatever People Say I Am ... ", I knew that I had to plan a road trip to check these guys out. I had first heard of the Arctic Monkeys close to a year ago from some friends in England. I have been downloading different singles since then trying to understand the buzz that was building around the band.

My first impression was that the Arctic Monkeys were nothing more than another band that has taken the formula developed by The Strokes and are running with it, but that would be selling them way short. The two things that separate The Arctic Monkeys from The Strokes are their unabashed pride in their Northern England heritage coming through in the music and the explosiveness that is sorely lacking in anything I have heard by The Strokes. Their youth and their lack of concern for what must be done in order to be a success in the music business can explain the explosive energy and joy felt in their music. Their apathy seems to be driven by their desire to be themselves instead of what their music label wants them to be.

Musically, the rhythm section, Matt Helder on drums and Andy Nicholson on bass, provide the foundation that allows vocalist/guitarist Alex Turner slurred and rhymed lyrics to work in the song. There is more than a hint of a rap influence on the way that Turner sings or spits out the words to the songs, all the while attacking his guitar in a Neil Young like fashion when the song calls for it.

In my opinion, The Artic Monkeys are best appreciated when seeing them live. At the show in Chicago, a large number of the crowd was from out of state or out of country. The crowd treated each song as a sing-a-long. The band chugged along allowing Turner to bounce around playing rudimentary yet energetic guitar parts while at the same time spitting out his lyrics with a timing that does not match the rhythm of the music, but somehow it all lands on its feet. Songs start off and come to a screeching halt to be started again with a quick countdown. It gave me the feeling that we were in a rehearsal space watching the band run through its set with the occasional remark being made to a band member or an audience member. Will The Arctic Monkeys be around 5 years from now? I don't know, and I don't think they care. We're all in it for the right now.