Glastonbury 2023: Arctic Monkeys receive mixed reviews after Friday headline set

Arctic Monkeys took to the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm last night (Friday, June 23) as the first mainstage headliner of 2023. But reviews of their set were rather mixed, with many comparing frontman Alex Turner to “looking like Richard Hammond” and “sounding like Vic Reeves” – two names that were trending on Twitter come the end of the night.

Among their setlist the group, who played Ashton Gate stadium in Bristol back in May, treated festival goers and those watching from home to hits like ‘Brianstorm’, ‘Teddy Picker’, ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, ‘Mardy Bum’ and ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ among a mix of both old and new songs. And, while the well-known and faster paced tracks were well received by the crowd, many were a bit disappointed with parts of their set.

Complaints ranged from not playing enough older material, to slowing down songs to the point where it was difficult for the crowd to sing along – and some felt that the setlist just didn’t flow between their older and newer sound as well as it could have.

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Arctic Monkeys had cancelled a gig in Dublin earlier in the week as frontman Alex Turner had been struck down with an illness. Some fans watching their set last night thought that his slower performance may have been due to still not quite being fully recovered.

Twitter user @VickyOConnor said: “I saw them at Carrow Rd recently and they were excellent. Tonight was so dull in comparison and what the hell did they do to ‘505’!

“Such a shame, it could have been a legendary set. So slow, little to no crowd interaction. Alex still a little lurgy-filled maybe.”

@Castill0Rowan tweeted: “I like Arctic Monkeys but he sang the songs, especially ‘505’ as if he had never heard them before. It was awful.”

‘505’ was not the only song to receive criticism during the night. Some fan favourites were among the list of tracks that fans were left feeling frustrated by. Twitter user @calsy2311 wrote: “If they play Mardy Bum any slower they’ll be headlining next year too”.

@oasissafc84 said: “Alex clearly not 100%. Great set, but classic songs not performed to the standard they deserve #mardybum #505. However, new songs like #bodypaint [thumbs up emoji].”

While @rustyp29 rated the band’s performance 4/10 and tweeted: “songs slowed down, some were alright, and he [Alex Turner] thinks he’s from New York instead of Yorkshire”.

It wasn’t all negative, however, and Arctic Monkeys certainly got a massive crowd at Worthy Farm – as well as a significant viewing at home, with many jumping to defend Alex Turner’s singing, the band’s performance and their new material.

@MrPauloGoodman said: “Haven’t watched it yet but seeing the #ArcticMonkeys set getting pelters cos of the way he sings. He’s been doing that slow American lounge stuff for about 6 years now – he’s not all of a sudden gonna morph back to peak Sean Bean just cos it’s a big gig #Glastonbury.”