Arctic Monkeys & Smith Westerns, War Memorial, Tonight In Nashville

I have seen both of these bands this year, and what do you think they had in common?  I didn’t expect much out of either, and both Smith Westerns and Arctic Monkeys turned out to be festival highlights for me.  Spin Magazine also agrees that this tour is one of the top 30 of the rest of 2011.  So, if you want a bigger headliner than YUCK!, this is what you should do tonight in Nashville!

Smith Westerns are an indie rock band out of Chicago.  They released their self-titled debut LP in 2009 on HoZac Records.  They have since signed to Fat Possum Records, and released their sophomore record, Dye It Blond, in January 2011 (when they also played The End in Nashville).  Both albums have received critical acclaim, and have put them in numerous festival lineups including the before-mentioned Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Sasquatch, etc.  They’ve also toured with the likes of Wilco, MGMT, & Yeasayer, and are currently touring with Arctic Monkeys.

Arctic Monkeys are an enigma for me.  I started listening to this British band with their first release, Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not, back in 2006, and I really thought it was pretty cool.  Then, with the release of the next two LPs, it just sounded like they were going to turn into the next Coldplay.  Some retarded mainstream band, whose frontman names his kid Apple, and then forces their conventional music down the throats of the world (no offense to you Coldplay fans…. well, maybe I chide a little).  Anyway, I heard their newest LP, Suck It And See, and I finally saw them (only because they were sandwiched between OK Go and The Black Keys) at Outside Lands…. and, you know what?  They were good.  Like, really good.  Like, friends of mine that are much bigger music snobs than me saying “Damn, these guys are really good”, kind of good.

I’m probably going to pass on this show tonight because I’ve seen them both this year, and I really want to see YUCK!.  But, if you are torn, and want something to do tonight…. you aren’t going to go wrong here.

Tickets are still available, and are starting at about $30.  There’s a music player below with some tracks from both.  So, if you are looking for some hump day entertainment, get out and see some live music.

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