On Tuesday (July 24), Arctic Monkeys kicked off the North American leg of their tour at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium, and singer Alex Turner's new buzzed hair look wasn't the only surprise the band had in store for the crowd.
During the English rockers' encore, Turner mentioned the venue's history as the early home of the U.S. Open. “We wanted to do a New York special for you," he said, "and since we couldn’t think of any tennis songs…”
As his voice trailed off, the band began playing the intro of New York City's own The Strokes' "Is This It." Fans immediately recognized the hit song and began to applaud and cheer. Turner gave his best Julian Casablancas impression and gave an inspired performance oozing with swagger.
Watch the performance below.
The band is currently touring on its latest album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. Turner recently chatted with iHeartRadio about the new release and its interesting name. "I think of some of my favorite records as places that you can go and stay for a while, and sort of spurred me on to give this record the name of a place," he explained.
Check out Arctic Monkeys' North American tour dates below.
Arctic Monkeys Tour Dates
07/24 – Queens, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium
07/25 – Canandigua, NY @ CMAC
07/27 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
07/28 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
07/31 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Petersen Events Center
08/01 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
08/02 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/04 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/05 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
08/08 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
08/09 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
08/11 – Helsinki, FI @ Flow Festival
08/14 – Budapest, HR @ Sziget Festival
09/06 – Manchester, UK @ Arena ^
09/07 – Manchester, UK @ Arena ^
09/09 – London, UK @ The O2 ^
09/10 – London, UK @ The O2 ^
09/12 – London, UK @ The O2 ^
09/13 – London, UK @ The O2 ^
09/15 – Birmingham, UK @ Arena ^
09/16 – Birmingham, UK @ Arena ^
09/18 – Sheffield, UK @ Flydsa Arena ^
09/19 – Sheffield, UK @ Flydsa Arena ^
09/21 – Sheffield, UK @ Flydsa Arena ^
09/22 – Sheffield, UK @ Flydsa Arena ^
09/24 – Dublin, IE @ 3Arena ^
09/25 – Dublin, IE @ 3Arena ^
09/27 – Newcastle, UK @ Metro Radio Arena ^
09/28 – Newcastle, UK @ Metro Radio Arena ^
10/09 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom *
1010 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion *
10/12 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center *
10/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl ^*
10/19 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl *
10/20 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium *
10/23 – Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater *
10/24 – Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum *
10/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum *
^ = w/ The Lemon Twigs* = w/ Mini Mansions
Photo: YouTube