"Front of the Line" is a recurring series where GBH News' Haley Lerner explores fan culture and talks to the people who show up first in line to see their favorite musicians.
English band Arctic Monkeys, known for their rock tunes peppered with catchy beats and witty lyrics, played a packed TD Garden Sunday night, performing songs from their latest album “The Car,” along with famous tracks from their previous albums, including 2013’s “AM” and 2007’s “Favourite Worst Nightmare.”
Most known for hits like, “Do I Wanna Know?,” “I Wanna Be Yours,” “505” and “Why’d You Only Call Me When You're High?,” the band, has been a mainstay in the alternative rock scene for more than 20 years, with legions of fans sharing their love online for the band on platforms like Tumblr, X, and more recently, TikTok.
At a venue like TD Garden, which can seat up to more than 19,000 people, the general admission section located on the floor of the arena offers fans the opportunity to get up close to a band, compared to the many assigned seating options throughout the arena. For fans who scored the coveted GA tickets, the most fervent lined up extremely early to snag a spot close to the front. For Berklee College student Miranda Bonano, that meant showing up at 11 a.m. – on Sept. 2, the day before the concert started.
“I thought because Boston’s such a big city, I thought there would be more people…then I went home at like 7 p.m. and then I came back at 5 a.m. today. That was my adventure,” she said.
For Bonano, the experience was well worth it. “I’ve never seen them live, so I’m really excited for the guitar in, 'Do I Wanna Know?’ It’s the most basic thing but I’m so excited.”
Sisters Emily and Sophia Depaz showed up online at 5 a.m. to secure their spot at the barricade. They were confused about where to line up – but Bonano showed them the way.
“She showed up and was like, 'Oh are you guys here for Arctic Monkeys?' And we were like yeah," Emily Depaz said. "She was like just follow me!”
Bonano says the experience of camping out for shows is one where you can help each other – and the energy at the barricade, alongside equally passionate fans, makes the waiting worth it.
“I think it really shows the niceness people still have in their hearts,” she said. “Everybody’s still respectful and everybody is just here for one thing, it’s a really beautiful experience.”
Emily Depaz agreed. “I feel like barricade is an experience that brings so much joy because you get to see one of your favorite artists up close.”
That up close experience was so important to Leenna Shannon and Emily Esquinaldo that they drove to Boston from Tampa, Florida. Since the Arctic Monkeys’ North America tour is skipping the so-called Sunshine State, they decided to camp out, arriving at the concert at 4:45 a.m.
“I've loved Arctic Monkeys since I was 12, so it's been a little while,” Esquinaldo said. “I wanted to be up close. Being around people who like the same music is fun.”
“This is definitely worth it,” Shannon said. “The energy is amazing. Waiting this morning went so fast, you make friends with everyone. You kind of just watch out for each other. "
The reason the two friends were most excited to come to the show? The band’s crooning lead singer, Alex Turner.
Celeste Calderon agreed, “I want to see the sweat run down his face.”
Calderon drove up from Providence and arrived at TD Garden at 2 a.m.
“No one was here, and it's low-key embarrassing to be the first one," she said. "So we went back to the car and we slept until 5:30, and we’re 12th in line, so that’s less embarrassing.”
No matter where fans end up in the arena – at the barricade or in the back – Emily Depaz says the music unites Arctic Monkeys fans,
“I just love all their music and the eras that they’ve been going through,” Depaz said. “You look around the lines, there are a lot of older people here because it's just for everybody. We went to their concert with our mom last year and she just loved it. I think it's just so good, it's for everybody.”
