The Humbug Tour was a world concert tour by British indie rock band Arctic Monkeys in support of their third studio album, Humbug. Although Humbug was not released until 25 August 2009, the tour started with a series of shows in Australia and New Zealand in the January of that year, followed by a break for the band to put the finishing touches on the record. The tour then resumed in Poland on 2 July 2009. The band proceeded to tour through 2009 and into 2010, ending with 15 dates in April across the United States and Mexico.
Set list
The set list evolved over the duration of the tour, but primarily focused on songs from Humbug. Songs from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not were primarily left out of the set, with "The View from the Afternoon", "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", and "Still Take You Home" being the only songs to regularly feature from the band's record breaking debut album. The set list was briefly modified to include "When The Sun Goes Down" and a snippet of "Mardy Bum" during the November 2009 European dates. "When the Sun Goes Down" also returned for select shows in 2010, but "Mardy Bum" did not.
Generally, the band opened each gig with a song from Humbug (either "Pretty Visitors" or "Dance Little Liar"), followed by "Brianstorm", "This House is a Circus" and "Still Take You Home". The mid-part of the set list was commonly rotated but generally featured two songs from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, three songs from Favourite Worst Nightmare, seven from Humbug and a cover of Nick Cave's 1994 hit; "Red Right Hand". In addition, a B-side from the Humbug sessions would often make the set list (often "Sketchead" or "Catapult"), although Favourite Worst Nightmare B-side "Nettles" was included during the last US leg in Spring 2010. Following the last song of the main set (usually "Do Me a Favour" in North America and "Secret Door" in Europe), the band returned for a two-song encore.
The encore typically consisted of a new version of "Fluorescent Adolescent", which had been transposed to include a snippet of a different song (most commonly "Only You Know" by Dion or "Strange" by Patsy Kline), as well as standard closing number "505". Both songs in the encore were generally from the band's 2007 album Favourite Worst Nightmare as a few variations included either "If You Were There, Beware", or the aforementioned B-side "Nettles".
Songs performed
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not "The View from the Afternoon" "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" "Dancing Shoes" (dropped after 26 January 2009) "Still Take You Home" "When The Sun Goes Down" (occasionally played) "From the Ritz to the Rubble" (dropped after 24 January 2009, played from 2 to 9 July 2009)
Favourite Worst Nightmare "Brianstorm" "Fluorescent Adolescent" (with snippets of "Mardy Bum", "Only You Know" by Dion or "Strange" by Patsy Kline) "Only Ones Who Know" (added on 2 July 2009, dropped after 28 September 2009) "Do Me a Favour" "This House Is A Circus" "If You Were There, Beware" "505" (added on 2 July 2009)
Humbug "My Propeller" (added on 1 August 2009) "Crying Lightning" "Dangerous Animals" (occasionally played) "Secret Door" (added on 2 July 2009) "Potion Approaching" "Fire and the Thud" (added on 28 March 2010, omitted on 6 April 2010) "Cornerstone" (added on 1 August 2009) "Dance Little Liar" (added on 14 September 2009) "Pretty Visitors" "The Jeweller's Hands" (played occasionally from August 2009 to March 2010)
B-sides "Da Frame 2R" (dropped after 30 January 2009, played from 2 July 2009 to 7 August 2009) "Nettles" (added on 28 March 2010) "Red Right Hand" (Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds cover) (occasionally played) "Catapult" (occasionally played from December 2009 to April 2010) "Sketchead" (added on 16 September 2009, dropped after 11 December 2009, played on 28 March 2010) "Joining The Dots" (added on 28 March 2010)
Others "Leave Before the Lights Come On" (dropped after 24 January 2009, re-added on 2 July 2009, omitted on 1 August 2009, dropped again after 3 August 2009)
Tour dates +List of concerts, showing date, city, country, and venueDateCityCountryVenue13 January 2009WellingtonNew ZealandWellington Town Hall15 January 2009AucklandThe Powerstation16 January 2009Mount Smart Stadium18 January 2009Gold CoastAustraliaGold Coast Parklands20 January 2009MelbournePalais Theatre22 January 2009SydneyHordern Pavilion23 January 2009Sydney Olympic Park24 January 2009MelbournePalais Theatre26 January 2009Flemington Racecourse30 January 2009AdelaideAdelaide Showground1 February 2009PerthClaremont Showground2 July 2009GdyniaPolandGdynia-Kosakowo Airport4 July 2009Hradec KrálovéCzech RepublicHradec Králové Airport5 July 2009ViennaAustriaArena7 July 2009SplitCroatiaProkurative9 July 2009Novi SadSerbiaPetrovaradin Fortress1 August 2009Jersey CityUnited StatesLiberty State Park2 August 2009MontrealCanadaParc Jean-Drapeau3 August 2009New York CityUnited StatesHighline Ballroom5 August 2009BostonParadise Rock Club7 August 2009ChicagoMetro Chicago8 August 2009Grant Park13 August 2009OsloNorwayOya Festival14 August 2009GothenburgSwedenWay Out West Festival15 August 2009CopenhagenDenmarkBeat Day Festival20 August 2009CologneGermanyKulturkirche Köln21 August 2009ErfurtHighfield Festival22 August 2009HasseltBelgiumPukkelpop Festival23 August 2009BiddinghuizenNetherlandsLowlands Festival26 August 2009LondonEnglandBrixton Academy28 August 2009LeedsLeeds Festival29 August 2009ReadingReading Festival14 September 2009San DiegoUnited StatesSoma San Diego15 September 2009Los AngelesHollywood Palladium16 September 2009OaklandFox Theatre18 September 2009PortlandWonder Ballroom19 September 2009SeattleThe Showbox @ The Market20 September 2009VancouverCanadaMalkin Bowl22 September 2009Salt Lake CityUnited StatesIn the Venue23 September 2009DenverOgden Theatre25 September 2009MinneapolisFirst Avenue26 September 2009MilwaukeeThe Rave28 September 2009ColumbusNewport Music Hall29 September 2009TorontoCanadaKool Haus30 September 2009PhiladelphiaUnited StatesElectric Factory2 October 2009New OrleansHouse of Blues3 October 2009HoustonHouse of Blues4 October 2009AustinAustin City Limits Festival 5 October 2009DallasThe Palladium Ballroom18 October 2009TokyoJapanLiquid Room19 October 2009Budokan3 November 2009AntwerpBelgiumLotto Arena5 November 2009ParisFranceZenith6 November 20098 November 2009BerlinGermanyTreptow Arena10 November 2009AmsterdamNetherlandsHeineken Music Hall11 November 200913 November 2009LiverpoolEnglandEcho Arena14 November 2009SheffieldSheffield Arena16 November 2009Newcastle upon TyneMetro Radio Arena17 November 2009LondonWembley Arena18 November 200920 November 2009BirminghamNational Indoor Arena21 November 2009ManchesterManchester Evening News Arena22 November 2009NottinghamTrent FM Arena24 November 2009GlasgowScotlandSECC25 November 2009BelfastNorthern IrelandOdyssey Arena26 November 2009DublinIrelandThe O26 December 2009ChicagoUnited StatesRiviera Theatre7 December 2009PittsburghMr. Smalls Theatre8 December 2009Washington, D.C.9:30 Club10 December 2009New York CityTerminal 511 December 200913 December 2009BostonHouse of Blues14 December 2009MontrealCanadaMétropolis26 January 2010MilanItalyPalasharp27 January 2010GrenobleFranceSummum29 January 2010RennesLiberté30 January 2010BordeauxMedoquine31 January 2010MontpellierZenith2 February 2010PortoPortugalColiseum3 February 2010LisbonCampo Pequeno5 February 2010MadridSpainPalacio Vistalegre6 February 2010BarcelonaSant Jordi Club8 February 2010MunichGermanyZenith9 February 2010Offenbach am MainStadthalle Offenbach10 February 2010DüsseldorfPhilipshalle13 February 2010ValenciaSpainCiudad de las Artes y las Ciencias27 March 2010LondonEnglandRoyal Albert Hall28 March 2010O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire1 April 2010Miami BeachUnited StatesFillmore Miami Beach at Jackie2 April 2010TampaThe Ritz3 April 2010HollywoodHard Rock Live5 April 2010Athens40 Watt Club6 April 2010RaleighDisco Rodeo7 April 2010BaltimoreRams Head Live9 April 2010CovingtonMadison Theatre11 April 2010St. LouisThe Pageant12 April 2010LawrenceLiberty Hall13 April 2010TulsaCain's Ballroom15 April 2010TempeThe Marquee16 April 2010Las VegasHouse of Blues18 April 2010PioneertownPappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace21 April 2010Mexico CityMexicoEstadio Azteca's Esplande22 April 2010GuadalajaraForo Alterno
Personnel Arctic Monkeys Alex Turner – lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar; keyboards (January–February 2009) Jamie Cook – electric guitar, baritone guitar Nick O'Malley – bass guitar, backing vocals Matt Helders – drums, percussion, backing vocals Touring musicians John Ashton – keyboards, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, percussion, backing vocals (July 2009–April 2010) Guests Josh Homme – vocals and tambourine on "Dance Little Liar" and "Pretty Visitors" (on Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace concert)
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