Well, it was probably dark. The Sun reports that when Arctic Monkeys appeared at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, they failed to recognise high profile gig-goer David Bowie and asked him to leave his seat. According to the tabloid, the band had brought their family across for the gig and reserved seats for them at the front of the venue. Bowie apparently sat on one of those reserved seats, and the band, not realising who he was, asked him to move on.
Monkey bassist Andy Nicholson apparently said: "David came up afterwards and said he really enjoyed it. So that's nice," whilst a 'source' added: "The lads were really embarrassed. They didn't think anyone would turn up to see them in New York, never mind a legend like David Bowie. David had heard all the hype and wanted to see them for himself."