What has changed is the band themselves. Having grown out of three-chord indie into darker, more sophisticated territory, they arrive tonight to show off the wares of AM, their most musically accomplished record to date. There is more than a touch of R'n'B royalty about their set, from the hip-hop intro music to Alex Turner's flamboyant delivery. When he joked in interviews a while back that he would happily give up guitar just to sing nobody took him seriously, but it is obvious that he has grown into a frontman in the truest sense, inventing small dance routines for each song that would end up a looking a little on the wrong side of 18-30's entertainer if it wasn't for the fact that he delivers it all with a pokerface of super-cool nonchalance.
From the glam-rock stomp of Snap Out Of It and Arabella to a lamenting acoustic rendition of Mardy Bum, his voice fills the arena with more confidence than on previous tours, bolstered by the well-timed falsettos of Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders. The setlist reflects this new found maturity - gone is cheap singalong of Brick By Brick and the normally ever-present finale of 505, choosing to replace it with R U Mine? and glorious I Wanna Be Yours that streams ticker tape to the back of the room. Little stage banter is indulged, aside from a gentle lilt of the Sheffield Wednesday theme that grows into an enormous Football chant. It's a clever and effortless move that gets the crowd involved, making them look like the rowdy scallies whilst you escape unscathed, just a few tendrils of quiff out of place. Even if the audience haven't grown up, Sheffield's heroes certainly have.
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