Photo: Emma Viola Lilja
After 8 years away creating their own identities, Alex Turner and Miles Kane bring their bromance project back to the stage. It’s album release day, and The Last Shadow Puppets are truly "riding again" - as they often quipped upon being asked whether a reunion was on the cards.
As the pair emerge from the dry ice fog to the beginning churns of 'Calm Like You' it's apparent we're in for something different entirely, as Turner drapes himself over the speaker to croon "I can still remember when your city smelt exciting". The doe-eyed romantics of 2008, adorned with mop-tops and armed with a rapid-fire vocal delivery, have morphed into far grander and intriguing beasts in the intervening years.
Turner on the right stands as a gravitational performer circumnavigating the stage floor with his mic stand, and to the left Kane – owning an excitable puppy-like demeanour slinks about the stage springing high kicks and all. It’s the perfect juxtaposition, making their bond ever more endearing.
Kane takes the lead next, taking it upon himself to deliver those striking howls peppered throughout red-herring lead single ‘Bad Habits’, whilst the backing string quartet deliver those cascading off-kilter stabs. Turner casts the insouciance garnered from the Californian sun aside for the urgent charge of ‘The Age of the Understatement’, which recycles the epic youthful gallop they touched on all those years ago.
"Don't dick me around London, how are we feeling?" Turner asks to a highly responsive cheer from the crowd, “I thought as much,” he smirks. Soulful strings and funk guitar illustrate newbie ‘The Element of Surprise’ which finds the pair harmonising their richer vocals containing some classic Turner crafted lines – “It feels like your entrance just caused the temperature to rise”.
The crowd receive The Age of the Understatement material like old friends, ‘Only The Truth’ in particular ringing out as a forgotten highlight from that first LP with its huge closing crescendo. Later the elegant ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’ charms the Hackney Empire – a real testament to Turner’s songwriting, with Kane bending down to reach those intervening whammy bar warbles.
New songs are met with a warm welcome. Miles Kane whirls his blazer around the mic stand in the opening bars of his lead-song 'Pattern' which finds him owning the stage in the dramatic coda beautifully led by a descending cello line. The pair drop their instruments to deliver the sun-kissed slow-jam ‘Everything You’ve Come To Expect’, Kane perches himself on the speaker system as Turner leans on his mic stand – they’ve earned the right to pose. Later ‘Miracle Aligner’ shows off its melodic infectiousness as it orchestrates the crowd into a faithful singalong.
The pair are backed by several band members, including Mini Mansions’ Zach Dawes on bass and a string quartet who take on the duties a 14 piece orchestra provided on their last tour. The show reflects the more subtle strings which orchestrate their latest effort Everything You’ve Come To Expect, but they have several spotlight stealing moments, most notably in delivering that beautiful coda at the end of ‘Meeting Place’ – “This is for you London” Kane shouts.
Turner takes back the attention to prove he can pull off the vocal heights of ‘Sweet Dreams, TN’ outside of the recording booth, even Kane and Dawes have their eyes fixed on him as he roars, “You’re the first day of spring with a septum piercing,” in the crooning wail Roy Orbison used to own. After a short interval, they return to perform their rendition of The Beatles’ ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’, as Turner allows his slicked-back quiff to spread out in an immersive head-bang whilst the expanding intensity of the final section rings out.
“Who the hell does he think he is doing a Frank Sinatra impersonation?” Turner critiques as ‘The Dream Synopsis’ fades out, just one of the many whimsical one-liners heard tonight. The set is tied up with the celebratory ‘Standing Next To Me’, which has fans on all levels of the venue on their feet for the two-minute sweet slice of 60s pop.
The greatest and most enjoyable factor taken away from the evening is that The Last Shadow Puppets’ umbrella is really holiday time for the pair, away from their day jobs and hanging out as best mates. It’s perceived as more serious, thanks to the Mercury nominations and critical praise, but tonight it’s clear Kane and Turner are having fun; the pair are left solitary waving their goodbyes and swooping over-the-top bows to the crowd - they are literally basking in every moment. It’s sure good to have the boys back, if only for a little while.
‘Calm Like You’
‘Bad Habits’
‘The Age Of The Understatement’
‘The Element of Surprise’
‘Separate And Ever Deadly’
‘The Chamber’
‘Only The Truth’
‘Pattern’
‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’
‘Miracle Aligner’
‘Dracula Teeth’
‘Everything You've Come to Expect’
‘The Meeting Place’
‘Aviation’
‘Sweet Dreams, TN’
‘In My Room’
‘I Want You (She's So Heavy)’
‘The Dream Synopsis’
‘Standing Next To Me’
