Wednesday 26/08/09 Arctic Monkeys, Them Crooked Vultures @ Brixton Academy, London

It's testament to the sheer scale of Arctic Monkeys that a gig at the Brixton Academy is deemed 'intimate' for them where for others it would be an aspirational landmark. As it is Alex Turner and co. have invited a few thousand of their fans to glimpse the Sheffield band in their first show since releasing their third album 'Humbug' and their last show before they headline the Reading and Leeds festivals.

First however is something of a treat. Billed as 'Very Special Guests' tonight's surprise support act was hardly a well kept secret as pretty much every conversation inside the venue was about Them Crooked Vultures- blame the internet for the lack of surprise. However as Dave Grohl takes to the stage you can't help but be impressed, even more so as he gets behind a drum kit and starts beating on it like it wronged him earlier in the day. Elsewhere Them Crooked Vultures consist of Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and former Desert Sessions guitarist Alain Johannes backing them up. Even in such esteemed company Homme stands proudly above them, seemingly carved out of rock the man is a mountain and drives the band forward with a succession of riffs and solo's- barely breaking a sweat as he does so. Playing for three quarters of an hour there is a lot of new material on show tonight with  'Elephants', 'Caligulove' and the sprawling 'Daffodils' impressing the most. Any band consisting of these titans of hard rock will cause tremors in the room but the sheer volume and power of The Crooked Vultures is physically apparent and the thousands of sore chests gathered must be wondering how Arctic Monkeys new found 'heavy' direction can possibly stand up against a band who can pull out a Dave Grohl speed drum solo for a party piece.

In all honesty a tinny indie band like Arctic Monkeys can't stand up to their peers just yet, however the fact a band consisting of members of Nirvana and Queens Of The Stoneage are considered Arctic Monkeys peers shows just how far the Sheffield band have come in three short years. Opening their set, as on 'Humbug', with 'My Propeller' the sound is not that of a band adopting the swampy Mojave Desert rumblings but more of a stadium band beefing up their guitars to a cavernous degree. Another monolith of rock is touched on as the cover of Nick Cave's 'Red Right Hand' is brought out before the opening riff to 'Crying Lightning' causes the nights first sing along to occur. The performance seems to act as a run through of much of 'Humbug', presumably seeing which songs work ahead of the big shows at Reading and Leeds and whilst a smaller, fans only show is a safer environment to experiment festival goers will perhaps be hoping that less new material is aired on the big stage this weekend.

As good as the likes of 'Potion Approaching' and 'Dangerous Animal' are they leave large sections of the crowd alienated by lack of recognition and shift the atmosphere down more than a few notches. Perhaps the greatest change in Arctic Monkeys is the disappearance of Alex Turners guitar at various intervals. The freedom is clearly not something which comes naturally to the waif like Turner but as the show progresses he loosens up and 'Pretty Visitors' certainly benefits from having a confrontational figure at the forefront. Arctic Monkeys ability to tap into the hearts and souls of their audience is unparalleled however as the pandemonium 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' causes goes to show. Elsewhere old favourites such as 'Brianstorm', 'Do Me A Favour' and 'Fluorescent Adolescent' charm and delight in equal measure however choosing to play 'House Is A Circus' and 'If You Were There, Beware' in place of 'Teddy Picker' and 'A Certain Romance' may well have been a mistake.

Far from the definitive Arctic Monkeys show some may have expected this evening still goes to show that Arctic Monkeys are by far the most exciting of the bands their size and that the true merit of headlining large events is making music thousands of people want to hear rather than making music that fills the space needed to house thousands of people.