REVIEW: The Last Shadow Puppets, Newcastle City Hall

The Last Shadow Puppets put on a mesmerising show at Newcastle City Hall.
The Last Shadow PuppetsThe Last Shadow Puppets
The Last Shadow Puppets

The dynamic duo, made up of Arctic Monkey’s front man Alex Turner and close friend Miles Kane of The Rascals, looked as stylish as ever as they took to the stage wearing matching pale pink tops over black outfits.

Opening with Calm Like You, from their 2008 debut album, The Age Of The Understatement, their fans were instantly up on their feet singing along.

The Last Shadow PuppetsThe Last Shadow Puppets
The Last Shadow Puppets
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The lusty lyrics of Miracle Aligner, a track from their second album, Everything You’ve Come To Expect, were crooned in style by Turner, who expressed Elvis-esque poses throughout the show, adding to the swinging sixties-style character channelled by the 30-year-old Sheffield star.

The galloping rhythm of The Age Of The Understatement sparked an air of excitement among fans, which were encouraged by wolf-like howls from Turner and a stellar performance of Aviation.

There was no room for egos as the two pals swayed in and out of the limelight. Yet, Kane shone as he took the lead with lively track, Bad Habits. The edgy strings scoring by Owen Pallett on this song teamed with extraterrestrial elements and Kane’s thrashing electric guitar offered an otherworldly sound to the show.

Simple stage lights worked wonders with perfectly-timed plumes of smoke that enveloped the stage at times, turning the two stars into shadowy silhouettes.

Alex Turner of The Last Shadow Puppets. Picture: Marie Westmoreland.Alex Turner of The Last Shadow Puppets. Picture: Marie Westmoreland.
Alex Turner of The Last Shadow Puppets. Picture: Marie Westmoreland.
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Downing guitars and supported by their band and string quartet, the pair performed superb vocals on Everything You’ve Come To Expect.

Turner’s snake-hipped crooning continued as he indulged fans with a version of Leonard Cohen’s Is This What You Wanted, before shimmying off stage leaving Kane to complete the cover.

He returned quickly to perform seductive song, Sweet Dreams, TN, penned about his model girlfriend Taylor Bagley, who comes from Tennessee.

Face-to-face, Turner and Kane’s bromance was in full bloom as they shared a microphone for In My Room.

Miles Kane of The Last Shadow Puppets. Picture: Marie Westmoreland.Miles Kane of The Last Shadow Puppets. Picture: Marie Westmoreland.
Miles Kane of The Last Shadow Puppets. Picture: Marie Westmoreland.
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Kane humbly bowed to the crowd with an ‘I’m not worthy’ wave and Turner offered a two-fingered peace sign as they left the stage to huge applause.

Strutting back on for the encore, each with a drink in hand, they performed Standing Next To Me, followed by The Dream Synopsis. And before ending with A Meeting Place, Turner stopped to tell the Newcastle crowd, “You’ve been a wonderful audience.”

It’s clear that no-one is pulling the puppets’ strings in this band, which allows the brothers-in-arms musical freedom from their day jobs of being rock stars. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another eight years before album number three.