Live Review: The Last Shadow Puppets @ The Olympia

There's no doubt that The Last Shadow Puppets' opening performance of a three-night stand is entertaining. A more difficult question to answer is whether anyone enjoys it more than the band themselves.
Styled to the nines – a white-shoed, short-panted Alex Turner flashing a daring amount of mankle, Miles Kane in a shirt made from Austin Powers' bedsheets – and traversing the Olympia stage with panache, there's plenty of theatricality to proceedings. It doesn't take long for musical brilliance to play a part either, with debut single 'Age Of The Understatement' making a very early appearance, much to the delight of the crowd.
The duelling vocals work as well in the live setting as they do on record, though it's clear Turner has an ineffable presence that Kane can't quite match; even when the former Rascal takes centre-stage on 'Only The Truth', eyes remain firmly fixed on the Arctic Monkey stage right.
It's a disciplined performance too – despite the generous lubrication of libations throughout the night. 'Bad Habits' looks nothing like the ramshackle mess as seen on US television, instead a powerful punch of punk. 'Calm Like You' brings hip-shaking and knee-waving that Elvis would applaud, and the soulful 'Sweet Dreams, TN' is beautifully balanced. The three-piece string section plays no small part in this, alternating between power, beauty and atmospheric swell with aplomb.
You'd be forgiven for barely noticing anything beyond the front of the stage, though. Like a pair of teenagers egging each other on, Turner and Kane are the most infatuated frontmen since the Pete Doherty and Carl Barât. Large portions of their singing, dancing, playing and general tomfoolery are aimed not at the audience, but at each other – though when they do speak to the crowd, their spectacular Northern-ness means half of it is missed anyway. An overexcited attendee flings one of Wonderbra's finest, but they nonchalantly step over it while continuing on their merry way.
The feeling is contagious too, as though we're looking in on star-crossed lovers finally united. The swoonsome qualities of new album Everything You've Come To Expect is suited to both the venue and performance, too; even if the galloping 'In My Room' is a smashing end to the main set, and a reminder of the furious power they pair have in their arsenal, it doesn't feel like we've missed out.
And while Turner's carefully-managed coiffure is finally upset during a moody take on The Beatles' 'I Want You', there's no disrupting this match made in heaven. Monkey business will likely resume soon enough – but until then, they're making the most of it.