Sunday 26/03/06 Arctic Monkeys, The Spinto Band @ Starlight Ballroom, Philadelphia

If the phrase “dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984” has been jammed into your head, you might be hoping that the Arctic Monkeys are heading for a fast slide into mediocrity. Well, don’t be such a scummy man, because their performance at Philadelphia’s Starlight Ballroom was tinged with greatness, and proved yet another reason why these 4 fresh-faced (or spotty, as the case may be) youngsters are so damn difficult to hate.

The Spinto Band take the stage first, beaming amidst a set ridden with technical difficulties. Tracks like latest single ‘Direct To Helmet’ and ‘Oh Mandy’ have an angular appeal, and the band comes complete with kazoos, so naturally the crowd is appreciative. But in a decidedly Anglophile night, it’s a surprise that the Monkeys have pegged Delaware natives The Spinto Band as their openers. Yet from the first jerky chords, it’s clear that even if scuzz-punk isn’t flowing through the Spinto veins, both bands share the same giddy youthfulness. Tonight is a night for the young, for the kids, for those passionate about finding a band their own age.

Or so it would seem. After all, this ‘band of a generation’ should apply to just that: a generation. Instead this crowd goes from middle-aged women to teenage boys to one decidedly inebriated Sheffield man who described himself as the ‘guitarist’s neighbour,’ before pinching my friend during ‘Mardy Bum’ in a decidedly fitting location. The Arctic Monkeys aren’t playing tonight for the scenesters, for the hipsters, or for the journos: they’re playing for the fans - whatever form they may take.