The seminal British band has long been on the front lines of preserving what’s left of the rock scene, fragmented by streaming and buoyed by dad-rock nostalgia culture. Its sudden ascension to godlike stature in the early aughts, helmed by ever-cool frontman Alex Turner, cemented that role. It’s no surprise, then, that the 2007 paean to youthful agitation was the song chosen for this climactic moment, garnering the loudest crowd roar of the evening.
Perhaps a decade or more of anthemic ragers has granted Turner a license to lean into the effortless swagger that punctuates his showmanship. During “Teddy Picker,” he literally conducted impeccable drummer Matt Helders’ fiery solo and backup vocals before turning to the audience with arms raised as if he were delivering a histrionic Shakespearean monologue. In “Snap Out of It,” he glared at the floor with hands on either side of his luxuriant shag.
The evening closed with a reminder that “Car” deserved a bit more time in the driver’s seat. “Body Paint” began with a soft piano opening, expanding past Turner’s luscious falsetto to envelop the venue in an extended outro that was slow yet powerful. The set design shifted from retro white geometrics to multicolored dancing lights — a moment that proved these new songs can shine on their own.