The NME Tour has propelled itself as a must-happen event in the annual music calendar. Over the years, some great bands have rocked thousands of fans before achieving bigger things. Groups like the Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay and The Stereophonics all owe something to the NME's sponsored packages, so I was surprised to find out this year’s openers were the Mystery Jets. The opening slot is always the hardest to fill, with a lot of people wandering in during the set's closing moments. Mystery Jets In the past, the Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand have made these work by playing foot-stomping short, sharp songs. The Mystery Jets don't do short and sharp, in fact, they don’t have any redeemable features. Their songs amble aimlessly in a mash-up of all the worst parts of The Zutons and The Beta Band. The crowd cheer in all the right places but no-one seems that enthused. We Are Scientists After the shambles of the Mystery Jets you need something punchy, something lively, something that’s going to shake this tour to life - and the honours go to We Are Scientists.  | | We Are Scientists protect themselves |
After its three members moved from their US home towns to New York, they released their fantastic debut album, With Love And Squalor. The band describe their sound as 'a three-tusked mastodon' but tonight it was more a big-toothed otter. Their songs are great and they look fantastic, Chris Cain on bass with his goggle glasses is particularly cool, but they just didn’t reveal that flash of something special that we have come to expect from this tour. At moments they nearly get there with tracks like Great Escape and current single It’s A Hit, when the crowd jumped to life on their imaginary pogo sticks. They were good but they didn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders - maybe their set in its current state just needs a smaller venue. Arctic Monkeys The band most people wanted to see were the hyped-to-the-max Arctic Monkeys. This time last year, the Sheffield lads were playing to a few hundred people a week - now the whole world wants a piece. It seems back-to-back number one singles and the fastest-selling debut album of all time isn’t a bad way to ignite your career.  | | Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner |
Hitting the stage running with View From The Afternoon, the atmosphere fizzes as bodies fly around with every word being chanted back at front man Alex Turner. Not afraid to dish out the hits first, they unleash I Bet You Look On The Dance Floor and the crowd's energy bubbles over. Its repetitive chorus and hook are the hallmarks of a perfect pop song - it's possibly one of the greatest number one songs, and I will bite anyone who disagrees! The rest of the album got an airing, with the boys signing off with a great pairing of Fake Tails Of San Francisco and A Certain Romance. However, as good as they are, they are not great and the entire set was over so dizzyingly quick that it failed to satisfy. Maybe the anticipation was too much, but I still believe there’s a lot more to come from this band and one day they may be as brilliant as everyone thinks they are. Maximo Park  | | See more Maximo Park pics in the gallery |
The mighty Maximo Park rounded off the spectacle. Over the last year or so, the Newcastle five-piece have chipped away at the record-buying public and slowly buried their songs in the brains of unsuspecting listeners. Tonight they are headlining in a room where half of the crowd only really wants to see Arctic Monkeys - and hoards of people leave just before they come on. It's their loss. First out onto the stage is scary keyboard player Lukas Wooller who bounces around like an evil kangaroo after munching too much sugar. When I saw them at Norwich's Waterfront venue in May I was shocked at their aggression - but they have now notched that up by a million per cent. Lead singer Paul Smith lurches around the stage like he is having a seizure and acts like the pumped-up cousin of Jarvis Cocker. His voice is spot-on as the band shred their album A Certain Trigger into a hundred sonic pieces. Paul is one of the most captivating front men around and weighs in with every ounce of zeal he possesses. Teaming up with Lukas, they are a fascinating centre piece, almost playing out a weird good cop, bad cop role play. The only drawback is that they are almost too good and the set ends all too quickly, leaving a heaving UEA crowd speechless. Maximo Park 1-0 Arctic Monkeys. The NME Awards Tour came to Norwich's UEA on Thursday 9 February 2006. Photo credits: Lee Allen. | 
