From seeing Wilco for the first time to hugging Patrick Wolf to within an inch of his life just inches from the venue's doors, the old Birmingham Academy has been the source of many famous (or infamous) nights that are forever etched into my memory. Like all Academy venues throughout the UK, you felt like you were walking on a floor of super strength glue, and at some of the more leisurely gigs, after two-and-a-half hours of standing, you began to feel that DVT was a distinct possibility. The man behind the sound desk, more often than not, couldn't be trusted to mix a vodka and coke, let alone what was coming out of the speakers and creating enjoyment-killing tinnitus.

The old building in Dale End is earmarked to be demolished for the Martineau Galleries project, so O2 took over the old Dome nightclub at Horsefair on Bristol Street. It's as asthetically as drab as the old venue bar a handful of fancy external lights, and for decent amenities you have to walk for ten minutes back to New Street station via a very dodgy underpass which goes under the Queensway roundabout, which isn't a pleasant experience. Inside, it's actually a little bit glamourous, albeit in a functional, Academy Music Group kind of way. Anyway, people aren't here to dance about architecture; they want to get down with some serious rock n' roll.

Opening tonight are Montreal noise popsters (or 'Moog rockers') Duchess Says. Having done no research on them beforehand, it's a hell of a shock to witness the four-piece at close quarters. Singer Annie-Claude freaks everyone out with a variety of random behaviour including Exorcist-style eye movements, speaker-splitting howls and screams, spitting beer out at security staff, and getting lost in the capacity crowd at every opportunity. Musically, it's also very intense; tracks like 'Black Flag' suggest that volume control and dynamics are ideas which haven't been embedded into the band's consciousness, and that all in attendance are going to suffer for it later, but some mild hearing damage is almost forgivable when everyone's having this much fun. Nick Zinner stealthily takes pictures of the audience from the side of the stage before Duchess Says finish their set and Annie-Claude's trail of destruction is cleaned up.

The first time I ever heard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was from listening to 'Pin' on the late John Peel's Radio 1 show, and since then I have always been engaged by their music, but somehow the step to fully-fledged fandom hadn't arrived. Seeing them live has given me a push in the right direction. Whether it's the octopedian arms of drummer Brian Chase, Nick the stick figure guitar hero, or Karen O's...Karen O-ness, they have an extraordinary presence and poise that can only be welcomed with open arms. The set list is also balanced and confident; 'Heads Will Roll' is wheeled out early on, before seguing into a storming rendition of the aforementioned 'Pin'. It's hot, sweaty and noisy - everything you'd want from a YYY's show. Highlights of the main set include an alternate take on set opener 'Runaway', and an epic 'Skeletons', where a rainforest's worth of paper circles swirl around the venue in perfect sychronicity with the music, and Karen O's vocals bring tears to anyone between the ages of 16 and 25. That woman is beyond words.

The encore is all Fever To Tell, with 'Y Control', a beautiful acoustic rendition of 'Maps', and after a short "thank you" speech from Karen O - including a dedication to "all the cuties in the front row", which is said with an outstreched finger in my direction; thank you Miss! - the set ends with 'Date With The Night'. Everyone in the stalls is moving in unison, the band really go for it, and it all ends in frenzied applause. It barely lasted an hour, and there's a chance you'll won't be able to concentrate on anything in the coming days due to ringing ears - but everything's forgivable when you have that much fun.

Set list:

Runaway
Heads Will Roll
Pin
Black Tongue
Shame And Fortune
Phenomenon
Dull Life
Gold Lion
Cheated Hearts
Skeletons
Hysteric
Honeybear
Zero
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Y Control
Maps
Date With The Night