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PEERING out from under his mop of thick black curls, Kyle Falconer is sharing a moment with the fans.

Arms outstretched, screaming for his attention, they press towards the stage where he stands beaming broadly, looking as if there’s nowhere else in the world he’d rather be.

So far, so rock ’n’ roll. The weird thing is, the gig finished several minutes ago and the rest of his bandmates are in the dressing room.

Kyle, however, has other ideas. Delighted by the ecstatic response of this sell-out crowd, he’s determined to savour it and, for the time being, refuses to leave.

Suddenly, his trademark grin gets wider. He dashes to the drum riser, turns around and takes a running jump into the crowd.

Within seconds, he’s disappeared out of sight under a crush of indie kids desperately jostling to get close. Panicking, the road crew dive in to rescue him and the singer becomes the object of a dangerous-looking tug of war that threatens to leave him with, at the very least, a few dislocated joints.

Finally his rescuers manage to push him as far as the stage door where he bobs up and punches the air in triumph. He’s still grinning.

It’s a fitting end to The View’s first show on home turf since the release of Which Bitch?. And just like the new album itself, it’s full of surprises.

From the moment they tear into opener Glass Smash — a whirlwind of crashing drums and buzzsaw guitars — it’s clear that they’re back to being the viciously well-drilled outfit that first emerged from Dundee in the early months of 2006.

Watched from the wings by a dozen mates having a party of their own, they charge through a set strong on hits, including storming versions of 5 Rebbeccas, Wasted Little DJs and Superstar Tradesman, and even pack in an unexpected acoustic interlude.

The crowd greet old faves like Comin’ Down and new crackers like One-Off Pretender with equal frenzy, but when they rocket towards the climax with a bruising Shock Horror — another classic in the making — it’s clear the future is looking very good.

By Tim Barr, News Of The World, 16th February 2009