Waves of genuine excitement ripple through the very young crowd tonight. The levels are raised a notch as Ms Dynamite strolls on stage, launches straight into a sick reworking of ‘Dy-Na-Mi-Tee’, and maintains control of the crowd with a slick but hard set that incorporates grime, drum & bass, jungle, dubstep, ragga, and old-school garage and soul. One of many highlights is a new Shy FX-produced banger, ‘You Get Me High’, a wicked mix of old-school lovers rock and big drum & bass riddims. This brief but firing set was, in a word, dynamite…

I had no real clue what to expect from a Major Lazer live show; I own both albums, love the first, and love the second a whole lot less. I wondered, would the live set focus primarily on the new album? Would there be a life size (or large size) model of the cartoon zombie-slaying Jamaican soldier Lazer – like Iron Maiden with Eddie? With many guest artists spread over the two albums, I didn’t expect even a quarter of them to make an appearance on the O2 Oxford stage, but expected a couple of guest slots.

With the crowd amped, and the atmosphere at fever pitch, Diplo and his crew enter the stage, which now resembles an old-school reggae sound system set up, with futuristic, wardrobe-sized speaker boxes. For the next 90+ minutes Diplo, his hype men Walshy Fire and Jillionaire, and two energetic female dancers keep the excitement at fever pitch, with a killer selection of exclusive dubplates, tried & tested party bangers, reworked tracks from both albums and the expected mixture of trap, dubstep, moombathon and ragga. The carnival party atmosphere is maintained with the hype men extolling the crowd to do the Harlem Shake and throw their shirts on stage, and with a slightly cringeworthy section where girls are invited on stage to do the booty shake.

I was disappointed that tonight’s show was essentially just a DJ set with hype men, dancers and a decent light show. My disappointment has more to do with my wanting – or at least hoping – for some live singing from a couple of guest artists, coupled with the confirmation that Diplo is now very much part of the pop mainstream and that until he finds another obscure genre to plunder, no longer cutting edge. That may explain the parting of ways, with musical differences cited, from former Lazer cohort Switch.

Make no mistake, though. Tonight’s gig is for this young crowd. It’s an exciting and entertaining night, and despite this grizzly old scribe’s misgivings, it’s good to bear witness to the sweaty, happy faces in the O2 tonight, who were treated to one hell of a party!