Braehead Arena, Glasgow
In a scene set to play out repeatedly at arenas and festivals this summer, David Guetta stands at his decks, arms raised triumphantly aloft, while behind him a giant screen flashes: "Put your hands up!" The crowd are packed in so tight they do not have anywhere else to put them, as a throbbing bassline kicks in and everyone starts bouncing.
For the French superstar house DJ, it looks like decent work if you can get it – pumping your first and grinning, adjusting the odd fader, sometimes cutting the volume to let the crowd roar your praises. You cannot blame the man for drinking in his moment. After 20 years of relative obscurity, Guetta's fizzy, DayGlo dance party production sound has made "David Guetta feat" the prefix every pop star wants. He has delivered hits for Black Eyed Peas and Rihanna, and U2 have reportedly invited him to helm their next album.
There are no guest stars tonight – no Flo Rida to rap Club Can't Handle Me or Akon to sing the risible Sexy Bitch. Save for a couple of LED robot men on stilts shooting dry ice and sparks, it is a one-man show akin to a very loud PA, one that has long run out of new tricks as it enters its third hour. But as The Time (Dirty Bit) reboots the feelgood frenzy, credit must go where it is due to a man who makes party starting look so laughably easy. "Glasgow," hollers Guetta, an inflated condom hovering before him on the heat from the front rows, "you are beautiful!"