"Here's a song from a million billion trillion years ago," says the man with the bog-brush hair, before striking a succession of poses, like a suit-shop mannequin being repositioned by unseen hands. "Buster, he hold a teat!" he shouts above a band whose every amp has been turned up to 11. "Wiv a boxed teddy meat! An earthquake is a duck fin!" That can't be right, can it? Either I have to get my ears syringed or there's something very wrong with Madness's sound system.

We should, however, call them the Dangermen. That's the name Madness have adopted for their latest project, a homage to the tunes that shaped them, from singalongables like The Israelites and You Keep Me Hanging On, to the less well known Shame and Scandal, originally recorded by Lord Tanamo, and the poignant You'll Lose a Good Thing, once by Barbara Lynn. Lovely tunes, lovingly delivered - especially on the forthcoming album.

But then, can they be the Dangermen if they're playing Madness's hits? There are old faves scattered throughout the gig. It wouldn't be fair to say that's all the fans want - though some of the shaven-headed fortysomethings have probably been followers since the 1970s - but it's numbers like The Prince that get the biggest response. There's even a spot of crowd surfing during Night Boat to Cairo, whose reference to a monsoon sounds all too appropriate on a stormy summer evening.

In all respects other than speaker volume, though, this is a muted affair. Suggs is the only performer with much charisma, and a lip-reader would no doubt appreciate his between-ska banter as much as his animatronic dancing. His bandmates seem subhumanly small, except when the back-to-basics light show gives way to footage from cult British TV shows. You're reminded of Madness's own own television appearances, and they briefly grow.

It's all over in an hour, including encores. Not so much One Step Beyond as One Quick Sprint.

· At Scala, London N1, on Monday and July 12. Box office: 08700 600100.