It would be hard to find a less weird girl group than Little Mix, which makes the question posed on a screen – “Are you ready to Get Weird?” – either risible or challenging, depending on your age. The 10-year-olds in the audience are ready to be persuaded. For the next 90 minutes, they’re transfixed by the band’s cheery mishmash of tinselly costumes, pop bangers and “spooky” stage sets (the central pillar of the Get Weird tour – named after the group’s current album – is the idea that Brighton Centre is really a place called Club Weird, where dancers wear giant rabbits’ heads and a drag queen ferries the band around in a taxi). For adults, though, the frenetic pace and DayGlo graphics summon up Superdrug: The Musical.

But a couple of hours in Superdrug can be head-spinning for the right reasons. As the UK’s biggest girlband, Little Mix have the budget to stage a zingy show, and enough hits to keep fans roaring. And some of the hits are tunes: the chart-topping Black Magic, hammered out to audience yelps, is substantially beefier live; DNA, set in a dusky “enchanted forest”, is deeply seductive. How Ya Doin’? has the added fillip of a video cameo from Missy Elliott, who rises behind them like the Voice of God.

There’s also a strong sense of homage to the groups who did the groundwork, that Little Mix might wear sequined pants here tonight. The Spice Girls’ Wannabe – 20 years old this year - is covered with great brio, and the downbeat a cappella number The Beginning is a clear nod to All Saints. Essentially, this is a jubilant hen party of a night by a likable quartet – Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall – who are more likely to parade along Brighton seafront in bunny ears than commit actual weirdness.

• At Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, 17 March. Tickets: 0844-826 2826. Then touring.