Kasabian, The Delta Riggs @ Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide (07/08/2014)
Fresh off the back of closing Glastonbury festival to tens of thousands, English rockers Kasabian stopped by Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide for the second date of their Australian tour, celebrating their fifth studio album 48:13. Adelaide’s Leicester natives had turned up in force to support their boys brandishing flags and jerseys.
Melbournians and Triple J unearthed 2011 winners, The Delta Riggs, who have just returned from a European tour, opened with an energetic set. The crowd screamed in excitement as they shuffled on stage. Lead singer Elliot Hammond wanders on stage, leans over and shouts into the microphone with his hands in his pockets. For such a young band these boys know how to rock! They bounce around and dance zanily like they own the stage, like they actually believe they are the headline act. Hammond and lead guitarist Alexander Makwell both show their versatility at times by swaggering over and pumping some chords over the crowd on the tiny keyboard in the corner. Playing crowd favourites, ‘The Records Flawed’ and ‘Perfume and Lace’, this relatively young band showed the precision of a tour-hardened act. With a fantastic sound that reminds me of The Hives and The Dead Weather, I predict big things from The Delta Riggs. The house lights come on and some of the crowd stream out for refreshments, I start to notice the type of people that are here tonight – lots of young people but also groups of older guys, mums, dads and even kids, this band defines the term “preaching to the masses”. |
Then the moment comes, the lights finally dim and a loud hum begins to resonate through the speakers, the crowd is elated as the five coolest dudes in Britain saunter on stage. Kasabian waste no time and launch straight into new single, ‘Bumblebee’. Lead singer Tom Meighan bounces with the crowd, dressed in a suit and giant white-rimmed sunglasses, he is instantly crowned king of Thebarton. After greeting their gracious hosts to rapturous applause they move immediately into crowd favourite ‘Shoot the Runner’, which introduces the crowd to Kasabian’s phenomenal versatility with synth, piano and a horn section included. Guitarist, co-vocalist and Noel Feilding look-alike, Sergio Pizzorno, wails over the top of screaming guitar.
Just as we get used to calling Kasabian a rock and roll band, there is a call for the crowd to chant “easy” as they launch into the loud and angry dance-fuelled party anthem, ‘Eez-eh’. 48:13 is full of this awesome new sound and the crowd love it. Meighan takes a quick break as “that bloke in the back with the white t-shirt” receives a mellow tribute from Pizzorno, a clever mashup of early hits, ‘Processed Beats’ and ‘Doberman.’
The volume is cranked right back up to ten with crowd favourites ‘Clubfoot’ and ‘Treat’. “How are you anyway ya fuckers?” asks Meighan, as Adelaide is proclaimed beautiful. A pleasantly surprising cover of Fatboy Slim’s classic anthem, ‘Praise You,’ leads into a huge rendition of ‘LSF’. In a time where encores are an expectation, the roadies simply come out and retune the instruments and a buzz of electronica is in the air. The Leicester crowd make sure they’re heard as Thebarton Theatre is transformed into a 50,000-seat football stadium collectively humming the chorus of LSF. The boys return triumphantly to the stage only moments after they left.
The night becomes a rave and a rock concert all in one with an inspired performance of ‘Switchblade Smiles’ and ‘Vlad the Impaler’. Bassist Chris Edwards screams, “Get loose! Get loose!” The crowd happily obliges, somehow lifting even higher off the ground for a thundering finale of ‘Fire’. Meighan cheekily farewells the crowd, “Thankyou Leicester” and all hell breaks loose as beers are flung, one punter crowd surfs his way to the front and mothers and daughters, fathers and sons jump together to an ecstatic end.
Kasabian are a well-oiled machine that knows how to entertain a crowd and they take absolute delight in doing so, no matter the size. They may be one of the biggest bands in Europe, but they are ever loyal to their fans and very humble, thanking the crowd profusely.
Sebastian Cooper
Just as we get used to calling Kasabian a rock and roll band, there is a call for the crowd to chant “easy” as they launch into the loud and angry dance-fuelled party anthem, ‘Eez-eh’. 48:13 is full of this awesome new sound and the crowd love it. Meighan takes a quick break as “that bloke in the back with the white t-shirt” receives a mellow tribute from Pizzorno, a clever mashup of early hits, ‘Processed Beats’ and ‘Doberman.’
The volume is cranked right back up to ten with crowd favourites ‘Clubfoot’ and ‘Treat’. “How are you anyway ya fuckers?” asks Meighan, as Adelaide is proclaimed beautiful. A pleasantly surprising cover of Fatboy Slim’s classic anthem, ‘Praise You,’ leads into a huge rendition of ‘LSF’. In a time where encores are an expectation, the roadies simply come out and retune the instruments and a buzz of electronica is in the air. The Leicester crowd make sure they’re heard as Thebarton Theatre is transformed into a 50,000-seat football stadium collectively humming the chorus of LSF. The boys return triumphantly to the stage only moments after they left.
The night becomes a rave and a rock concert all in one with an inspired performance of ‘Switchblade Smiles’ and ‘Vlad the Impaler’. Bassist Chris Edwards screams, “Get loose! Get loose!” The crowd happily obliges, somehow lifting even higher off the ground for a thundering finale of ‘Fire’. Meighan cheekily farewells the crowd, “Thankyou Leicester” and all hell breaks loose as beers are flung, one punter crowd surfs his way to the front and mothers and daughters, fathers and sons jump together to an ecstatic end.
Kasabian are a well-oiled machine that knows how to entertain a crowd and they take absolute delight in doing so, no matter the size. They may be one of the biggest bands in Europe, but they are ever loyal to their fans and very humble, thanking the crowd profusely.
Sebastian Cooper