Kaiser Chiefs

So has the Kaiser Chiefs backlash started? One reviewer last week called them the musical equivalent of the 2005’s Gypsy skirt, implying that Employment was ‘the’ album to listen to this summer because that’s what people had told the public, rather than any particular brilliance being attached to the record itself.

It seems weird that a band should have to prove themselves after selling so many albums, but that’s the point. Now that Kaiser Chiefs have crossed over into a band that, gulp, your parents would buy, they are still having to prove their ‘alternative’ credentials as those in the know tell us they’re no longer cool. The broadsheets were even querying their longevity.

Certainly any veneer of indie hip is stripped away in the first seconds of this gig. Entering lined up front of stage behind a dark see-through curtain, and to the screams of young girls, Dire Straights’ ‘Money for Nothing’ is pumped up telling us that this show is pop, like it or lump it.

Launching into ‘Saturday Night’ Ricky Wilson milks the audience immediately, letting them take the very first chorus of the night, and has launched himself into the pit by the third song - “Everyday I love you less and less’. Wilson is a showman, and it’s no wonder that he has endeared himself to thousands over the summer at their numerous festival appearances with his energetic enthusiasm.

Of course with only one album to go at there are some weaker moments like ‘Time Honoured Tradition’, but these are few and far between and with more material under their belts (especially given the promise of ‘Sink That Ship’) songs like that will rarely feature in the live show. They can also drop the ill advised cover of ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ where they took one of the greatest soul records ever made, removed every hint of emotion and karaoke’d it to at least one set of disbelieving ears. Let’s never speak of it again.

Those moments aside the night is pure pop fun. From the serenading of an hand-picked audience member during ‘You Can Have it All’ to crowd surfing during ‘I Predict a Riot’ every element of a top class show is included, even if the audience’s fervour slightly unnerved Wilson – “I’m not Pete Doherty you know, don’t go ripping my clothes”.

They play the crowd to the maximum, mentioning the band name at least 20 times during the act, and receiving a huge reception each time. There’s no reticence, no humility, it’s ‘we’re here and we’re brilliant’ and on this form that assertion is hard to argue with.

So at the moment it’s nonsense to question how long the Kaiser Chiefs can last. Wilson revels in the spotlight 10 final times during the final throes of the evening, and is a man hooked on the buzz of performance. With that in the back of his mind, he will be absolutely determined to ensure that future material is so good the thrill continues for years.

FUTURE GIGS