It’s a drastically new-look Kasabian that greets the live Cardiff crowd on this rainy Wednesday night. With original vocalist Tom Meighan having been dismissed in 2020 after a domestic assault conviction, guitar maestro Sergio Pizzorno has stepped up to the plate to steer the good ship Kasabian into uncharted territory. They’ve already trialled this lineup in front of a Welsh crowd, but now there’s new material to contend with.

Their first album with this tweaked membership, The Alchemist’s Euphoria, was released in August, with fans and critics alike seemingly split down the middle by the band’s new direction. While the usual stomping rock anthems were all present and correct, they were also met with breakbeats and hip-hop pieces. So how would the new material fare in the live arena?

Well, Kasabian fans seem right up for this, with an air of excitement that promises a long night of dancing and singing along – and as the band bound on stage, they test the waters straight away, launching into the breaks-driven Rocket Fuel from the new album. Test passed: the crowd absolutely lap it up, while Pizzorno shows that he is a natural frontman as he stalks the stage, whipping the crowd into hysteria.

The only way to capitalise on this momentum is to bring out a classic, which they duly do as Club Foot takes a bow. The band, flanked by giant illuminated cubes, look fully revitalized and are clearly enjoying themselves as they bounce between new cuts and classic cuts. You’re In Love With A Psycho gets an added Daft Punk outro and Shoot The Runner is greeted like an old friend. Pizzorno – dressed head to toe in a yellow camouflage tracksuit with so many tears in it you’d think a hand grenade had gone off in his pocket – takes it right back to the beginning as he leads the band through a stripped-back acoustic version of Processed Beats before we return to the ‘classic followed by new track’ formula.

Kasabian returns to the stage after a short break for the triple live whammy of Bless This Acid House, LSF and, of course, Fire – leaving the crowd with a song to hum all the way home. With Serge Pizzorno on the mic, the band have more of a showman than they had previously, and this works well for them. Kasabian 2.0 has all the hallmarks of its previous incarnation, but with an exciting new twist.

Kasabian, Cardiff International Arena, Wed 2 Nov

words CHRIS ANDREWS photos KEVIN PICK