KASABIAN | LIVE REVIEW
Newport Centre, Sat 15 Apr
As their biggest hit suggests, Kasabian are on fire right now, and blazed a trail of glory through Newport with a storming set. Last month the Leicester band announced a hastily-arranged UK tour of intimate venues in support of forthcoming album For Crying Out Loud, and tickets were snapped up in minutes. Their unapologetically anthemic sound may fill arenas the size of aircraft hangars, but there’s nothing like being able to see the whites of their eyes.
Within the opening bars of new single You’re In Love With A Psycho, the tone is set and the electric atmosphere in the cauldron-like confines doesn’t let up an iota all night. If anything, the frenzy is cranked up a few more notches with Bumblebee’s breakdown leading to an orgy of strobe light and strewn pints. Underdog, Shoot The Runner and Eez-Eh (featuring a snippet of Daft Punk’s Around The World) all soon thunder by, and it becomes apparent that this isn’t just a mere warmup gig to roadtest the new material, but a triumphant celebration of Kasabian’s greatest hits.
It seems like the mood can’t get any further fever pitch, but then the throbbing riffs of Club Foot cascade and the place goes nuts all over again. There is a much-needed respite with Serge Pizzorno’s French-flavoured acoustic tune La Fée Verte providing a momentary breather, but even then every word is bellowed back with clenched fists held aloft. The electric guitar is slung back on with a vengeance though for Re-Wired, and the Jeremy Deller-inspired Bless This Acid House is a No.1 in the making if they can knock a certain warbling ginger Furby off the top of the charts.
Kasabian then officially claim Newport as their Empire before L.S.F (Lost Souls Forever) takes us back to that bygone summer of 2004 when they declared themselves as Britain’s hottest new band. New track Comeback Kid kicks off the encore at breakneck speed, and the relentless momentum is maintained with Vlad The Impaler.
With such high-octane levels guaranteed, a Kasabian gig is never a disappointing experience and fittingly it’s Fire that finishes the set. Evidently, there’s still a lot of the hot stuff in their bellies and it’s showing no signs of burning out.
words NEIL COLLINS photos ARABELLA ITANI
