Kasabian are veterans of the rock scene.. Forming in Leicester in the late nineties, the band have gone on to release five studio albums; their sixth, For Crying Out Loud to be released next week (5th May). With each album, a new exciting sound follows, forever keeping their fans anticipating their next move. To celebrate the upcoming release of their album, Kasabian announced an eight date intimate UK tour. The four piece took on the Newport Centre, with a capacity of only 2000 on Saturday 15th April.
The Manchester five piece ‘Cabbage’ opened the night as the only support act, however they failed to get the crowd motivated for the most part. Their satirical set list, whilst amusing, didn’t excite anyone, with a large majority of the crowd favouring the bar set up in a different room.
However, Cabbage were battling with an extremely emotional crowd that night. The venue had failed to inform attendees that only 592 of the 2000 ticket holders would be allowed to stand during the gig, despite every ticket being labelled as ‘Standing’. Thus, the seated area of the venue (of almost ¾ of the crowd) were unmotivated and uninterested in the support, preferring to attempt to find their way into the standing area.
Bouncing onto the stage with new single ‘You’re in Love With a Psycho’ and quickly followed ‘Bumblebee’, Kasabian managed to dispel the sour taste in the seated crowd’s mouth and remind them why they were there – to hear a phenomenal, festival headliner in a tiny concert hall to celebrate their new music. Despite ‘Psycho’ being a calmer start, an audience of all ages were united in movement, some more excitable than others, it was the perfect opening choice given the circumstances.
The build-up of excitement for the set continued with a variety of songs from all five of their previous albums, paired with an immense strobe lighting arrangement, most of the tension in the venue seemed to disparate, replaced by the awe of intimacy with one of the biggest English rock bands of the moment. Mixing it up a bit, the band slid into Daft Punk’s ‘Around the World’ during ‘Eez-eh’ calming the crowd down, then building them back up again.
Serge’s ‘La Fee Verte’ comes as a welcome breather to the crowd after a non-stop half an hour; however, the passion doesn’t dissipate, with the crowd singing along with every word, almost drowning the guitarist’s voice. The calm doesn’t last long however, as lead singer Tom returns to the stage to play their newest single ‘God Bless This Acid House’, with a light show nearly as captivating as the song.
‘L.S.F’ was absolutely the highlight of the evening, ensuring every person in attendance was singing along “Just you guys right at the back” Tom bellows (perhaps accidentally reminding them that they’re ‘all the way at the back’ despite having standing tickets).
Not only was this gig a celebration of their upcoming album release, but a reminder of how far the band have come, how versatile they are and how they still have so much to give. The whole experience of seeing them that evening was immense, with the sound and visuals having the quality of a headlining arena tour, rather than in a leisure centre.
Although is now over, you can see Kasabian headline at this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival. Tickets can be bought here. Check out their single ‘You’re in Love With a Psycho’ below:
