Kasabian, Kentish Town Forum
'Vlad The Impaler' is a staggering noise live. It literally rattles the lungs inside of you like a chandelier during an earthquake.
The excitement in the Kentish town forum is floating through the air, circling around each and everyone of the 400 competition winners for this 'secret' show to help promote forthcoming album (bonkers album title drum roll) 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'. There is a nice intimate feel to surroundings and before Kasabian finally arrive some 35 minutes later than scheduled, we are treated to a blast of late 80's early 90's house music, all smothered in massive bass and beats from a DJ dressed like Paul Weller but 30 years older.
He must have know what was coming, as the lights go down and the booming opening riff from 'Vlad The Impaler' starts filling the room. The band have to enter the stage twice, a technical fault forcing them off before a note has even been played. And so, they wander off, and five minutes later the huge opening riff kicks off once more and they try again. Frontman Tom Meighan, for the first few songs at least, seems distracted by this delay and actually seems subdued on stage. But even when he's a little off colour, it matters little because he is the finest example of a charismatic frontman you could wish to see. Meighan operating at 50% is still 50% better than most frontmen operating at full throttle.
'Vlad The Impaler' is a staggering noise live. It literally rattles the lungs inside of you like a chandelier during an earthquake. 'Shoot The Runner' is still a barn-storming 'punch yourself in the face because you're happy' moment of modern rock 'n' roll, whilst 'Cutt Off' completes the triangle of a track off each album to start the show. As starts go, its pretty darn good.
The new album's lead single 'Fire' has taken a few listens to get under the skin but live, it's a different animal. This is an instant, exciting moment of live music; it fleshes out the song's original intentions with a chorus bellowing out to the point where if the Kentish Town Forum were to have taken off and jetted out to space, no one would have been surprised. 'Processed Beats' remains one of the most potent weapons at their disposal and it's by this point you sense that Meighan is enjoying himself, playing the crowd like they are all his children hanging on his every move, his every word, his every breath. It's impossible to take your eyes off of him.
Other new songs stand out as highlights - never easy when you are hearing them, mostly, for the first time. 'Underdog' is a fantastic track. recalling the beats from their debut album; a marvellous opening riff to reel you and backed with a truly infectious vocal from Meighan throughout. And it gets better. 'Fast Fuse' is a Quentin Tarantino inspired piece of funk rock and is simply outstanding here tonight. 'Empire' is as good as you'd expect, huge, bonkers, and pretty much flawless. It's at this point you start to see where Kasabian have improved so much since the last time we saw them. Sets that seemed a little disjointed are now bursting with new tracks that not only stand up well alongside the oldies, they in some cases surpass them. 'Where Did All The Love Go' is a perfect example; a distant cousin in sound to 'Reason Is Treason', on first listen has to be a future single - it's that good. Then again, acoustic, Sixties-inspired track 'Thick As Thieves' is equally beautiful and impressive. Where 'Me Plus One' so often failed in delivering the 'sweet' moment in the past, this is them pulling it off big style.
'Doberman' continues the sing-a-long-a-thon feel good factor and when they wander off to thunderous applause, everyone seems to be on such a natural high from what has already happened. But it's not over - they return with a ferocious, heavy version of 'Club Foot', a song designed for pogo-loving children of all ages, and they finish with the mass sing-a-long is 'LSF', Meighan once again taking his place as the conductor as the crowd sing back his every command. Two songs that deserve classic billing to end a pretty brilliant performance.
It's a triumph. Serge Pizzorno hovers in the shadows looking brilliantly cool, Meighan is cementing his reputation as a frontman who is simply too hot to handle when he's on this form, and the rest of the band help create both a solid and extraordinary sound that is 100% Kasabian. They sound like no one else around and have the songs in handfuls now to back up the confidence and the swagger.
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