After a decent warm up set provided courtesy of the Streets and an introduction of 'Hey Jude' getting the crowd’s vocal chords working, anticipation for Kasabian was rising. Suddenly, Sergio Pizzorno appeared on stage to answer a ringing telephone, and as soon as he did a curtain behind him fell to reveal the rest of the band as they blasted out 'Call'. This dictated the tempo of the evening and set an urgent pace to proceedings that would not abate. Clearly, Kasabian intended to round off their arena tour in style. London was the penultimate show, Manchester to conclude on Saturday.
The loss of a frontman is a major blow to any band and there are some die-hard Kasabian fans that use the motto “No Tom (Meighan) No Party”. For sure, Tom was an excellent frontman, with great vocals and a charismatic stage presence. It’s true too that Sergio’s vocals are not quite as strong as Tom’s and now that he doesn’t use his guitar as often this almost waters down the Kasabian sound on some songs. But this is a petty observation when you consider Kasabian’s performances and recordings since Tom’s departure. The energy Sergio exudes is incessant; on Friday night he was dancing all over the stage non-stop like some whirling dervish, kitted out in baggy joggers and what you can only describe as a Versace take on a Glasgow Celtic home shirt. The new material ('Coming Back to Me Good', 'Italian Horror', 'Hell of It') was absolutely embraced by the O2 audience and this bodes well for Kasabian’s future (lighter and more dance friendly) but the old favourites are still respected and played with love and attention. Why shouldn’t Sergio do justice to the older Kasabian material, when he wrote most of it after all?
As soon as they launched into the football-esque anthem 'Club Foot', swiftly followed by 'Ill Ray', it was obvious Sergio’s metamorphosis from indie guitar legend/backing vocalist to lead singer/frontman was complete. The band looks comfortable with their new identity and slight change in personnel and appear to just want to create a sense of euphoric mayhem at breakneck speed. This was one gig that was clearly not going to ease up. That is apart from a short break where the old BBC Grandstand theme tune came on, quite unexpectedly and quite inexplicably – but this was well received by the crowd regardless.
Kasabian classics such as 'Underdog' and 'Empire' had the crowd chanting along. As did the likes of the epic and atmospheric 'Stevie', the euphoric 'Comeback Kid' and the ever popular 'You’re In Love With A Psycho'. Indie rock classics all, promptly backed up with some dance tunes: 'STARGAZR', 'Treat' (mixed in with Faithless’ Insomnia), then the stomping 'Vlad the Impaler'. Fittingly, the last pre-encore song was the riotous 'LSF' which had the crowd in delirium. Sergio disappeared and then reappeared at the opposite stage of the arena to finish off a glorious rendition.
The encore itself continued at the same pace, just banging tune after banging tune. There was no respite for anyone, least of all Sergio. 'Bumblebeee' was hardcore rock, almost grunge like, and this quickly followed by 'Reason Is Treason' - a reminder of some of Kasabian’s best tunes from their debut album. 'Bless This Acid House' would almost feel like an apt end to the night given that Sergio has always said it’s the best song he’s ever written. But there was to be one final treat.
With the final song, 'Fire', the arena totally exploded. Kasabian were on fire, so was Sergio and so was the crowd. A truly memorable climax to a brilliant gig. Sergio collapsed in a heap on stage at the end, his Versace Celtic shirt completely drenched with sweat and toil. Seriously, for the 90 or so minutes of this performance, he probably covered more mileage than his beloved Jamie Vardy has ever done in 90 minutes in a Leicester shirt! People comment enthusiastically on Vardy’s fitness levels, still performing in the Premier League in his late 30s but Sergio is now 43.
A wonderful non-stop performance from Kasabian that sent everyone home sated. The beer and sweat soaked fans from the massive mosh pit were singing 'Club Foot' and 'LSF' throughout the Dome and all the way to North Greenwich tube station and beyond. There is hope that the best could yet be to come from this band. Despite being at the top of their game for over 20 years there is absolutely no sign of them slowing down.
Images courtesy of the writer
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