Kasabian - Manchester Apollo 08/06/2011
'Club Foot' roars at the baying masses and suddenly it's 1977 and fists, feet and bodies are crashing into each other whether they like it or not. Lead guitarist, songwriter, and chief co-ordinator of this chaos Serge Pizzorno appears unaffected by the carnage in front of him as his leading man and maniac-in-arms Tom Meighan stalks the front of the stage, leading the audience a merry dance with the swagger of Roger Daltrey and aggression of Johnny Rotten.
West Ryder duo 'Where Did All The Love Go?' and 'Underdog' lead us not so quietly into the "punk fucking aggression" of the title track from the upcoming album Velociraptor!. While the chorus of "Velociraptor!/He's gonna find ya/He's gonna kill ya/He's gonna eat ya" may be a tad stone age, this two and a half minute punk stomper feels like a breath of fresh air in it's raw simplicity. The crowd lap it up and by the end are belting the chorus back at Meighan and co as if it had been a setlist mainstay for years.
Despite the Kinks' inspired breather of 'Thick as Thieves', the energy refuses to relent and by the time 'The Doberman' is unleashed, the Apollo resembles a warzone. Bodies are strewn left and right as Serge machine guns the first few rows with his Rickenbacker whilst Tom rocket launches his chants to the back of the room. The colossal rumbling of Ian Matthew's drums propels even more heavy artillery towards the crowd as Chris Edwards and Jay Mehler coolly patrol the flanks, armed to the teeth. The crowd respond with everything they've got as grenades of lager and cider rain down from the back and a few brave souls go over the top, only to be greeted by the frontline of security.
Vietnam turns sing-a-long however, with the opening bars of 'L.S.F'. Weapons are laid down and euphoria ensues. This proves to be a false down though, as Kasabian unleash the newest, heaviest weapon in their arsenal. Given it's grand unveiling on the airwaves the previous evening, 'Switchblade Smile' cannonballs the sell out crowd like the older, mutated brother of West Ryder anthem 'Vlad The Impaler'. In short, it sounds like The Prodigy having a jam session with Syd Barrett in the middle of the apocalypse. It's big, it's evil and it's a frightening sign of things to come.
* Photos courtesy of Olivia Schaff
With their Asylum dwelling days behind them, Kasabian have emerged bigger, better and highly evolved. The queue that snakes around the Manchester Apollo isn't the only reptile on show tonight, as within the confines of it's four walls, a Velociraptor lies in wait.
The bar and barrier areas quickly descended upon in quick succession, the anticipation, to quote Spinal Tap, is amped up to 11. Fresh faced 'it's our first gig' upstarts jockey for position with groupies, hippies, ravers and middle aged skinheads. Elbows jut out and ground is stood, but, within a minute of the lights going down it's all for nought.
'Club Foot' roars at the baying masses and suddenly it's 1977 and fists, feet and bodies are crashing into each other whether they like it or not. Lead guitarist, songwriter, and chief co-ordinator of this chaos Serge Pizzorno appears unaffected by the carnage in front of him as his leading man and maniac-in-arms Tom Meighan stalks the front of the stage, leading the audience a merry dance with the swagger of Roger Daltrey and aggression of Johnny Rotten.
West Ryder duo 'Where Did All The Love Go?' and 'Underdog' lead us not so quietly into the "punk fucking aggression" of the title track from the upcoming album Velociraptor!. While the chorus of "Velociraptor!/He's gonna find ya/He's gonna kill ya/He's gonna eat ya" may be a tad stone age, this two and a half minute punk stomper feels like a breath of fresh air in it's raw simplicity. The crowd lap it up and by the end are belting the chorus back at Meighan and co as if it had been a setlist mainstay for years.Despite the Kinks' inspired breather of 'Thick as Thieves', the energy refuses to relent and by the time 'The Doberman' is unleashed, the Apollo resembles a warzone. Bodies are strewn left and right as Serge machine guns the first few rows with his Rickenbacker whilst Tom rocket launches his chants to the back of the room. The colossal rumbling of Ian Matthew's drums propels even more heavy artillery towards the crowd as Chris Edwards and Jay Mehler coolly patrol the flanks, armed to the teeth. The crowd respond with everything they've got as grenades of lager and cider rain down from the back and a few brave souls go over the top, only to be greeted by the frontline of security.
Vietnam turns sing-a-long however, with the opening bars of 'L.S.F'. Weapons are laid down and euphoria ensues. This proves to be a false down though, as Kasabian unleash the newest, heaviest weapon in their arsenal. Given it's grand unveiling on the airwaves the previous evening, 'Switchblade Smile' cannonballs the sell out crowd like the older, mutated brother of West Ryder anthem 'Vlad The Impaler'. In short, it sounds like The Prodigy having a jam session with Syd Barrett in the middle of the apocalypse. It's big, it's evil and it's a frightening sign of things to come.
A phenomenal rendition of 'Fire' brings the set to a monumental end as the three thousand blurry eyed revellers are cruelly greeted by the almost horizontal Manchester Monsoon upon departure. In March 2009, I wrote that Kasabian were ready to take their seat at Rock and Roll's top table. On tonight's evidence, they may just be eating there alone.
Baia
X
* Photos courtesy of Olivia Schaff
2 comments:
EXCELLENT!
EXCELLENT!
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