Iconic indie band Kaiser Chiefs who hail from the cosmopolitan northern city of Leeds, played to a hyped up crowd at Liverpool’s M&S Arena, on Thursday 10th November.
They bounced onto the stage fully intending to cause a musical riot amongst their fans as they belted out hit out of hit from their impressive back catalogue to fans that were only too delighted to hear them play. The musical riot started immediately when Vijay Mistry threw his drumsticks in the air before catching and twirling them and hitting the drums to announce the introductory beat of their first track.
Ricky dramatically entered the stage appearing at the top of their amazingly animated graphic backdrops against the image of the moon to their track Born To Be a Dancer.
Wilson, continually jumped around the stage, posed and postured whilst standing on the band’s amps to ensure he could get a better view of the audience and they of him whilst he sang lead vocals for the band. Ricky, also famous for being a judge on The Voice was the first to admit that he now needs help hitting some of the high notes to which the delighted audience were only too happy to shout and chant back lyrics even louder to help him along. Wilson’s voice is still powerfully strong; distinctive yet not overbearing. His demonstration of holding long notes is still evident when he challenged the crowd to compete with him. The crowd miserably lost. Despite wearing double denim, which is questionable by anyone’s standards, he proved that he still had what it takes to be an iconic front man.
Wilson constantly reminded the crowd that they were The Kaiser Chiefs and were delighted to be back playing arena tours following the global pandemic. There was no leader, no inflated ego, no superiority simply, a talented bunch of guys who all knew their roles and all contributed equally to this super group. Guitarist Andrew “Whitey” White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick “Peanut” Baines and since 2013 drummer Vijay Mistry, who replaced founding drummer Nick Hodgson wowed and entertained the crowds with their musical magic for a full ninety minutes of pure unadulterated heady bass and synthesised sounds punctuated with aggressive lyrics which combined made each track standout from the current pop tracks that are topping the charts.
The Kaisers introduced their first new track in a new while How 2 Dance which contained a more pop feel yet, still retained a hard hitting bridge that led into their trademark style of edgy repeated lines in their chorus. You just know this will be a winner, played at festivals over the summer. All tracks were performed well, however: Angry Mob, Ruby, I Predict A Riot, Never Miss A Beat and Oh My God had everyone energetically dancing, shouting and cheering whilst the concert goers on the floors formed a large moshpit showing the band they certainly didn’t didn’t love them less and less despite their long time away.
Set List:
Born To Be A Dancer, Never Miss A Beat, Heat Dies Down, Na Na Na Na Naa, Modern Way, How 2 Dance, Coming Home, Love’s Not A Competition (But I’m Winning), Norther Holiday, The Factory Gates, Everyday I Love You Less and Less, Ruby, Hole In My Sole, Misery Company, I Predict A Riot, The Angry Mob.
Encore:
People Know How to Love One Another, Oh My God.
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The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.
