Kasabian, Little Red @Brisbane Riverstage(25/07/2010)

Mon 26th Jul, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Melbourne five piece Little Red make a noise reminiscent of the days precluding rock’s divorce from roll and occupy the front-third of the stage looking as dapper as that influence would suggest. For the most part, Little Red are feeling a little subdued. The band perform with a loveable energy but this, and their four-part harmonies go unrewarded as the evening’s weather has put a literal dampener on the vibe, and by mid set it’s unfortunately clear that the rain possesses far more conviction than the early arriving punters. It takes the band’s infectious new radio hog Rock It to breathe life into the steadily growing but sedated mass and it appears to be the fresh air that was needed. From here Little Red reach further back into their humble catalogue and tunes like Coca Cola and It’s Alright keep a respectable portion of the crowd bopping til the end.

The Riverstage is a little over one-third of capacity when the chants, English-flag waving, whistles and applause are finally acknowledged. A dramatically-fuzzed organ chord booms and the now well known band backdrop is hoisted with it’s squared, red capitals: Kasabian. The tightly packed crowd now has energy and voice in reserves and the Leicestershire outfit (whose members tonight are six) immediately go about trying to wear that out. An early combo of tunes contains set opener and the band’s breakthrough hit Shoot The Runner, I.D. as well as latest album soaring sing alongs Where Did All The Love Go? and Underdog. The opening handful of songs come in a flurry, one leading into the next with the assistance of some tasteful and seamless hemming from the man behind the Hammond and Chris Edwards on bass.

The rain is consistently inconsistent; electro-collared brit-rock is coming hard and fast; and a thousand odd ponchos are quickly developing their own ecosystems. Like so many other English indie and rock bands, Kasabian is an obviously image conscious mob. As a frontman, humility isn’t a prerequisite, but while searching for some in Tom Meighan, I decide ego is his strong point. It’s about four songs into the set before Meighan addresses the crowd with any form of appreciation, and even longer before we’re not looked upon through aviator sunglasses. Luckily in this industry ego and entertainment are fairly closely related and between-track shortcomings are forgiven via cool-as-fuck delivery. Guitarist/back up vocalist (and I was surprised to learn, lead vocalist on a few tracks) Sergio Pizzorno is the humble one. He thanks the crowd thoughtfully between songs yet strangely (and not metaphorically), never gets the spotlight. Even when Meighan has vacated the stage and only Pizzorno’s guitar and vocals remain, he remains the only band member without exclusive lighting.

Offering a lull for breath catching, Pizzorno slings on an acoustic and together he and Meighan deliver the drunken gypsy swing from West Rider Pauper Lunatic Assylum, Thick As Thieves. With recovery out of the way, it’s back to business and the regular set is emphatically rounded out with Take Aim, Empire, the driving guitars of Fast Fuse and finally Doberman. Annoyingly, before the final chords of the last song are struck, Meighan has already dropped his mic and exited the stage. Are we to assume that would be it? After some half-hearted thanks and waves from the rest of the band there’s a few indulgent minutes where Kasabian get to hear their name chanted again. On returning, we finally get some heartfelt thanks before the knockout, albeit predictable, blow is thrown. Mojo’s 2010 song of the year Fire and the crushing Vlad The Impaler ignite the amphitheatre one last time with crowd chorus bellowing, mass unison moshing and a whole lot of “Get loose! Get loose!”

Kasabian impressed as the early afternoon ingredient of this year’s Big Day Out festival tour, and it’s clear from tonight’s turn out that Brisbane hasn’t had their fill. The band has now developed a bombastic and an incredibly energetic live show with all the elements a great gig requires. Tonight there’s not an average track on the set list and as their catalogue continues to grow, Kasabian will continue to be a band that must be appreciated live.