Kasabian @ The HordernPavillion, Sydney (24/07/10)

Thu 29th Jul, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Many were surprised to see Kasabian announce a tour in the midst of a multitude of Splendour sideshows. A history of nominations for best live act and recently winning the Brit Award for best group perhaps is what has given them the courage and confidence to do so. This however was not enough to cease doubt that they would struggle to fill the Hordern Pavillion.

The late addition for support was Little Red and their brand of infectious 60s layered pop rock. Little Red is definitely a fun live band and more impressive than expected. They play and interact well and manage to easily avoid being boring, about 25% of the venue was filled by now and it did not sway the worry of a disappointing turnout.

After an hour of beer garden fun it was back inside what felt like an English playhall. Not beause of the scenery but the mass influx of Poms within the venue. You could not turn around without hearing a Pommy accent. Low and behold they actually managed to fill the joint! Sure it took a thousand Poms to do it, but they succeeded, and the main event was just about to ignite.

Standing towards the back for the start of the set; you could see the aura expelled by Kasabian as they ripped into Shoot the Runner. When a band can follow an opening track like that with Underdog and Where Did All the Love Go you can only know that this set is going to kill. From this point there was nothing I could do but make my way to the front of the crowd to experience the intensity of the mosh.

Thick as Thieves brought on a great groove as the trip thru the crowd towards the front was underway. Bopping left and bopping right. It wasn’t until Reason is Treason kicked in that there was again enough kinetic energy in the crowd to create gaps and I bounced up close in a washing machine of ecstasy brought on by an incredible performance on stage.

The set continued rocking and then rolling, slowing down enough at times for the crowd to catch their breath and then exploding into songs like Fast Fuse. This well balanced set list, and the only reason to be thankful that we were getting a break after Club Foot was for a well deserved rest for all involved.

Fire kicked off the encore, lavishing the crowd with further bliss and revelry. Vlad the Impaler further drained my blood and it was time for me to drop back as LSF began in Kasabian’s early Manchester sound. And didn’t the crowd love this extended version. Even at the back everyone was dancing and joining in singing the whooaoaaaoaaas. People in the stands were on their feet all around The Hordern, waving, dancing and howling along.

The only way to sum this up would be to describe what was a recently rare post concert singalong, as the crowd weaved its way out thru and beer garden and onto the street, the chanting of whoa’s from LSF continued for a further 15 minutes and refused to abate until the crowd had cleared.

Check out the photos from the gig