Kasabian @ Metro City, Perth(30/07/10)

Sun 1st Aug, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Find yourself in Caminniss’ gallery

Another night, another sold out gig at Metro City. But, considering that the drawcard was British super-wonder-awesome group Kasabian, it’s not hard to see why tickets were quickly snapped up. And, plastic cups aside, Metros is actually a damn decent venue for gigs in Perth. It has a sweet nose-bleed section for the wild at heart, many a good vantage point (if you’re not one for moshing) and is a licensed 18+ venue – a safe have from the underagers that all-but-destroyed On The Brightside. But I digress…

Perth outfit The Scotch of St James scored the support spot; a pretty sweet victory for a band who are on the rise. Their blues heavy brand of riffing manages to seem both classically old-school and super modern all at the same time. The vocals of front man Michael Paver were often swallowed up by the sound of Bobby Burgess and Tim Hamzah on lead guitar and bass, but it didn’t necessarily detract from the whole experience. There was just enough wa-wa action for the Scotch of St James’ set to have a live jamming vibe, without getting into the silly experimental territory of Tame Impala.

Interestingly, Paver and Co. seemed to be too much of a perfect match for the headline act. Their sound started out similar and complementary to that of Kasabian; but by the end of the set, some punters commented that it was too much the same. That is not to say that it wasn’t incredibly high energy and well received by a big, buzzing crowd. Who cares if they are lacking the final coat of polish? It’s bands like the Scotch that are best heard live and loud.

Polished and every bit the international rock stars, Kasabian made a very dramatic entrance – lights and electro sounds galore! – before smashing into the sexy and bass-heavy Shoot the Runner. Needless to say, Perth went mental for Tom Meighan who, wearing head-to-toe black and sunnies indoors at 10:30pm, worked the stage like the rock god that he is fast becoming.

Meighan is obviously the on-stage focus and character of the group, and his vocals are clear as day. But, boy, can Sergio Pizzorno hold a mean note! On guitar and backup vocals, Pizzorno is the epitome of dedication to his craft – he takes this seriously, and it shows. The music blasting from the speakers is so perfect and true that it nearly blows you away.

Where Did All the Love Go? was basically one gigantic sing-along. Arms were flailing in the air and fans leaning halfway over balconies in what looked like pure bliss. The crowd was truly united, something you don’t always see at big gigs these days, and what a delicious sight it was! Perhaps their brains had been fried by the light show; gritty and capable of giving the multi-tiered Metros and underground vibe, with enough strobe to send you into a fit.

Seven songs in, Kasabian finally addressed an adoring crowd and dedicated hit song Thick As Theives to the “pigeons in the roof”. Who knows what planet Meighan was on, but the song united punters yet again (how do they keep doing that?) The whole performance was a lot more structured and ‘thought out’ than a typical gig, even for an international act of this calibre. It was a creative and mysterious performance. But then again, maybe the strobes were just frying our minds; when you actually have to look away, it may be a little over the top.

Meighan made a habit of leaving the stage before songs had completely finished, leaving the rest to play out intriguing and simply wicked outros. Ben Kealey’s fingers worked magic with the keys and produced that distinctly Kasabian electro edge to their stand out rock.

It was impossible to pick a crowd favourite. Every song was met with enormous cheers and wild dancing. Fast Fuse was obviously notable, as was Empire (“Perth, you are an Empire!”) and Club Foot. It was slightly disappointing that Kasabian decided to stick pretty true to their records, and didn’t really bring any new flavour or interpretation to their slew of hits. Their touring brass instrumentalist, however, played some incredible trumpet solos which more than made up for it.

As much rocking fun as their main set was, Kasabian’s encore sealed the deal with brilliant crescendo. Fire, followed by Vlad The Impaler, followed by L.S.F sent punters into an absolute frenzy – one particularly excited man’s shirt was literally ripped to shreds. It wasn’t just the fans who enjoyed it either. Before launching into Fire, drummer Ian Matthews and Kealy shot each other small, delighted smiles. They love doing this for us as much as we love watching them do it. And that’s part of what has catapulted them to such heights. They are completely genuine – from Kasabian with love.

Find yourself in Caminniss’ gallery