Kaiser Chiefs, Papa Vs Pretty@ Palace Theatre, Melbourne(5/08/2011)

Mon 8th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The Palace is relatively full as Stonefield launch into their final song, a surprising sight given that they hold a relatively early time slot for a Friday night gig. Having apparently conquered Glastonbury, the set closer alone shows them to be pretty sharp, even if not the most groundbreaking band around.

Papa Vs Pretty are enlisted for main support duties tonight and play a fairly lengthy set. With a slew of releases behind them, the trio don’t struggle to find material to fill the set. For the first few songs, the mix doesn’t travel too well to my vantage point on an upper level. Below, there’s three teenage girls dancing and about four times as many mucking about on their phones. The girls stop dancing after a few songs. Singer-guitarist Thomas Rawle does a strange bow after every song; each of which seem to have their own extended guitar solo. It’s straightforward, unchallenging rock. They get a relatively warm applause at the end of their set, but it’s probably more for the fact that the headliners are next up.

With several tours to Australia, fans have had a few chances to catch the Kaiser Chiefs. Fourth album The Future is Medieval has underwhelmed many, but with a back catalogue of hits, the chance to see the Leeds lads play all their hits proved too tempting for most.

Thankfully, they still favour playing their hits; tonight’s set is by no means heavy on new material. In this way, it’s a great show- everyone gets what they came for (that is, songs from their first two albums). Still, it’s a bit strange to see a band so reliant on songs released six years ago.

After a strange, pre-recorded intro jam, Everyday I Love You Less and Less kicks things off. Ricky Wilson sprints around the stage, demanding that the crowd sing louder. Given his previous struggles with heavy touring schedules, it’s a huge relief that his voice is in shape tonight.

The hits keep coming, with new material only sporadically injected. Never Miss a Beat, Modern Way and Ruby all come early in the set, predictably inducing mass sing-a-longs. The songs are still as catchy as when first released, but there are noticeable lulls in energy when new material is played. Starts with Nothing is perhaps the weakest of the weak tracks aired tonight.

Towards the end of the set, Wilson demands the crowd split. It’s a parting of the sea of drunken, thirty-five year old men. The task is given to one particularly drunk man, who’s spent most of the night crowd surfing. The proceeding minutes seem to be the highlight of this guy’s year: a smile that’s near as wide as the crowd separates, he gives Wilson a piggyback ride to the sound desk. The ensuing minutes see the man high-five everyone in a fifty-meter radius.

Everything Is Average Nowadays is a bit of a surprise inclusion, though nonetheless welcomed as another fine example of their indie rock anthems. Long Way From Celebrating is one of the best received from the new material, while Man on Mars sees drummer and primary songwriter Nick Hodgson take lead vocal duties. Child of the Jago is the closest to Employment-era songs, almost to the point where it seems to borrow guitar parts of I Predict A Riot. When said hit song is dropped, an appropriately and predictably riotous sing-a-long ensue.

Returning for a two-song encore, Wilson segues into the final song: “We’d love to take you all home, but we’ve never been so far from home…”. It’s a horribly corny introduction to Oh My God, but the crowd goes wild. The simple, repetitive chorus is a final, gigantic sing-a-long in a night of sing-a-longs.

While it’s still a pleasure to hear the hits rolled out- there’s no doubting their quality as catchy indie rock anthems- it’s equally disappointing to see a band reduced to such a reliance on their first albums. It’s probably too soon to say the Kaiser Chiefs’ best work is behind them, but on tonight’s show, it’s going to be hard to improve on what’s already been achieved.