This was to be a night of pure indie rock ‘n’ roll, if previous reports were to be trusted. Kasabian have been doing the rounds of Australian cities for the Big Days Out and were generating quite a buzz with their sideshows in what was their debut appearance upon our shores.
The Palace was slowly filling up when The Temper Trap kicked off with their support set. The bespectacled lead singer, known as Dougie, graced the stage to dance around while the rest of the band introduced the crowd to their melodic indie-rock with a bass-driven instrumental. As the set progressed, influences from the likes of The Mars Volta and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah could be heard in the lead singer’s high, zig-zagging vocals, which proved perfect for their energetic, melody-driven songs. Stand-out tracks included ‘My Sun’, ‘Sirens’ and ‘Peter Parker’s Alter Ego’, all of which can be found on the band’s MySpace.
The venue quickly filled up after the support and the vibe was electric. The eclectic crowd saw indie boys in cowboy shirts, engineering ‘dudes’ with their beers and emo girls with their black clothes all standing on tip-toe, awaiting the arrival of the band. Kasabian burst on stage with their last single ‘Shoot The Runner’ off their latest album Empire and found front man Tom Meighan standing on the drums, in his Oasis-style sunglasses, leading the crowd to raise their hands in the air. The crowd were only too happy to comply.
‘Reason Is Treason’ followed next, off their first self-titled album, giving the crowd reason enough to sing out loud, almost overpowering the vocals of Meighan. Another new one ‘Sun/Rise/Light/Flies’ had people dancing around like crazy, proving to be a surprise favourite. They dedicated the song “Cutt Off’ to their Big Day Out crowd and, in line with the lyrics, Meighan told the crowd “You’re fuckin’ clever convicts awright”.
An extended introduction preceded their latest single ‘Me Plus One’, yet the crowd were less vocal for this one. All was quickly forgotten, though, when the opening bass line for ‘Empire’ kicked in. This was when the crowd really fired up, and you could tell by the look on the band’s faces that they knew this was their empire for the night. “Ladies and gentlemen, that was ‘Empire’,” Meighan shouted out from his heightened position, once again on the drums.
The band’s signature psychedelic-rock sounds came through strongest on tracks ‘The Last Trip’, from their latest record, and ‘I.D.’ which was the opening track for the encore. The encore also contained the old favourite ‘Club Foot’ and finished off on the rock sing-along ‘L.S.F.’. It was amazing to hear everyone singing the chorus to ‘L.S.F.’ and something occurred when the band left the stage which you don’t see too often. One person started singing the chorus again and suddenly the whole room erupted as if they were back on stage. It sounded and felt like it was happening all over again. Unfortunately, the lights came on and everyone realised it really was over this time. But what a trip it had been for all those who had attended. Kasabian proved once again that they are strong favourites in the race to become rulers of the empire that is indie rock’n’roll.
