Photo: Emma Viola Lilja
“Let’s take things back, go on a bit of a time warp” says Kasabian’s Tom Meighan, as 'Club Foot' buzzes into life. A decade on from its release and the band’s self-titled debut, now is as good a time as any to reminisce, if only briefly.
But there’s no misty-eyed monologue, rather a cataclysmic, beer fuelled explosion. Hold on to just about everything, this riot holds no prisoners.
But back stage, away from the crowds and the buzz, the four-piece will, at some point during this week long residency at Brixton Academy, look back and congratulate themselves. At a time when noughties indie veterans are finding moth holes in their leather jackets, these bruising beats and screams of exultation have taken them to the heights of the pyramid stage.
Perhaps it’s the wealth of festival experience that allows Meighan to survey the mania induced by opener, ‘Bumblebeee’, with absolute calm satisfaction. Or perhaps it’s knowing that it’s a full-blooded scorcher, ready made for mosh pits and more than certain to set the tone.
When classic ‘Shoot the Runner’ fires up behind, it becomes an audio sensory overload. Lights flare to epileptic levels, whilst a big screen behind the band delivers relentless bohemian trips. ‘Underdog’ bites next, then ‘Fast Fuse’. An adrenaline rush difficult to deny. Despite this euphoria, there are signs of a hollowness to the high over the direction of the band.
At points, it seems joint band leader, Serge Pizzorno, the victor a face-off with ex songwriter Christopher Karloff, is desperate to branch out. Unfortunately his attempt at balladry with ‘Bow’ doesn’t quite hold up vocally.
Elsewhere, ‘Treat’, the best acid-rocktronic number on 48:13, flies over the heads of the majority, who are solely looking for chorus hugging comradery. And yet if Serge feels constrained by the mould, he’s helped carve the beast that feeds the band this success. Sure it could lead to a gluttonous death, but as ‘Vlad the Impaler’ rings out, urging the crowd to “get loose”, the appetite remains insatiable.
Kasabian may not be the band their psychedelic debut promised a decade ago, but they certainly offer bang for the buck.
