Kasabian have been in the shadows of Oasis ever since Noel Gallagher crowned them his favourite band and staple-touring buddies, but while it’s been a mutual appreciation society all round you can’t help but think the puffed out pigeon-chested lads from Leicester have been lying in wait, ready and willing to take over Oasis’ mantle as the people’s choice. While this summer they are once again whipping stadiums into a frenzied state as support to their idols, the ageing Gallagher brothers, it seems the time for a coup could be now.
Armed with new number one album, ‘The West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ (REVIEW), the psychedelic rockers are riding high, squeezing in as gigs as possible at smaller, more intimate venues than the football stadiums and festival fields they will conquer this summer. This relentless schedule brings them to Dundee’s Caird Hall for a night where 2,000 worshipping fans all seem very aware that the climb to headlining arenas and stadiums in their own right may be but weeks away.
With that in mind Kasabian’s arrival onstage sparks euphoric scenes, as pint-waving dancers flood into the hall and engage instantly with new song ‘Underdog’, triggering the start of a non-stop 90minute sing-along. The band’s latest LP has clearly upped the stakes sonically – with a clear nod to the UK’s ‘60s psychedelic masters, it boasts shimmering Eastern strings and horns and Mariachi guitars in the midst of their usual processed beats. And while the record has received some indifferent reviews, with some applauding their ambition if not the end product, in the live arena it truly comes to life.
‘Where Did All The Love Go,’ ‘Swarfega’ and ‘Fire’ deliver on the promise of a maniacal, insane album with Chris Edwards’ brooding bass more vicious and prominent than ever before. While ‘Fire’ might sound merely okay on the radio, live it becomes an instant classic – amped up and ramped up it’s a crowd favourite that will become cemented in the set list for years to come. But it’s ‘Fast Fuse’ that really stands out, with Edwards replacing singer Tom Meighan and Kasabian chief Serge Pizzorno for once as the driving force behind a divine intro that segues into the sort of music that once accompanied a fight scene in Adam West-era Batman.
It all serves to send the crowd into a throbbing mass of flailing limbs – a beautiful sight at any show. In fact all that’s missing from such ‘60s-infused wonderment are the Penguin, Joker and a few speech bubbles with the words ‘biff’ and ‘kapow’. The new material slots into the set effortlessly, with classics ‘Empire,’ ‘Shoot The Runner,’ ‘LSF,’ ‘Club Foot’ and ‘Processed Beats’ no longer needed to lift a tiring crowd; instead, they just add to the frenetic pace. It really is one of those gigs when the pre-show pints leave you fearing you will miss out if you cave in to the weak bladder beckoning you to the bog.
The bravado, bullshit, ‘whooshs’ and ‘aahs’ are still there, meaning Kasabian will always get on some folks’ tits. But by the end of this summer you can’t help thinking they will have stepped out of Oasis’ shadow and made a bold bid to overthrow them from their throne.
