Kasabian are one of the few bands from the burst of indie rock and roll guitar music in 2004 that are still around and on top form today. They’ve grown from the academy sized gigs of their self titled debut album to a fully fledged arena and even stadium band.
Tonight it’s the last night of their UK tour and the final leg of their two sold out appearances at The O2 before they return to the arena for a New Year’s Eve party with Chase & Status and Zane Lowe. The stage set resembles what can only be described as a spaceship crash-landed in an underground techno club full of lasers, flashing lights and a hell of a lot of smoke.
The floor is rammed full of a rowdy crowd peppered with Serge look-alikes. The band take to the stage earlier than expected with some seats still empty. Ten minutes later and there isn’t a spare seat in sight. The band start to play the beginning of ‘Days Are Forgotten’ and Tom Meighan appears. His swagger says he’s rearing to go, looking the definition of cool in his Ray Bans, skinny jeans and bright white jacket.
We’re treated to a few songs from their recent number one album ‘Velociraptor!’ but now it’s really time to get going with a set list of hit singles.
Before going into ‘Underdog’ Serge tells the crowd: “London, this is going off. This is going to be pandemonium.” He’s right. There isn’t a static person in sight and that’s the effect that Kasabian have throughout the whole night.
The older songs get a better reception than the newer, with a couple of the songs such as ‘La Fee Verte’ almost slowing down the set completely. No need to worry though, as it’s followed by ‘Empire’ – one of the better songs off their second album. There’s a festival feel to the crowd tonight. Everyone’s here to see the band of the moment and to get treated to the hits in a Kasabian style rave.
As it is December, Tom wishes the crowd a “Merry fucking Christmas” before they start to play their own rendition of ‘Jingle Bells’. There’s a cheer as they finish and the rock and roll show can continue.
New single ‘Re-Wired’ sounds brilliant live and the crowd singing along really brings it to life. During ‘Goodbye Kiss’, the band get the whole audience to make love heart signs with their hands – not your stereotypical Kasabian move, and somewhat reminiscent of Jay Z’s diamond. Some of the crowd look puzzled, but join in anyway.
Tom and Serge both have complete control of the crowd; they’ve got them in the palms of their hands. During ‘Fire’ Tom commands the arena: “Sit down everybody, trust me. Sit down.” And they do. Creating a massive carpet of people on their knees, the chorus starts and everybody jumps into the air yelling “I’m on fire!” It’s an incredible sight to watch as the arena becomes a sea of hands and the band finish off what has been a brilliant show.
As the night draws to a close and everyone slowly makes their way home, you can still hear the mass sing-alongs of ‘Fire’ and ‘L.S.F.’
Words by Sophie Williams
Photos by Stephen Fourie
To see a photo gallery of the performance, click HERE.
