The boys from Leicester jump out of the trap immediately with recent single Bumblebee – a maelstrom of tribal chanting and erratic guitar riffs. Other songs from new record 48:13 also go down a storm. Maiden single Eez-eh intimates a trippy Chemical Brothers vibe and sees the four-piece revisit an electronic dimension which turned so many heads on their eponymous debut album.
Treat follows suit, resplendent with a glorious breakdown which briefly slows the set’s pace down to a bubbling groove. All the while, enigmatic words like ‘cordial’ and ‘dhalsim’ are emblazoned on a gigantic pink backdrop behind the group. No-one knows what it means, but it’s provocative.
The group, fronted by the effervescent Tom Meighan, throttle through their set with a boisterous swagger. At times this may be confused with arrogance, but judging by the East Midlands crowd’s reaction to cuts like Shoot The Runner and Empire, who can blame them. The sharp-suited frontman has the Kasabian faithful hanging onto his every whim. Partner in crime, Sergio Pizzorno, is equally as alluring – even adhering to rock n’ roll’s cardinal rule of trashing his guitar before the show even hits full steam.
Most people are here for the hits, and there is little respite as the band trawl through an impressive back-catalogue – with both Underdog and Fire incurring mass sing-alongs. These beer-fuelled anthems, originally tailored for the Oasis-adoring nucleus, now stand tall as indie classics. Rounding the night off in style, the band introduce LSF with a euphoric rendition of Fatboy Slim’s Praise You – a highlight of the evening’s proceedings.
If anyone questioned Kasabian’s credentials as a live force before the show, the lads from Leicester have well and truly quashed any doubts with an explosive set to be reckoned with. In fact, they made it look eez-eh.
