Jonathan Geddes verdict: three stars
Earlier this year Kasabian gave an interview where they railed against the conservative, laddish reputation their music has been tagged as over the past decade. This gig at one stage featured a flashing screen with buckie written on it, indicating they perhaps protest too much. There are very much two sides to the Leicester group, and in a live setting there was only ever going to be one winner.
Still, they can serve up surprises, like the acoustic opening here, where the band's joint commanders, Tom Meighan and Serge Pizzorno, appeared and slipped into Bumblebee. It was a false dawn, though the ensuing raucous bombardment had its moments, with Shoot The Runner resembling a steroid-pumped Spirit In The Sky, and Fast Fuse a lost 1960s TV theme only missing a pop art POW! behind it. The continual noise suffered, however, from a variable mix that sometimes suggested the band were performing from a building site.
What frustrates about Kasabian is that they do pursue interesting sonic directions, yet often then leather on a big chant over the top and drown those styles out. So the groove underpinning Clouds gave way to an anthem by numbers, while the strum-along of Thick As Thieves became a Kinks pastiche, and Club Foot was surprisingly lumbering, with the charismatic Meighan appearing less propulsive than usual.
The consistent rowdiness certainly appeased any pint throwing instincts, but the night's most satisfying moments occurred near the end of the main set, when the teeth-rattling bass of the club friendly Treat paved the way for the cocksure swagger of Empire. The brute force remained, but in a more creative manner than in much of this excitable, yet familiar set.
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