Live Review: Kaiser Chiefs, Spring King & Howl - The O2, London 01/03/2017
Do you push the red button? Do you turn your chair? We caught the Kaiser Chiefs at a jammed packed O2 earlier this month. Most people might know Ricky from his time on the Voice, where he shared the stage with the likes of Tom Jones and Will.I.Am. But in another world he is Ricky from the Kaiser Chiefs, a band that have been around for over fifteen years. A band that was part of early 00s indie movement, and to be honest is probably the last one standing from it.
Night openers Howl, bring their fusion of guitar fueled pop, opening with their track 'Blue' turns the filling up O2 into a small dance hall. If T-Rex existed in this century they would sound like Howl. Up next is Spring King, last time we saw them was when they supported Cage The Elephant last January, and they almost caused the place to melt down, with that repeating tonight. Their punky-esq vibes with Beatles style vocals makes the crowd go mental, with tracks like 'Who Are You' it can only be a matter of time before these guys completely explode.
And finally we come to the Kaiser Chiefs.
Opening with 'Stay Together' on a small night club stage, a set up that gradually evolves over the night into a full blown television back drop. The band tonight provides a spectacle that they have evolved since they first started. Then the opening chord of 'Everything is Average Nowadays' breaks, and then the night begins. The room goes into a frenzy as the band's set builds and builds, getting more intense as the evening goes on. Ricky possesses the stage like as if he was performing to a jammed packed small sweaty venue, like the early days. Ending the night with a fantastic encore, which includes tracks like 'Oh My God' and an energetic cover of the Buzzcocks' 'Ever Fallen In Love'.
You look around tonight and it is a mixture. Teenagers and mid-life adults. Newbies with the hardcore fans, which for a band that has been around as long as the Kaiser Chiefs is refreshing, it proves that indie-rock is not dead.
Words and Photography By Ant Adams