It doesn't seem all that long ago that you would see a Kaiser Chief every week, most often behind a bar. These days we still get to see them every week, it's just on the pages of the NME or other such media outlets. Times move fast in the music industry and sometimes that can be a curse if a band is not quite up to pace; tonight Kaiser Chiefs show that years of hard work can reap great reward.Ricky Wilson is the kind of frontman you dream of having in a band, when you have somebody who captivates and connects with the audience the way he does tonight it makes the job of hooking in a crowd with your music so much easier. He dances, sways and swirls around his mic stand and involves himself with band members and audience alike. Brief but witty banter between songs ups the endearment factor whilst his later forays into the crowd have the crowd in his palm. The standard of songs stays on an even par throughout the set, intelligent and quirky lyrics fused with purring bass lines and poptastic guitars and synths, providing melodies of pure gold. Kaiser Chiefs have come a long way since their debut gig, they now have some wonderful songs to back up their energetic performances. "Oh My God" goes down a treat but it's the explosion of "I Predict A Riot" that proves to be the greatest moment of the evening, the crowd grabbed by the scruff of the neck and carried around on a whirlwind 3 and half minutes of rambunctious pop. Simon Rix spins across the stage with his bass as drummer Nick Hodgson provides strong vocal backing to Wilson's head exploding lead. A fine pop performance delivered with as much gusto and power of any rock band, rounded off with an indulgent, but deserving, extended guitar and drum ending.
Bloc Party impressed greatly at the Leeds Festival last year and singles "Little Thoughts" and "Helicopter" have done much to earn them a strong following. There's a little something lacking from this evening's performance though, yet I can't quite place what it is. Furious drumming provides the basis for some cutting melodies to break and fold over as singer Kele displays a rich and strong natural vocal ability. There's plenty of movement and passion on stage but it just feels as though these songs should be resonating a little more than they do, maybe it's the sound, maybe it's the crowd but I feel these songs should kill; tonight they merely wound.
The aforementioned singles naturally get the best reactions of the evening, Little Thoughts' "I'll go back if you ask, I'll go back if you ask me" the juicy bait as Bloc Party sweep up the crowd in a big net of melodious bliss. A very good band who hopefully will become great.
The four part harmonies and vocal inter-weaving of The Futureheads is a big weapon in their musical artillery. Laden above the crunch of guitar and jerky rhythms of bass and drums the vocals (delivered in their own North East accents as the Lord intended) are strong and instantly pleasurable to the ear. Feet are tapped and hands are clapped as the radio friendly songs drift out into the Leeds Refectory. The only disappointing thing is that there's not quite the variation within the range of songs played tonight, it's takes 3 attempts before I correctly identify one song following two similar sounding intros. Amiable and friendly on the microphone, the band seem to be enjoying themselves and this radiates out into the crowd who are soon singing along, hands aloft in the air. It's another fine set from a very good band who hopefully have a few more tricks up their sleeve.
A big sparkling 'Killers' backdrop beams out into the room as The Killers begin their set, drummer Ronnie Vannucci sitting high above his kit, arms in the air, rolling around his kit, playing stood up and providing an entertaining spectacle. Having seen The Killers being both indifferent and rather good in the live environment before I was still undecided as to how tonight's performance might sit. On record they sound fantastic, big choruses spaced between lyrically strong verses with a definite knack of capturing a fine tune. The sublime 'Mr Brightside' comes early on in the set and has the ladies in the crowd swooning as Brandon Flowers croons back at them. The songs power along and have hips swaying throughout the audience, none more so than 'Somebody Told Me', whilst B-Side 'Change Your Mind' has a simplistic beauty to it. There's a mass sing-along to 'Indie Rock n Roll' which is a basic and obvious little ditty but doesn't come off the worse for it. The closing encore of 'All These Things That I've Done' is awesome, the room singing in unison: "I got soul but I'm not a soldier". I'm not sure how lyrically brilliant that is but in the moment it sounds good enough, arms are aloft and The Killers depart the stage with pride. But it's the night of the local boys, who were in a word... triumphant.
