I have to confess that until tonight all of this talk of Kasabian stepping in to the breach and occupying the territory created by the implosion of Oasis has seemed like complete insanity, but madness can be so infectious don’t you find?
I recall brief snatches of my descent into lunacy: Cacophony, giant numbers flickering ominously above me, counting down to God knows what awful end…Men in white coats marked SANE – well if they were sane then what the hell was I? The last thing I remember was a passing lunatic who, swinging an orb of incense, fixed me with a smile of recognition and then a black curtain fell and all was lost in blaze of celestial white light.
The first thing that strikes you is just what a sumptuous presentation has been created for this tour. The band, appearing as the Luna Boys, appear to be playing at an asylum open day; decaying bunting flutters above the stage and the men in white coats keeping a watching eye on proceedings. A huge clue to the origins of this vision of madness comes in the form of a 20 foot, yellowing, dog eared Penguin edition of Labyrinths and surrounding the whole thing is a glowing, dynamic picture frame. As artistic visions go this is up there with the best and is, essentially a stadium show in a fairly intimate arena.
It isn’t merely the aesthetic which speaks of greatness, the band have done their homework and blend the everyman, sing-along charm of the aforementioned Oasis with the showmanship of Muse and the sloganeering intelligence of Manic Street Preachers. It may be calculated but it is expertly done and everyone here has bought into the vision; when Tom, in slightly overused Jesus Christ Pose, shouts Get your hands in the air Cardiff then EVERYONE obeys and it is an awe inspiring sight.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Such is the feverish excitement generated by the teaser build up to the show that no-one really notices that they open with a fairly obscure b-side. By the time the hysteria has died down they are already into a run of the first three tracks from latest album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, of which ‘Where Did The Love Go?’ is the one to really get Cardiff up and bouncing. ‘Processed Beats’, complete with snatches of Grandmaster Flash’s ‘The Message’, is another early set highlight, as is the introduction of Gary, one of the inmates who shuffles onto the stage in his pyjamas to play trumpet and French horn. Tom disappears while Serge gets to front up proceedings with the crowd pleasing ‘Take Aim’.
With the reappearance of the full band the frame flickers back into life and Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori flashes up over a billowing Union Flag, the words of Wilfred Owen signifying ‘Empire’. I hope you’ve booked the day off work tomorrow Cardiff Tom warns as the stage sinks into a blood red haze, because this will blow your heads off. He’s right of course, the pounding beat of ‘Fire’ is the catalyst for mayhem. The crowd moves as one, screaming the chorus like there will be no tomorrow, work or otherwise. Fountains of lager glisten in the spotlights and finally it becomes evident why the sound desk is draped in a makeshift PVC tent. Kasabian move in for the kill and ‘Fast Fuse’ (dedicated to Kelly Jones) is their chosen weapon of mass destruction.
This is a band operating at their absolute peak and they know when to ease back off of the gas, creating the last great visual set-piece of the night when they encourage the crowd to get out their lighters for the sedate ‘Doberman’ which, from up in the balcony, sees the drab arena transformed into something akin to a night at the opera in the Verona arena. Panem et Circenses. ‘Club Foot’ quickly ramps up the hysteria again before the men in white coats decide that enough is enough and drop the curtain. Cardiff was mad for it tonight and the asylum just keeps on getting bigger and bigger.
(Words & Photography: Steve Burnett)
