Yesterday I went to the NME Rock 'N' Roll Riot tour at Brixton Academy. Unfortunately, between the tube taking forever and the long line to get in, I only caught two songs by The Cribs (although they were the two I know so that was good.) They’re a good band but I'm not too devastated about missing them because I've already seen them once before.
Next up were Maximo Park. I like them, they were good, and the singles sounded the best of all the songs live. I love watching Paul Smith dance and interact with the crowd, although I wanted to smack the sh!t out of the keyboard player for doing his karate chop move for the entire length of the show. This was a very different dynamic from the first time I saw them at Mercury Lounge when there were only about 15 people in attendance - I usually love seeing intimate shows, but moreso when I know the songs first (yes, there are exceptions), and I didn't know any of their stuff at the time so if I'd have to rate them I'd say last night's show was better.
Finally came the Kaiser Chiefs. Seeing them this time was also a very different experience for me - every time I've seen them I've stood on the floor and been able to move freely and jump around. This time we had seats in the balcony, and since we were in the front rows we weren't even allowed to stand up. I was dying to jump out of my seat, but I guess it gave me a different perspective to just sit and observe.
They opened the show with an old video documentary of London which was random and okay at first, but seemed a bit unnecessary by the end. I loved how they followed this though - there was a huge black curtain draped over the front of the stage which dropped to Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" and the five of them were standing there in a row. I probably should have thought this to be uncool, but it was cool! The stage was also set up with different levels and steps which was unlike the regular floor set up they've used in the past.
They started the show off with "Saturday Night", played some of their stuff which I find to be not too exciting and then got into the good stuff with "I Predict A Riot" about halfway through. Ricky Wilson was held up by the crowd and walked through them a few times, but unfortunately I couldn't see anything that was happening on the floor.
They did "You Can Have It All" (my favorite) and just like at Webster Hall, Ricky pulled a girl up on stage, got on his knees and sang to her. He danced with her and twirled her around, but this time at the end of the song he decided to flip her into this 50's, Grease-style twist around his body. I totally thought he was going to drop her on her head but he didn't; he just ended up carrying her off the stage at the end of the song with her hanging horizontally across the back of his body, gripped by his left arm which was really funny.
They started the encore with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" which they covered on the recent "Help: A Day in the Life" album. I hadn't heard their version yet and it was really good.
I can't say this was the best time I've seen them (out of six times this year because I'm a complete Kaiser Chiefs dork) but I still think they are so fun to watch live. Just for the record, I've probably seen 30+ shows this year and their show at Webster Hall was definitely my favorite of 2005.
BTW, I really missed my Kaiser Chief partners-in-crime on this one!
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3 comments:
awwww - we miss you at shows too. Tell them to come to New York and bring you along with them and we'll have an old school party :-p
PS Ryan is trying to make me see The Cribs - should I go?
yes, you should go, if not for the music, then at least to see the singer smack his mouth on the mic and get his face all bloody.
i'd say the maximo park gig at the mercury lounge was more 'empty' than 'initmate' but it was still cool :)
shame on you gareth.
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