REVIEW: KAISER CHIEFS AT FALMOUTH PRINCESS PAVILION (08/06/11)
Ricky Wilson, possibly Britain’s best frontman, is capable of conducting an entire swamp of fans as they scream ‘oh my god I can’t believe it…’ at least fifteen more times than is on the record, I am sure. And there he was, at Falmouth’s Princess Pavilion, which hosted the Leeds born five piece The Kaiser Chiefs on the 7th and 8th of June, possibly the most anticipated gigs for the south west this summer, after selling out in just 24 hours. Sunderland’s catchy and extremely charismatic Frankie and The Heartstrings supported. Their set, including the singles ‘Hunger’ and ‘Ungrateful’, was a great collection of new indie pop, and charged the crowd with even more excitement for the act that followed.
With an intro of synths, strobes and an explosive new track ‘Dead or in Serious Trouble’, The Kaiser Chiefs kicked off their first gig for almost two years. Spectacularly, to say the least, they premiered soon to be hits from the new album ‘The Future Is Medieval’ alongside crowd pleasing, iconic festival anthems such as ‘Ruby’ and of course ‘The Angry Mob’, which initiated a front to back chain reaction of fists held high in the air. ‘Man on Mars’ showcased drummer Nick Hodgson’s vocals and ‘When All Is Quiet’ featured plenty of keyboardist Peanut’s best work. The new material is much more rock riff driven, not dissimilar to the first two albums, and was certainly well received.
The entire crowd, die hard Kaiser fans or not, were jumping with the encore of ‘Never Miss a Beat’ and ‘Oh My God’ which topped off the best gigs Falmouth has seen in a while. And shouts of “welcome back” and an endless applause orchestrated their final exit from the stage. And yes, The Kaiser Chiefs are most definitely back.
Words: Ellie Cooper
Photo: George Northcott
