Kaiser Chiefs at the O2 Arena

A dreary Bonfire Night is not uncommon in November and, in the noughties zenith of indie yore, it was not uncommon for the Kaiser Chiefs to be a marvel to watch as a live outfit. Unfortunately, the latter is not the case tonight.

Firstly, the build-up to the main set is an unnecessarily drawn-out affair which fails to fully whet the appetite for the physical arrival of the band as the crew precariously creates the garage-resembling on-stage set underneath a thrumming electronic noise. When Ricky Wilson appears atop the construction with the band below singing Born to Be a Dancer, illuminated by a half-moon video projection, the applause and cheers are gracious but not raucous and only a few people join in with the song’s catchy chorus.

Most of the audience are puzzled by Wilson’s ever-apparent struggles that remain in place for the first half of the set. Usually a whirling dervish of a performer, for the first nine songs he is either kinaesthetically static during songs, struggling with the cables of his in-ear monitors, forgetful of lyrics or out-of-tune at his higher register. He is most awkward when exposed on a small platform to sing the band’s Nile Rodgers-esque newest single How 2 Dance which, on the basis of tonight’s gauche performance, will generate little traffic on Spotify.

Once he unceremoniously throws the in-ear monitors amongst the security after a pedestrian version of Northern Holiday though, he partially banishes the shackles that have seemingly inhibited his performance thus far and normal service is resumed. He stalks the stage with more confidence as he mellifluously barks through Factory Gates and, once Peanut’s synth intro for Everyday I Love You Less and Less starts playing, the audience is won back for the remainder of the performance, especially when it’s followed up by their sole UK number one single, Ruby.

Wilson still seems slightly subdued outside of the band’s “hit” territory, but guitarist Andrew White’s skills on Misery Company must get a mention for demonstrating that the band have musical talents beyond their knack for writing catchy singles.

As the second half of the evening proves, when they are backed by their signature tunes, the band are as bold and buoyant as the vivid on-screen animation that accompanies them throughout; however, an uncomfortable fact remains that if Wilson is out-of-sorts, the band can be sadly defective.

Francis Nash
Photo: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events visit Kaiser Chiefs’ website here.

Watch the video for the single How 2 Dance here: