Kasabian kick off their ‘Happenings’ UK tour by delivering a euphoric 21 song set to keep Birmingham’s BP pulse alive, at the NEC Arena.
By Finnen Dart
Coming off the back of a huge surprise appearance at Glastonbury Festival and an iconic homecoming show at Leicester’s Victoria Park, fans have awaited with anticipation for Kasabian’s return to the UK tour circuit. And they definitely didn’t disappoint the sold out 15,000 Birmingham crowd.
The set begins with frontman Sergio Pizzorno walking on stage answering a phone call from a lone telephone placed on the stage, which shortly cues the first song of the night, -‘Call’ – which transitions into a huge curtain drop as the chorus explodes. This causes the arena to erupt from the get go with pints being thrown into the air only to land on the mosh pits below. It’s impossible not to get engulfed in the madness wherever you are stood in the crowd.
The cult classics are not far behind as the set flows into some of Kasabian’s most recognisable anthems such as ‘Club Foot’, ‘Underdog’ and ‘Shoot the Runner’, the highlight being ‘Club Foot’ which has the crowd in ecstasy.
The energy shows no signs of faltering as halfway through the set and amid the chaos of the crowd, frontman Sergio has somehow ended up on the B Stage on the complete other side of the arena, shooting lasers out of his hands to ‘STARGAZR’. What was a rock concert has turned into what seems a rave in a matter of seconds as I feel the vibrations of the bass ripple through my entire body. This is the most euphoric moment of the night, with an incredible light and laser show that has the entire crowd turned away from the main stage watching in awe of the visuals of the going on from behind.
The encore steals the show, with set closer ‘Fire’ being the best moment of the night. Sergio commands the crowd to “Give it everything you’ve got, one last time” and they certainly obey as everyone in the pit gets rowdier than they’ve ever been all night.
Kasabian definitely show why they are still one of the biggest rock bands the UK has to offer as the chemistry and showmanship on stage is exceptional. The energy radiating from frontman Sergio alone is enough to keep the crowd partying throughout the entire set.
Kasabian show no signs of slowing down anytime soon so if you’re skeptical if they are still as good as they were 10 or 20 years ago, I would consider it a no brainer… just go and see them live.
