UPDATE:
NME review here
Review by Ben Graham on Glasswerk here. Also, check out his videos of Empire and Reason Is Treason
A really great set of pictures from the night can be seen on fellow Kasabian fan JenniferJ's Flickr album. She even got to meet them, lucky thing...
ORIGINAL POST:
Having entered just about every competition there was to win tickets to see Kasabian close the iTunes Festival at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in front of an audience of only 300 people or so (tickets were not for sale, the only way you were going to get in was to win a competition or ballot), I was not about to be defeated on the day itself. I had just won £7.20 on the Euro Lottery and was upgraded to Club Class on my flight to Brussels over the weekend, so I was convinced that my luck was turning for the better.
Around 1 p.m lunchtime, things were looking desperate as I faced the prospect of going to French class instead of screaming along to "LSF". I decided to check Ebay. Lo and behold, some guy had won a place on the guestlist for him plus one but could not make it. After a quick £20 payment via Paypal and a text to one of my classmates to say I was skiving French, UB and I were on our way to the ICA. There is a God after all!
We decided to watch the opening act, The Dead 60s, to secure our place at the front (well, second row to be more precise as a bunch of guys had already staked out the front row). What can I say about them? They're an adequate opening band but it's safe to say they won't be headlining Glastonbury any time soon.
Kasabian came on at 8.45 p.m. to the screaming delight of the 300 plus strong crowd. It was an intimate venue, something which Tom kept remarking on (at one point cheekily saying that it was like everyone was in bed with Kasabian. A few guys actually screamed before realising the potentially gay connotation of Tom's statement from a male perspective).
Ah yes, Tom. How can I review a Kasabian gig without inserting a few lustful comments about Mr Meighan. Light blue shirt, ubiquitous black skinny jeans and his thick-rimmed glasses (Burberry apparently - and he discarded them halfway through which must be his new thing), Tom looked lovely and indie as always and was the most theatrical I had ever seen him. Seriously, our lad was having the time of his life onstage, dancing and jumping away. During "Processed Beats" he even got his groove on and who knew Tom was quite the mover and shaker.
The entire band was on fire (if anyone knows who the new 5th guitarist is please tell me) [UPDATE: It is Jay Mahler] although I was really disappointed that it was a very short set. Put it this way, as soon as I heard the opening tune to "Club Foot" right after "The Doberman", I knew that I didn't have to worry about missing the last tube home. WHERE THE HELL WAS "CUTT OFF"????!! (There seemed to be 2 setlists for the night, one which had "Cutt Off" on it, so there was obviously a last minute change of plan).
I have to admit that I'm from the school of thought that the songs from the first album are far more superior live to the songs on the second album, BUT tonight, "Sun Rise Light Flies" and "Last Trip" sounded amazing, best live versions I've ever heard. Heck, even Serge's solo set blew me away tonight! Love the fedora by the way Serge.
Due to the last minute nature of my attendance at the gig, the best shots I have are from my crappy camera phone:
As always, Kasabian closed with "LSF" - Tom hardly had to do any of the "la la la" bits as the crowd sang it back to him the entire time. At one point, Tom yelled that he wanted the girls to sing it only and yes, as a fellow female who tried my best, we did sound pathetic and Tom hung his head and sniggered. When it was the guys' turn, well of course they bellowed it out with all their might and Tom's response was to say "As nature intended". Cheeky sod. I'll let this potentially sexist comment slide because you looked extra cute tonight.
Oh, and you know you've made it when you can chuck your sweaty towel into the crowd and have the fans fight over who gets to keep the secretion from your sweat glands as a memento. Which is what Tom and Serge did. For the record, if either of the towels had been thrown in my direction, I can assure you that I would have let someone else have it. My fanaticism does have its limits!!
One of the roadies was my mate Alex and he kindly handed me the above setlist so cheers Alex!
All in all, it was a great, intimate gig but waaaaaaay to short.
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