It’s been a while since the last time I caught Kasabian and that show was a fond memory, even if they weren’t the headliner then. I’ve been digesting Kasabian’s new record, Empire for the past few weeks and have really been enjoying it. It’s a hard hitting, modern rock album with some great tracks including the title track single. So it goes without saying that I had been looking forward to this show.
To further enduce the anticipation, I had also aquired Mew’s album And The Glass-Handed Kites. This band has the marquee Nordic rock, experimental sound with traditional prog rock form. I believe Pitchfork said it best when they said Mew is “…Queensryche meets Sigur Ros.”
The Sigur R�³s comparison is dead on. The lead singer sings in a falsetto voice against atmospheric guitar riffs. The band performs in front of a backdrop of strange, muted visuals which is something I enjoyed from them as well as Sigur R�³s. Their short set was - and the crew unamiously agreed - a mindblowing performance. I know these guys are going to pick up some fans on the rest of the Kasabian US tour.
Kasabian brought an arena rock show into the meager confines of Webster Hall. I suspect that coming off a string of festival shows in which the endless space and crowds requires a big sound contributed to the blow-out of a theater venue. Either way, the band’s attitude and energy has increased over the past year and it was fantastic to be emersed in a big crowd who were equally receptive.
Since they’re promoting the new album, their older tracks became filler for the Empire material. They pulled out the best of the new and the old favorites although I would have preferred to hear Test Transmission (still my favorite track) in place of one of their newer songs. No encore but I’m not sure if that’s their style. They were gracious for the crowd, thanking us after several of the songs and gave a warm bow at the end. For what it’s worth, this is some of the best live music I’ve seen all year.
Setlist
Shoot The Runner
Reason Is Treason
Sun / Rise / Light / Flies
Cutt Off
Empire
Me Plus One
By My Side
The Last Trip
Processed Beats
The Doberman
Club Foot
Stuntman
L.S.F
I was just listening to Kasabian - Test Transmission