Live Review: Kasabian, The Delta Riggs

“It was about 50 degrees last time I was here to see Kasabian,” a neighbour in the crowd recollects. Recruited for support duty, The Delta Riggs are match fit after regular touring and cram their instruments downstage, in a line straight across, in front of Kasabian’s 48:13-themed set-up.

The rockin’ outfit are now definitely good enough to get away with prattish onstage banter and that key change during Supersonic Casualties (aka the “Marmalade Shoes” song) devastates. Dudes are going places. Constructive criticism: lose one hat – three is too many in any band, even if you’re The Stones! Flip a coin to see who gets to don the headwear before each gig with a maximum of two lucky winners.

“We’ve arrived, muthafuckers!”

House lights down: 20.50. Band onstage: 20.54. Frontman Tom Meighan does love wearing (ridiculous) oversized sunnies (which, once removed, appear back on his face many times throughout the evening and, of course, for Eez-eh). “We’ve arrived, muthafuckers!” announces Meighan. From opener Bumblebee, “we’re in ecstasy”. Live trumpet soars and the few tracks Kasabian do include from their new album make more sense when experienced live. Despite many requests from the band’s mouthpieces, Meighan and songwriter-guitarist Serge Pizzorno, there’s not much jumping going on within the crowd, but this is no reflection on their performance. And Take Aim hits its mark. There’s an unexpected cover, Fat Boy Slim’s Praise You, which transitions straight into LSF (Lost Souls Forever), complete with “la-la-la” trail-out audience sing-along.

Plenty of saucer pupils and munted pashes are noted in the crowd. And a dude even busts out his Gangnam Style moves during first encore track, the simultaneously menacing and ravetastic Switchblade Smiles. Vlad The Impaler summarises everything we love about this band and then we’re “on fire” – hyperventilating as we try to pogo while belting out Fire’s sustained chorus note. A Santa hat is spotted on someone’s noggin in the balcony and we, “Get loose, get loose,” as instructed. And what would a Kasabian gig be without a bogan riff sing-along!? They’ve still got it.