Live Review: Kasabian The Delta Riggs

The Delta Riggs blasted an appropriately-themed guitar-driven set through the Hordern, courteously acknowledging their British hosts but, between obligatory rock’n’roll utterances to the audience (interestingly in and out of an American accent) and energetically jumping off speaker stacks, their swagger and posturing failed to ignite the crowd beyond the front row – despite all their excitement.

Clearly very happy to be in Australia, Kasabian guitarist Serge Pizzorno and lead singer Tim Meighan (in white-framed sunglasses and jacket) shared their own enthusiasm to be in front of a Sydney audience. “We can’t get away from you,” laughed Meighan, chastising supporters for bringing his hometown’s football flags, which appeared whenever full plastic beer cups weren’t being lobbed from one side of the hall to the other.

The electronic tidal wave of last album, 48:13, characterised Kasabian’s blistering 90-minute performance, demonstrating their ability to redefine themselves. While leaving chord structures and other crucial elements intact, Kasabian gave their set list a clever facelift with unpredictable intros and subtly extended guitar solos, beefed up with added extra notes that included Shoot The Runner and Days Are Forgotten.

Brief onstage antics delighted the crowd, yet for all the rebellious rocker bravado the four Leicester lads embellish so well, it was the hypnotic synthesised blips and bleeps splashed across other well-known guitar favourites in a show that included more lasers than an Ibiza warehouse party, an unexpected but soothing cover of Fat Boy Slim’s Praise You and Pizzorno directing the crowd to “throw your hands in the air”, that proved their genre-bleeding versatility was a smart step forwards.

Ending with Vlad The Impaler and Fire, quite possibly the sheer power of Meighan’s voice – soaring over the rest of the redefined Kasabian soundscape – made for one of the loudest concerts the Hordern has seen in recent memory. Amidst the carnage, decimated fans walked away agreeing that every ear-rupturing decibel was worth it.