Kaiser Chiefs / Motorpoint Arena / Nottingham

Nov 23

Nov 23 Kaiser Chiefs / Motorpoint Arena / Nottingham

A trip into town and the Motorpoint Arena tonight for a seriously impressive line-up. Headliners the Kaiser Cheifs had put together an impressive line up with The Sherlocks and The Fratellis along for the ride.

I’ve been to a few shows at the arena post pandemic, and at all of them I’ve been disappointed to see lower than expected crowds. Tonight though, the place was pretty full and the atmosphere was buzzing. A tricky night for photos from the pit, the stage was extra huge and over 6 feet high with monitors and remote cameras for the big screens on the edge too, so had to use a longer lens to crop in. All part of the fun !

First up we had the hugely popular Sherlocks from Sheffield and I have to say, they put on a really impressive set tonight. One of the most popular bands on the indy-rock scene. Their sounds has a fantastic power punk edge to it, mixed with huge powerful choruses, a potent mix that had the audience bouncing along. A chorus of friendly boos rang round the auditorium as singer Kiaran Crook announced how good it was to be back in Birmingham lol. Brandon Crook was killing himself laughing on drums until Brandon realised his mistake !

It didn’t impact though, the crowd were clearly loving the set immersed in the intensity and keen sense of melody coming from the stage. Kiaran’s singing is spot on tonight. The only shame is how short the set is. No surprise being first up on a three band line up, but it certainly made me think I need to catch a full show soon, somewhere like Rock City.

The stage is cleared ready for Glaswegian indie rockers and the familiar tones of Jacques Offenbach’s Infernal Galop (better known as the Can Can song) rang out as The Fratellis bounded out onto the stage and the near capacity crowd went wild.

Without his usual hat, front man Jon Fratelli is an enigmatic figure stage front. Breaking from tradition, he interacted more with the crowd tonight, commenting on his reputation for limited dialogue, before laughing and telling us ‘be careful what you wish for’.

Highlights were tracks such as Henrietta and Ole Black ‘n’ Blue Eyes both pieces of nostalgia from their 2006 debut album “Costello Music” which went down well with the crowd. My favourite track from the set was their cover of Yes Sir, I can Boogie by Baccara originally released back in 1977. Along with the brilliant Imposters which slowed the set down to give the crowd a breather, it was a great mix.

As the set came to a close, of course the crowd recognised the un-mistakable first notes of their double platinum hit Chelsea Dagger and the atmosphere rose another level, before they finished off with another cover, this time of Dion’s Runaround Sue.

Slowing things right down for Imposters (Little By Little) it allowed the crowd to take a breather before the run in to the end of the set with We Need Medicine, A Heady Tale, and set closer Baby Fratelli.

The encore saw the song that the crowd had been waiting for, and as the first chords of Chelsea Dagger rang out, the venue was transformed into a throb of jumping bodies, arms thrust in the air and everyone singing at the top of their voices.

With the closing cover of Dion DiMucci’s Runaround Sue from 1961. I’m a big fan of a bit of rock ‘n roll / rockabilly and this one was a smash, The Fratellis have delivered a solid and highly entertaining performance.

Set List

Can-Can

Henrietta

Imposters (Little by Little)

Yes Sir, I Can Boogie (Baccara cover)

Whistle for the Choir

Half Drunk Under a Full Moon

Flathead

Superstition

Living in the Dark

Ole Black 'n' Blue Eyes

We Need Medicine

Chelsea Dagger

Runaround Sue (Dion cover)

The anticipation levels were high now and the place pretty full. We headed into the pit as the lights dimmed and we tried to peer over the huge trench wall in front of us. The set was unusual, looking like a row of lock up garages behind tesco just off the high street, with a street light and “No Ball Games” sign. In the gloom you could just see the roadcrew removing the garage doors to reveal dark smoky recesses. The members of the band took to the stage with the exception of Ricky Wilson, as they started, suddenly a giant half moon appeared behind the set highlighting Ricky stood on the roof as they launched into Born to be a Dancer. Ricky bounded down onto the stage, and lept from monitor to monitor as they rattled through the powerful thumping rhythm of Never Miss a Beat. By now the empty garages were revealed to be three giant video walls that projected out, silhouetting the band.

Ricky shouted “This is the final night of the tour” and you knew this was going to be something special as he screamed “Nottingham are you ready ?!” I didn’t think the crowd could be whipped up anymore but apparently, I was wrong lol. With a list of hit albums behind them, the set was always always going to be crammed full of absolute bangers, and so it was.

Half way through we got a couple of newer tracks with their latest single How 2 Dance and Love’s Not a Competition. Both were fantastic and sat really well alongside the older hits, and certainly went down well with the crowd. Another classic again has the crowd belting out the words, well one…. singing along to it’s infectious, simple chorus: Na Na Na Na Naa - exactly 3 minutes of riotous singalong fun

However, as you’d expect, it’s their top hits that drew the biggest reaction from the packed crowd. First up we had Every Day I Love You Less and Less from their 2005 debut “Employment” introduced by that iconic pulsing keyboard note…. which had the crowd up on their feet screaming and shouting along – in a riotous anthemic blast. This was followed by the mighty Ruby from the follow up, 2007’s “Yours Truly, Angry Mob” which has had more than 250 million plays on Spotify ! Ricky was on fire tonight and every inch the energetic frontman, as he led the crowd in an impromptu back and forth at the end of the song.

As the main set drew to a close, that short wailing guitar tone, followed by a the well knwn distorted guitar riff introduced I Predict a Riot. I didn’t think the atmosphere could get any better, but this just blew the roof off the arena, before they finished off with The Angry Mob.

Wow ! As the guys returned to the stage for a short two song encore. First up was a track from 2019’s album “Duck” in People Know How to Love one Another. A track with a fantastic chorus beat that you just have to stamnp your foot to and clap your hands in the air, a real crowd pleaser, before we hurtled back to 2005 and another massive hit in Oh My God, perhaps their most iconic song (for me) with it’s laid back ‘singalong’ verse sections that lull you into a false sense of security before the chorus hits you like a tidal wave. The crowd are on their feet shouting along to every word. Before one very happy crowd dispersed into the night air.

I was really surprised tonight. I remember the hits from the 2000’s (who doesn’t know them) but the line up selection tonight was incredible, three bands in The Sherlocks, The Fratellis and the Kaiser Chiefs that complimented each other perfectly. The light show was outstanding with two large screens so no one missed any of the action, and Ricky Wilson was literally ….on song. A lung bursting performance that showed that the Kaiser Chiefs are just as good and relevant today as ever.

Set List

Born to be a Dancer

Never Miss a Beat

Heat Dies Down

Na Na Na Na Naa

How 2 Dance

Coming Home

Love’s Not a Competition

Northern Holiday

Factory Gates

Every Day I Love You Less and Less

Ruby