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If you search for a band that epitomise the media-frenzied hype of gimmicky pseudo-indie bands, the Kaiser Chiefs are going to emerge as firm contenders. Excited by the prospect of a night of music with singalong cheese appeal, I made my way to Liverpool's Aintree Pavillion with a spring in my step and a traditional Kaiser style "ooooh" in my heart.
First support came from The Little Ones, a Californian four-piece whose Beach Boys-with-an-indie-twist style depleted any enthusiasm from the karaoke-craving crowd. Laid-back harmonies failed to get the teeny-boppers reaching for their surfboards, and the band’s hand-clapping salutes to the 1960s kings of pop sailed straight over their heads.
After a long and infuriating set-up in which all of the main lights came up and any enthusiasm achieved had long but gone, on came the Mystery Jets. When the lead singer wanders on stage expressing his discomfort in the form of ‘Wow..er..so many of you’, expectations are not high. Sadly, my expectations were fulfilled. Their lacklustre performance failed to seamlessly integrate the eclectic range of genres that they endeavoured to adopt. Switching from indie-pop to prog-rock with a twinge of electro and back, the transitions were often unconvincing. In their less aggressive sections, I enjoyed the soft harmonies and lyricism of songs such as ‘Half in love with Elizabeth’. Whilst I could appreciate their eccentricities for the rest of the set, the notion that they might be taking themselves seriously became a tad too much for my liking.
After another fully illuminated, hair-tearingly long interlude, on came the main act: the Kaiser Chiefs. In amongst the pre-pubescents; feeling like a kid at a birthday party, Ricky Wilson (lead singer) certainly provided appropriate entertainment. All kids love clowns, right? Bounding about the stage, climbing the rigs and engaging in general ‘tomfoolery’; Wilson was on top form as the enigmatic performer we all know and (some people) love. Interspersing singalong favourites such as ‘I Predict a Riot’, ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less’ and ‘Ruby’ with brand-spanking new songs, I was proven correct in making assumptions about the audience’s predilection for the familiar and karaoke-esque. Only when Wilson was chanting out his ‘na-na-na-na-naa’s, his ‘Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby’s and his crowd inspiring ‘oooooooh’s, did the audience really come to life. And my god, come to life they did with vigour. For their (somewhat justified) lack of enthusiasm for the supports, they compensated when the ‘Chiefs graced the stage. The artificiality of Wilson’s buoyancy and exhilaration didn’t seem to matter as the experienced showman worked the delighted crowd.
Reports of Wilson’s desire to eradicate the novelty element to the Kaiser Chiefs make for sad reading; do away with the silliness and what do you have left? Another pretentious wannabe indie band. I say they stick with the catchy soft rock. It’s what they do best.
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