Following the harsh reviews of their recent London show in which frontman Ricky Wilson was not at his best (to say the least), we didn’t really know what to expect from the Kaiser Chiefs’ gig at The Brighton Centre tonight.
Our concerns were quickly replaced by a huge sense of relief the moment Ricky got on stage and broke into singing Born to be a Dancer, standing on the rooftop of a makeshift garage with a full moon rising behind him.
Bursting with energy and full of charisma, Ricky quickly got the crowd fully engaged and completely hooked as he jumped down to join the rest of the band (Simon Rix on bass, Andrew ‘Whitey’ White on guitar, Nick ‘Peanut’ Baines on keyboards and drummer Vijay Mistry) at the front of the stage for Never Miss a Beat.
Playing songs from their entire repertoire, Kaiser Chiefs continued to deliver hit after hit, including their latest single How 2 Dance, taking on a more funky vibe.
A beautiful acoustic rendition to Coming Home saw Ricky, Simon (bass) and Whitey (guitar) sitting on a bench by a street lamp, resembling an oldschool neighbourhood gathering with your best mates.
The band proceeded to perform Northern Holiday from their 7th studio album, Duck, quickly followed by The Factory Gates. Seasoned Kaiser Chiefs fans would have known the entire setlist back to front, but it was also apparent that even those who were only there for Ruby or Oh My God enjoyed the set thoroughly.
It is also worth noting that the video art that accompanied the band on stage was on-point and versatile, complimenting each song in a different way while not distracting from the main event.
Based on tonight’s crowd interaction and the mosh pits at the front, it’s safe to say that Kaiser Chiefs’ fans got what they wanted tonight: nearly 2 hours of non-stop bangers- old and new, a happy Ricky Wilson (which means a happy band!) and a setlist so wonderfully curated that it makes you want to listen back to it on repeat.
Kaiser Chiefs @ Brighton Centre 14th November 2022 With support from The Fratellis & The Sherlocks Photos by Gili Dailes