Kaiser ChiefsMay 18, 2007 - Kool Haus, Toronto
I dunno what to make of the Kaiser Cheifs, but after two days of following Interpol around the outskirts of Southern Ontario, they were certainly a welcome energetic juxtaposition to the gloomy spaciness the week had so far brought. Admittedly, I arrived late. This is a shame because openers The Walkmen were probably damn good. I also missed them while in Austin a couple weeks back. Both of these I can blame on free drinks, but that’s another story all together. Anyways, they wrote ‘The Rat’ and that song fucking rules, so I am sad I missed them.
But onto the main dish, English dahrlings, The Kaiser Chiefs. Coming out all blistering and shiny, opener and possibly the most annoying song to ever get stuck in your head ‘Na Na Na Na Na’ (see video below) energized the somewhat under capacity crowd. Led by enigmatic lead singer Ricky Wilson, the Leeds septet kept things poppy and jangly, with some surprisingly hard rocking bits. Here to promote their recently released We Are the Angry Mob album, the Chiefs showcased their new ‘darker’ songs with the same agility and angst they brought to their pop-fresh debut Employment.
Throughout the set, I got the feeling that each song was written in a similar style and some songs became slightly indistinguishable in retrospect, something that I got from their album but had hoped would have been dispelled by the live setting. Alas, much like The Happy Mondays, I feel you kind of have to be English and hopped up on several amphetamines to truly appreciate the unadulterated ‘pogoing’ Wilson and co encourage and facilitate.
That being said, when they eventually got to ‘I Predict A Riot’, their smash debut single which got the American kids proclaiming the Kaisers to be the next Franz Ferdinand two years ago, even I couldn’t help myself and half-heartedly pogoed, if slightly ironically, to the infectious melody.
So what have I learned from this experience? Sometimes, when you’re surrounded by a sea of jumping kids, you’ve just got to jump to understand. That’s a life lesson the Kaisers are hoping to take to the bank.