Last night Kaiser Chiefs returned to New York to play a packed Irving Plaza as a part of the final leg of their U.S. tour for 2014’s Education Education Education & War. I last caught them last summer at the Firefly Music Festival, along with an intimate performance at Music Hall of Williamsburg early last year. Both shows were fun energetic showings that left me craving the next performance, and last night the boys from Leeds delivered in every way imaginable.
The crowd was surprisingly filled with fans of all ages, with many of the British transplants finding their way into the building. There aren’t many fanbases quite as devoted as English fans are, and this played perfectly true last night, right from the start of the show opening performance of “The Angry Mob.” Kaiser Chiefs know a thing or two about song selection and giving their fans what they want. They took the best cuts from Education Education Education & War (“Ruffians on Parade,” Misery Company,” “Coming Home,”) and fit them snugly aside the crowd-busting best of cuts from throughout their career.
Frontman and singer Ricky Wilson used the stage and its amps as his personal obstacle course, maintaining his status as an always attentive and energetic frontman. He fully embraces his role as the ringleaders of sorts, a crucial piece to the bans high energy puzzle. The rest of the members of the group round out the songs in a more refined manner, hitting all the marks, just in their own ways.
Believe it or not, this year is the tenth anniversary of their memorable debut record Employment, and they seem to remember those days just as fondly as the rest of us. It’s own opener “Everyday I Love You Less and Less,” was the first track shared from it, and it raised the energy in the room tenfold. As did “Modern Way,” which as always, began with the pre-song clap lead in from keyboardist Nick “Peanut” Baines. It worked right into “Na Na Na Na Naa,” and “Never Miss A Beat,” which I thought was an unstoppable run, until they performed the trio of “Ruby,” “I Predict A Riot,” and their cover of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard.”
The encore finale of “Oh My God” saw both the crowd and Wilson give their all one last time, a reminder of the amazing success that the group experienced from the earliest days of their career. They’ve never quite matched this success (at least stateside), but they have done plenty fine for themselves, finding an honest and dedicated fanbase that eagerly awaits their return each time. That return may be looming closer than fans realize, based on their performance of a new song called “Falling Awake,” set to feature on their new album, which is amazingly expected to be released later this year.
We may be seeing the Kaisers again around these parts sooner than we realized. I’m certainly not complaining about that.
Setlist:
1. The Angry Mob
2. Ruffians on Parade
3. Everything Is Average Nowadays
4. Everyday I Love You Less and Less
5. Falling Awake
6. Modern Way
7. Na Na Na Na Naa
8. Never Miss a Beat
9. My Life
10. Take My Temperature
11. Ruby
12. I Predict a Riot
13. Pinball Wizard (The Who Cover)
14. Coming Home
Encore:
15. Misery Company
16. Oh My God
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