Kaiser Chiefs Find Gainful Employment Bringing A Riot To The LCR In Norwich.

On the night of 23rd February the Kaiser Chiefs brought their riotous energy to the University of East Anglia, Norwich, leaving The Nick Rayns LCR begging for More Employment!

First on stage were supporting act Corella, who were warmly welcomed by the crowd with lots of cheering and clapping. I must say that their energy was wild so I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed. Corella had the crowd getting involved with nearly every song, with the band even having a little nostalgic moment when vocalist Joel Smith shared “It’s so crazy to think that when I was little I got my first Kaiser Chiefs album and I used to play it in the car on the way to school, and now I’m sharing the same stage with them!” This comment had me feeling a touch nostalgic too, as the Kaiser Chiefs contributed heavily to my teenage soundtrack. Joel Smith also went on to introduce the band to the crowd; Ben Henderson (Bass/Vocals), Jack Taylor (Guitar) and James Fawcett (Drums).  

Corella played some of their most popular songs, including: ‘Do You Want It?’, ‘Drifting’, ‘Head Underwater’, ‘Waterfall’, ‘Bloom’,’Lost A Friend’, ‘Lady Messiah’ (which got everyone singing along), ‘Rewire’, ‘Come Along’ and ‘Barcelona Girl’. Everyone seemed to have a blast with these guys; they were super chatty and friendly with the crowd, and they were a great warm up to the main event, being of a similar vibe to the headliner.

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Next on stage were Leeds indie rock icons, the Kaiser Chiefs as the headliner for the night with a completely SOLD OUT show. Kaiser Chiefs consist of; Ricky Wilson (Vocals), Andrew White (Guitar), Simon Rix (Bass), Nick Baines (Keyboard) and Vijay Mistry (Drums). This current tour is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut studio album Employment, which first released back in 2005 (when I was just 11 years old!). Even though this was Kaiser Chiefs first album, I personally feel that it’s their best album; Employment is full of hit after hit that just makes you want to move along and belt out every lyric, with much of their most well known work featuring on this album. 

The band played the album in full with some extra hits thrown in at the end just for very good measure. Employment includes huge hits such as; ‘Everyday I Love You Less And Less’, the band’s defining track ‘I Predict A Riot’, ‘Oh My God’ and ‘Saturday Night’. The extra hits were crowd-pleasers ‘Never Miss A Beat’, ‘Sink That Ship’, ‘Ruby’, ‘Hole In My Soul’, ‘Reasons To Stay Alive’, ‘The Angry Mob’ and probably the most bouncing cover of The Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ that I think I’ve ever heard. 

As soon as Kaiser Chiefs hit the stage you could feel the chaotic energy ramping up in the room. The Nick Rayns LCR is remarkably intimate for a venue that hosts such huge names and it felt that it was about to explode, not just within the band but with the capacity crowd too. Every single person in the crowd seemed to be there for the sole purpose of having a good time, with many jumping around, clapping, cheering and singing as soon the first chords of ‘Everyday I Love You Less And Less’ started up (which got me going too as it’s one of my favourites). At one point a fan had a poster asking for a drum stick and Ricky Wilson was more than happy to oblige,  throwing a drum stick to the fan and asking the crowd for any other requests before they went back to performing.

The band played song after song with hardly any interruptions, apart from the odd “We’re Kaiser Chiefs” then and there throughout the show. It was an absolute joy seeing such an eclectic audience, with big age gaps in the crowd coming together to sing along and dance to every song. This really is the magic of live music; you might not know the person standing or sitting next to you, but we all share the same love for the music that we are there for. To see strangers putting their arms around each other and singing every word is what music is about, bringing a glimmer of happiness and peace as we all remember where we were or how we felt the first time we heard those songs. 

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard ‘I Predict A Riot’ over the years, but that didn’t stop me from almost losing control during this song, as it’s so chaotic and brilliant fun. I also can’t help but have a soft spot for the song ‘Oh My God’; being an immigrant, I feel like this song really speaks to me as it speaks about being away from home in such an adventurous way, reminding me that life really is whatever we make of it. There is just something really special about this track and I couldn’t help but get lost in the nostalgia of the moment. 

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Kaiser Chiefs have to be one of the most fun bands I’ve ever seen live especially with all the memories of youth continually flooding back song after song. I really hope to be able to catch Kaiser Chiefs again very soon, as there’s just something about these tracks being played live in a packed out and bouncing room that really hits different. Employment being played outlive also highlighted how well the album illustrated life in noughties England; yeah it might’ve been a little chaotic but it was also a lot of fun.