Kasabian live in Leicester: comeback kids bounce back with roaring hometown show

With tonight’s homecoming show at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall, Kasabian firmly place Sergio Pizzorno as their rightful new frontman. With new single ‘ALYGATYR’ released yesterday too, it seems the band, who bid farewell to former frontman Tom Meighan last year, are well on their way into a new era.

When Meighan left the group in July 2020, after being convicted of assaulting his girlfriend, Kasabian’s future was thrown into disarray; some questioned whether Pizzorno could successfully take over in the role of frontman, but this show, with The Music‘s Robert Harvey on backing vocals, proves it was a role he was born for.

As the first few eerie seconds of opener ‘Club Foot’ kicks in, the audience erupt into applause at the Kasabian classic. Bright flashing green, white and pink lights add to the energy in the room throughout the show. After ‘Club Foot,’ they launch straight into another anthemic track, ‘III Ray (The King)’. Kasabian play ‘ALYGATYR’ for the first time and Pizzorno tells his captivated audience: ”We saved it for you.”

There are no references to the absence of Meighan, save for when Pizzorno thanks the crowd for “sticking with us and letting us do what we do”. Tom Meighan has spoken about “consequence culture” since his departure from Kasabian and has embarked on a solo career. Meanwhile, Pizzorno is killing it on stage, whether he is shaking maracas or playing his polka dot guitar.

The lyrics “You’re in love with a Psycho / And there’s nothing you can do about it” have the potential to be awkward at best, but the slightly distasteful ‘You’re in Love With A Psycho’ doesn’t seem to bother the audience. Pizzorno doesn’t speak to the crowd much during the set, but right before the final song of the night, he reminds everyone about how bleak things seemed this time last year.

”Last year, we were all just sat in those front rooms staring at those four walls, thinking, ‘What the fuck is actually going on in the world?’,” he recalls. “You’re sat there and, just for a moment, in your mind, you go, ‘Fuck! Imagine going to a gig right now. Imagine going to a show right now. Imagine what I’m going to do when I get the fuck out of this house and go and see a rock’n’roll show.’ Leicester, you’re here now. This is your moment.”

With that, Kasabian launch into ‘Fire’ as the finale of their two-part encore. “I’m on fire,” sings Pizzorno, giving it everything – and he isn’t wrong. The show is incredible: a proverbial middle finger to their naysayers. As he puts it: “That’s how it’s done.”

Kasabian played

‘Club Foot’

‘Ill Ray (The King)’

‘Underdog’

‘You’re in Love With a Psycho’

‘ALYGATYR’

‘Bumblebeee’

‘Shoot the Runner’

‘Stevie’

‘I.D.’

‘Pinch Roller’

‘Treat’

‘Empire’

‘Switchblade Smiles’

‘Vlad the Impaler’

‘Happiness’

‘L.S.F.’

‘Fire’

The post Kasabian live in Leicester: comeback kids bounce back with roaring hometown show appeared first on NME.