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A few years back it seemed that pop, dance and R&B had won the day: but that was before the great rock revival. The NME may be guilty of making and breaking bands at a frightening rate, but they never compromised their dirty great rock roots. Tonight's leg of their Rock 'N' Roll Riot tour saw three well-respected, much talked about, and in one case, phenomenally successful bands take to the stage to try and prove they can live up to the hype.
First up were The Cribs, who seemed to possess the same heavy sounding light-hearted paradox as The Strokes. Their brand of upbeat rock with covert pop sensibilities proved to be pretty magnetic and should see them surge up the bill with the same raw energy the three brothers create on stage. Their finale saw Gary and Ryan Jarman indulge in some back of the neck guitar playing and rubbing the bass against the monitors to create an almighty wave of feedback. Their publicity that flashed on the stage-side screens may have said 'Fashionistas, We Don't Need You' but they will attract them anyway, probably along with enough true fans to go the distance.
Next up were Newcastle's Maxïmo Park, who imposed themselves onstage immediately. All dressed in black, they launched straight into an energetic, heel-kicking racket which saw keyboard player Lucas Wooller entertainingly sprint-shrugging in time. No doubt they absolutely loved every moment on stage, so much so that frontman Paul Smith paused at one point to tell the audience how he never thought they would be playing in front of a sell-out crowd.
The appreciation they received was well-deserved though, their well-honed, rough yet melodic sound mingling with elements of The Smiths and The Cure and I Want You To Stay even echoing early U2. Add to this a charismatic singer who manages to strike a fine balance between attitude and gratitude, leaping around the stage like a crazed lunatic for the well-received Graffiti, and you have an exciting band who are worthy of the media hype for once.
Headliners Kaiser Chiefs then made their way onto the stage to the tones of Dire Straits' Money For Nothing, which, surprisingly, made for an impressive entrance. Ricky Wilson hit the ground running, and jumping, as he indulged in some tambourine throwing antics that surely contravened health and safety regulations. The energy of the quintet's songs requires such a hyperactive performance though and the lighting also helped maintain the frantic atmosphere with more strobe effects than you would expect from an all night rave.
Combining the cool of Franz Ferdinand with the cheeky indie-pop of Supergrass and even a dash of Madness, it is clear to see why 2005 has belonged to the Kaiser Chiefs. Wilson's voice is impressive, capable of vocal gymnastics not usually befitting of your average art-rock star, and every song is reproduced faultlessly live.
The tempo-shifting knees-up of Time Honoured Tradition was followed by Na Na Na Na Naa, before You Can Have It All saw Wilson dive into the crowd. In a move not seen since Bruce Springsteen spotted Courtney Cox at one of his concerts, he dragged a girl up onstage where he sang and danced to her, clearly making her night.
It wasn't the only time Wilson got involved with the audience - diving into the crowd again for I Predict A Riot, almost causing one in doing so, he then disappeared off stage, before appearing at the back of the room and audaciously crowd-surfing his way back. The encore featured a competent cover of Heard It Through The Grapevine before Oh My God brought the evening to a rampant close. How ever did we cope for so long without rock and roll?
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