LIVE: Kasabian / The Streets - BP Pulse Live, Birmingham, 08/11 ...

Tonight at the venue formerly known as Birmingham NEC, (not to mention Resorts World Arena, LG Arena and Genting Arena!), we have a double-header from the East and West Midlands, with Kasabian and The Streets respectively.

Mike Skinner and pals are up first, kicking off with the much-loved debut album Original Pirate Material’s opening track ‘Turn The Page’, a track that encapsulates so much of the essence of The Streets, with its mention of (famous Birmingham shopping centre) The Bullring and setting out a manifesto for what was to be a five album run, but was happily picked up after a hiatus and has continued so far to number seven.

For an artist/band that set out as a studio proposition, (there was no tour for Original Pirate Material when it appeared in 2002), Skinner and Co have certainly made up for it in recent times; this is actually their fifth Birmingham appearance in the last 12 months! And Skinner is such a natural front man, it would have been a shame for him to stay in his bedroom/studio – after the first song he reveals his lifelong ambition to play “The NEC” and also states that a band should never enjoy themselves more than the audience, but implying that he might make an exception this time. It’s a hit-laden set, interspersed with Skinner’s almost stream of consciousness commentary, with subtle references to his beloved Birmingham City included (it’s a bit less obvious to throw in the odd ‘Keep right on” – the Birmingham City anthem – than actually wear one of their football shirts as he did on a previous Birmingham show!)

The early singles like ‘Let’s Push Things Forward’ , ‘Don’t Mug Yourself’ and ‘Has It Come To This’ are thrown in early and almost raise the roof, original co-vocalist Kevin Mark Trail happily back in the fold these days and key to the sound of the band who also benefit from a powerful guitar/bass/drums set up. The excellent Master Peace also makes a welcome appearance to reprise his role on the 2022 single ‘Wrong Answers Only’ (his 2024 debut album How To Make A Master Peace is well worth a spin!).

A Grand Don’t Come For Free is represented by it’s bona fide Number 1 hit ‘Dry Your Eyes’, which is sandwiched by an energetic ‘Fit But You Know It’ and the far more downbeat ‘Blinded By The Lights’, which somehow also became a huge hit (it was always strange to hear it out of the context of its parent concept album). The Streets’ time is over all too soon – it’s 50 minutes but seems much shorter – so there isn’t room for the likes of the likes of ‘When You Wasn’t Famous’ or ‘The Escapist’ but it’s one of those support slots where it’s easy to forget that you aren’t watching the headliner.

It’s been ten years, (well, exactly two weeks short of a decade, actually), since Kasabian last appeared at this venue, at that time promoting their 48:13 album. Since then, they have lost lead singer Tom Meighan and it’s my first chance to see them with Serge Pizzorno stepping into that frontman role. As the lights go down and The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ emanates around the arena, the mass choir singalong turns to chants of ‘Sergio’ as Pizzorno appears at the front of the stage, the rest of the band out of sight at this point. An old fashioned telephone rings and as he answers, the band kicks into ‘Call’ from their recent Number 1 album Happenings (already their second since Meighan’s departure). Pizzorno alternates between singing with and without his guitar; he is far more at home in his new role than I had personally expected. He looks as if he has been doing this his whole life and laps up the love from the crowd.

One of the band’s first hits, ‘Club Foot’ makes an early appearance and gets a rapturous response; the sound is absolutely mighty, certainly the loudest show I have ever witnessed at this venue, (and I’ve seen My Bloody Valentine here!). The set is presented more like a relentless megamix, with little room between songs and indeed snippets of other (non-Kasabian) songs are unexpectedly stitched into the show – Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ is mixed into ‘Coming Back To Me Good’ and the epic ‘treat’ from 48:13 is given an edit and a Beastie Boys intro (‘Intergalactic’ if you are wondering!). In fact, before that ‘Intergalactic’ segment comes, of all things, the Grandstand theme tune, complete with big-screen bios of each band member as boxers (yes, really, even their weights!) – they don’t take themselves as seriously as some would have you believe. Pizzorno even facilitates a marriage proposal from a super-fan, who asks his partner to marry him over the mic, right in the middle of the set! (She said ‘yes’ if you are wondering!).

There are a lot of fan favourites here – ‘Underdog’ has Pizzorno on his familiar guitar role and ‘Shoot The Runner’ is a perfect example of how it was a good decision to add Rob Harvey (formerly of The Music) to the touring band as he is able to add backing vocals that generally Pizzorno himself would have sung, now that he’s taken all the lead vocals. Not to mention him being an excellent guitarist himself – at times, Harvey, Pizzorno and now-permanent guitarist Tim Carter provide a triple guitar salvo. The only puzzling thing here is that the chance of Harvey joining his old mate Mike Skinner earlier is missed (he provided vocals on a number of Streets tunes) – maybe it was just a timing thing.

‘Comeback Kid’ is performed for the first time in six years, while ‘STARGAZR’ is performed with Pizzorno on a separate stage on a scissor lift at the back of the arena – how he got there will remain a mystery to me – and he is back in position for ‘treat’ and a strong finish with ‘Vlad The Impaler’, the brilliant ‘Empire’ and a rousing ‘LSF (Lost Souls Forever)’, one of several songs that feature an additional trumpet (the surprises just keep coming!).

There’s a four song encore, including the tour debut of 48:13’s ‘bumblebeee’, the Kasabian staple ‘Reason Is Treason’, a celebratory ‘God Bless This Acid House’ and a suitably anthemic ‘Fire’ to end the show. Kasabian have seemingly successfully negotiated life without their former lead singer and retained their sound (and audience) in the process. I wonder what this venue will be called if they return in another decade!