When Kaiser Chiefs revealed they would tour Australia in 2025, performing their seminal album 'Employment' in full as part of that record's 20th anniversary, 2005 me was jubilant, especially considering it had been 13 years since the Leeds natives last ventured down under.
It's one of the perks of getting older as a live music tragic, the inevitable hits of nostalgia that roll through with more regularity as your own age careens deep into its fifth decade of existence.
While I haven't remained close to Kaiser Chiefs' discography the last decade or so, the band releasing four studio albums since 2014, it doesn't seem like I'm the only one, the band leaning into their 2000s era for the vast majority of the performance tonight (28 November), which is not surprising considering 'Employment' is a 12-song record, and a 6-song encore featuring 2 (sublime) covers.
A more common occurrence in modern music – as established bands enjoy longer shelf lives with digital-tracking stats illuminating an artist's reach and ongoing popularity – the album play-through format can throw some unexpected curveballs, including how to navigate the track listing when a band's big hit (or two or three) land early in the set.
Fortunately for Kaiser Chiefs, their 'Employment' album is littered with gems throughout as well as a healthy smattering of classics voiding any doubts this set would fizzle like a firework display staged under water. Fyi, five of their most-played top ten songs on Spotify are from 'Employment'. I personally have saved eight of the twelve tracks to my favourite playlist, so I knew I wasn't go to be disappointed.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
Add to the mix that I would be seeing fellow noughties indie rock icons Franz Ferdinand the following night, it was time to locate my telephone box Tardis and head to Brisbane's The Fortitude Music Hall.
Although not a sell-out, the venue was close to bursting as the headliner's set neared start time. I have two preferred viewing areas at The Fortitude Music Hall (having been to at least 30 or 40 concerts in the Valley Mall venue).
The righthand side upstairs has a sneaky bar nestled next to the main stage that always provides shorter queuing times for adult beverages, and despite arriving super late it was a nice surprise to find the area not as packed as the rest of the venue.
Before too long and with a cold beer for company, a pre-recorded video of an older gent commenced soundtracked by English old-timey music. There was talk of cloning allowing the night's entertainment to precede before "boom, boom lugga-lugga boom," exploded from the PA, the '80s disco-pop-funk of Was (Not Was)'s 'Walk The Dinosaur' the intro music as members of Kaiser Chiefs appeared onstage to a huge roar.
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Frontman Ricky Wilson then declared: "Good evening Brisbane! We're the Kaiser Chiefs," and with that the sonic mayhem madness and crowd sing-alongs hit overdrjve. . . as "ohhhhhhh, and my parents love me," had the audience going bonkers, myself included.
While it's a song they routinely play near the start, if not the first song, of their sets, it was a wonderful launch pad to energise a crowd who needed very little encouragement to make the most of their Friday evening.
Then Ricky – who would be a constant blur of movement and engagement with the crowd throughout – said it was time to get lairy, the washed-out, psychedelic intro to the band's biggest hit, 'I Predict A Riot', witnessing a manic response from the crowd, the video visuals behind the band depicting a gang of bouncing troll dolls.. playing perfectly into the nostalgic-hungry audience.
It was midway through'...Riot' that I realised why my cherished viewing area had been so easy to inhabit. One of the speakers directly above the area was spattering static noise, clearly in need of urgent repair. It was audio quality this music snob could not abide by.
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Quickly retreating to the ground level, and my second favourite viewing spot (to the right, just around the corner of the main bar as you enter the venue, and the backline of the main room; the low ceilings amplify the noise to perfection, while the view of the stage is still visible, especially for taller folks), the brooding art rock of 'Modern Way' was just as slick as the recorded version, the crowd bopping along contently.
Before 'Na Na Na Na Naa' Ricky had as yell "well done Matt!", an obvious in-house joke given there are no members of the band named Matt. No one cared as the room vibrated with an infectious energy, half mob, half football crowd.
'You Can Have It All' is a definite deep cut, but to hear it live was a joy, the band adding some nice psychedelic flourishes to the original. However, as the night progressed it highlighted a band whose performance sounded like the original vinyl pressing just heard through all the nostalgic hues and tones; warm instrumentation played by operators who know their craft inside out, yet still perform as if proving themselves to this audience. . . we love 'em!
Before 'Oh My God' – another of 'Employment''s certified bangers – Ricky shared "20 years is a long time in rock & roll. Almost half my age. . . and we usually play this next song last in the set."
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A flirtatious song that snarls, despite appearing so early in the set people were still going wild as if this was the final moments of their date with Kaiser Chiefs, folks going bonkers like a football crowd witnessing a 92nd-minute winner when we reached the climatic "oh my god I can't believe I've never been this far away from home". Whether muscle memory or not, the band even played the extended live version of the track that was a nice touch.
Keeping to the original track list, 'Born To Be A Dancer' proved the apt song to follow 'Oh My God', the crowd having already warmed their vocal cords going full football-mob with the "oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh" section.
'Saturday Night' maintained the collective bop, 'What Did I Ever Give You?' the cathartic release I was hoping it'd be live, while 'Time Honoured Tradition' was silly sonic fun, the kind of song written to be performed live in front of a boisterous crowd.
The steady waltz of 'Caroline, Yes' was another personal highlight, the song building in intensity, the perfect track to slow-head-bang too, before 'Team Mate' and 'Take My Temperature', a bonus song taken from the Japanese edition, rounded out the 'Employment' set.
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A quick departure backstage before the second set/ encore, Ricky simply stating "and now some more," the band launching into a hectic cover of Ramones' 'Blitzkrieg Bop', sloshing beer and arms interlocking for hug-dancing proof the iconic song will never go out of style.
Before 'Never Miss A Beat' – from 2008's 'Off With Their Heads' – Ricky climbed atop one of the speaker stacks imploring the crowd for more energy, the place heaving like a caterpillar soaked on acid. Simply epic.
It was the perfect song to segue into another cover, Aerosmith's 'Hole In My Soul' before Ricky amped the crowd even higher for 'Ruby', his tambourine seemingly morphing into the crowd – everyone banging their thighs/ hips with an imaginary tambourine of their own.
At song's end Ricky actually threw his tambourine into the crowd – after an extended conversation about whether he could actually throw it correctly and would someone catch it, the resultant toss and catch was arguably the most memorable section of the night, the explosive roar again mimicking a football crowd, almost like England had won the '66 World Cup (again).
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'Reasons To Stay Alive', the only song from their 2024 album 'Kaiser Chiefs' Easy Eighth Album', was chunky and riff-tastic, a song that churns and writhes live, the perfect setting for alcohol-lubed punters to let loose. I know I was!
'The Angry Mob' would be our final hit of nostalgia, an apt send-off for the world as we know it in 2025, and when the house lights went on at song's end, the room was filled with wide-eye, sweat-soaked patrons who all had the look of 'what the F have I just experienced', the joy dripping from their foreheads, smiles beaming with unbridled satisfaction.
It was a performance that hopefully sees Kaiser Chiefs return to Australia well before 2038 arrives; I'm not sure we could survive another 13-year absence from Leeds' finest.
