Serge Pizzorno leading Kasabian in Liverpool, Oct 2021 (Gary Mather for Live4ever)
It’s been quite the time to be a Kasabian fan.
As well as releasing their first new music in four years last week (the rampaging ALYGATYR), former frontman Tom Meighan also released his first solo effort, a solemn ballad entitled Would You Mind?, the lyrical content of which is surely aimed at his old friends.
All the while a lengthy, month-long tour continues.
Channelling the same communal, hands-in-the-air spirit as their forebears Oasis, Kasabian have their detractors, but their electro-rock music has always been more interesting than their reputation dictates. The subtraction of Tom Meighan, asked to leave the band last year, means that this tour is certainly one of the more intriguing of the year.
Or it would have been, had the transition to Mark II not been so seamless; Serge Pizzorno has long been the sole mastermind behind their music, ever since the departure of Chris Karloff back in 2005 and, over the years, became more and more prominent both onstage and off.
Arguably, over the last decade they had co-frontmen, but no more. This is unquestionably The Serge Show now, best exemplified tonight by the rest of the band wearing all black to contrast his colourful jacket and white t-shirt.
Along with those years of gradual dominance, his first solo album (under the name The S.L.P.) and accompanying shows in 2019 have clearly given Pizzorno the confidence to step from stage left to front and centre, but he’s made the move appear effortless.
As there has surely been across the country prior to the shows, much of the talk within the crowd is of uncertainty as to how Pizzorno will fare. Within milliseconds of the monstrous opener Club Foot, there is little doubt that the band, always a fearsome and loud live act, have lost any of their power. By the time song concludes, with Pizzorno having produced a flawlessly energetic performance, any lingering doubts are left behind with British Summer Time.
A multi-instrumentalist, Pizzorno always had the cover of guitar or keys, but with other responsibilities to occupy his time support was required, and it first came in the form of touring guitarist Tim Carter, who was promoted to full-time member. In addition, Robert Harvey of The Music has been drafted in on guitar and keyboards – with the reunion shows of his first band and a full tour with The Streets (of whom he is also a part), Harvey will be omnipresent in 2021.
As such, Pizzorno plays guitar sparingly and even when he does, very often the instrument is dispatched with mid-song (specifically for the slicing riff of Underdog and L.S.F.) so he can jump around the stage.
In essence it’s been a straight swap; as Pizzorno replaces Meighan, Harvey has replaced him, playing guitar and keys and a hefty amount of backing vocals, including the chorus on the boisterous Empire and a colossal Shoot The Runner. For the keyboard-led I.D., Harvey is joined by his frontman but otherwise he’s trusted and doesn’t disappoint.
There was also speculation in certain quarters that the set would have to be adjusted to factor in the loss of Meighan. Pizzorno has provided lead vocals on a healthy proportion of Kasabian tracks so, logically, there may be more to be found in the set. Not a bit of it; this is very much a greatest hits set covering their whole canon, and the new frontman isn’t found wanting. Having spent so long singing in harmony with Meighan, Pizzorno’s voice carries many of the same tones and so the songs aren’t diminished to any extent.
The only thing that is perhaps missing is rather than two voices motivating the crowd to react, there is but one, but Pizzorno makes up for that with his energy. If you look hard enough, there are flickers of moments when the singer perhaps misses his old partner, but they are fleeting.
The continuous chants of ‘Sergio’ surely bolster his confidence, and he utilises all the old tricks to keep the crowd onside; congratulating them when required, mentioning that the drummer is from Bristol and therefore the band are ‘part-Bristol’, and encouraging the extensive singalong for L.S.F. long after the song has finished.
Indeed, the singalong cuts Pizzorno off from the only moment where Meighan may have been acknowledged. He begins a statement by saying, ‘What a mad year…’ (more likely to be regarding the pandemic, in fairness), but the crowd drown him out. So much so that the band have to launch into set closer Fire just to shut them up.
With only a couple of adjustments (You’re In Love With A Psycho and Fire are both truncated, bizarrely removing Pizzorno’s contributions), it’s otherwise been a smooth evolution. Pizzorno and co. can look forward to what promises to be a busy 2022 with relish. As he himself acknowledges: ‘They will never drag us down.’
With everyone in the room having been through tough times, Kasabian’s blend of high-octane, primal rock music soundtracks a cathartic evening for all.
