Kaiser Chiefs (With support from Ripchord and 1990s)

Wolverhampton Civic Hall

25th February 2007

On 25th February 2007 I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Kaiser Chiefs at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton. Wolverhampton was the only Midlands town on their mini tour of smaller venues! They had previously played at the Civic Hall on the Friday night and this Sunday show was their last in the city. After seeing the guys at the NIA last April, I couldn't wait to see them live again - Especially in a more intimate setting. I missed seeing them on tour in the early days when they'd play venues like this and smaller, so I didn't want to miss the opportunity!

I had been to the adjoining Wulfrun Hall before, but this was my first time at the Civic Hall. We had to queue for about ten minutes before the doors opened at 7pm. I did worry we'd have to join the queue winding its way round the street, but that was for the Matt Willis concert at the Wulfrun! The Civic Hall looked quite grand from the outside, but inside it reminded me of an old fashioned hospital with its long corridors and décor that looked like it hadn't changed since the 50's!

Like at my last Kaiser Chiefs concert, I wasn't brave enough to get tickets in the standing section on the floor, but I had a decent view from the seats on the lower balcony (Second row from front, right hand side corner if you want to be precise!)

My view from the balcony as people started to pour in

The first of the two support bands was local lads, Ripchord. They had a great style and sound - Reminiscent of rock bands from the 60's and 'Britpop' bands from the 90's. Similarly, the second support band, '1990s' from Glasgow, continued to give a good set and received positive feedback from the audience. I always see the support bands at concerts, so sometimes wish others would watch the whole show and not only come in when the main act starts.

During the break, they carried on playing the background music to us while we waited. I always wonder whether the band choose the songs themselves - This particular 'mix tape' included '5-4-3-2-1' by The Manfreds, Blondie and…. 'Number 1' by The Rutles! Fantastic!

The 'KC' curtains

Eventually the red velvet curtains with the gold 'KC' emblem closed and we waited excitedly for the Kaiser Chiefs! The lights dimmed, the screams grew and suddenly we heard the old Top of The Pops theme tune - I suddenly remembered that it was Sunday night and there was the possibility that they had gone to number 1 with 'Ruby' - More on that later!

The curtains pulled back to reveal the guys walking onto the stage and they rocked straight into 'Saturday Night' from the 'Employment' album. What a way to start! It got everyone singing along, dancing up and down and soon people were throwing water or drink across everyone's heads in the standing section! They continued with a few other familiar favourites including, 'Everyday I love You Less and Less'. As always they put 100% energy into every song they do and if they seemed more excited this time, there was a reason. Not long into the set, Ricky Wilson announced something along the lines of, "Hi Wolverhampton! It's Sunday night, it's 9:20 and we're number one!!!!" Everyone clapped and cheered at the news that 'Ruby' had moved up one place to give them their first number one single! Their next song was of course, 'Ruby'. It was great to finally hear it live after playing it so many times at home. It is such a catchy song and one that everyone was singing along with. Ricky was doing his famous jumps as usual and I loved the way he'd knock the microphone stand to the floor and then flick it up with his foot! Such a magnificent front man! He was so excited about making it to number that he kept doing a 'number 1' dance and singing (If I remember rightly!) the hook in The Fratellis', 'Chelsea Dagger' with the audience!

We also heard several songs from their new album, 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob'. I had heard some of them at the NIA last year and on televised concerts. All are strong songs that you can immediately identify as being a Kaiser Chiefs number and that will continue to become live favourites! I especially liked 'Heat Dies Down' and 'The Angry Mob'.

People were attempting to crowd surf throughout the whole show and it wasn't long before Ricky was having a go too. He jumped down into the pit in front of the stage and stood on the barrier during one song and was grabbed at, but during 'I Predict A Riot' he went for it! I looked away for a second and suddenly he'd taken a run and jump off the stage and into the crowd! I didn't see, but my friend said that he had to "zip himself back up" when he returned to the stage! Ricky himself commented afterwards, "Thanks for catching me!"

They're all great musicians and entertainers - Nick's a fantastic drummer and singer and with Simon on bass, adds the backbeat that gets everyone dancing along to. Whitey plays it cool, but still rocks out with his guitar riffs and solos and where would any Kaiser Chiefs song be without Peanut's keyboard talents!

Another favourite of the night was 'Modern Way', for which they had beautiful lighting that created a starry backdrop to the stage. After more 'We're number 1' song and dances, more jumping from Ricky and Simon, more fantastic guitar solos from Whitey on his classic gold top Gibson, it was sadly nearing the end of the night. They did a crackin'encore that included 'Na Na Na Na Naa' and 'Oh My God'. I also noticed that Nick threw out either an old shirt or a towel of his into the audience as a parting gift!

A hazy photo from my camera phone of the lighting in 'Modern Way'

One of the downsides of sitting in the balcony seats was that you weren't allowed to stand up. I didn't want to get squashed in the area in front of the stage and see nothing, but I would've liked to have been allowed to stand in the stand in the seated area too - Like in most venues - If not for all of the show, but at least at the end of the concert. That was the only downside of the night. 'The Chiefs' put on a great show as usual and I can't wait to see them again. It also felt extra special to see them on the night they received their first number 1 single! It was as if we were celebrating with them!