Gig memories

I know what you mean ,when it was Reading we were talking to a bloke and it was his 2nd time of seeing them and of course came ...how many times have you seen them and I said oh 6 times last year which I know isn't as many as some but you do feel a bit obsessive when the setlist just rolls of your tongue or the first couple of chords and you know what is already and it's becoming like that with Biffy now too and my daughter says there is something wrong with me.So now if someone says how many times....I just say a few.

A random gig memory from Wolverhampton 2009 when Tom was conducting the LSF singalong and telling people who should sing - now people at the back, now on the right, on the left, on the balcony, now the males, now the females... he was so into it, it was so much fun, a loud, gorgeous singalong -and at some point he run out of people to ask and said 'now the security' who totally didn't get it and got booed.

Just had to replace my old phone so I took the chance to post some pics from the gigs I visited last year if someone is interested:

bury420.tumblr.com/

Yes I have a very creative Design .... Will use this account to upload pictures of the gigs in the future. Got a better camera for 2014 :-)

My first Kasabian gig was the 23rd April 2005 in Glasgow's (at the time) Carling Academy.

I got into the band around November 2004. I saw wandering through Tesco's CD aisle with money to burn and liked the look of the cover. I had seen the Processed Beats video once or twice on telly, and it was mostly an impulsive buy.

Ended up loving the thing, start to finish. It was really one of those by chance things, the timing, because they announced the spring 2005 tour that week or thereabouts. My main draw was wanting to hear the material with a live drumkit, bizarrely.

I had no idea driving to the gig, that the previous night's Glasgow concert was cut short by Serge being hit with a bottle/plastic cup/beverage (I've heard many descriptions since), and they only got as far as The Nightworker's in their set. So, I probably would have had some uncertainty about the second date actually happening. Luckily, Kasabian were and always have been pretty dedicated to their touring, so no issues there.

I was fairly new to the gigging experience at the time, so the thought of two support bands for the ticket price (two?!) was exciting in itself. El Presidente and The Duke Spirit was okay. Nothing to go mental about.

Then the lights went down, and I remember seeing "that touring drummer" sit down first as the strains of Pinch Roller came over the PA. Ian Matthews was made a full member on this particular leg of the tour, I hear. Then, out wandered Chris Karloff, into his little square of equipment, over on the far left. Chris Edwards picked up his bass right in front of me, and Serge went over to his wee keyboard set-up for the throbbing, pulsing intro to I.D. As the music reached it's climax, out popped Tom in a purple frilly shirt and we were away.

Memories that I'll never forget are; the gut-punch of the Reason is Treason breakdown (you know the one), Tom introducing 55 the exact same way he did on the Brixton CD ("are there any punks in the house? Does Glasgow have any punks?"), Tom also introducing new material (NEW!) in the form of "The Stuntman" (I'll never forgive them for giving the "The" to Doberman a year later), the incredible light show that tour had, the winding jams on Ovary Stripe and The Duke, the two Chrises switching over for Club Foot and the simple feeling that I'd seen the very best live mix of synth and guitar music. It's hard not to use the cliche, but I wanted to form my own band that night, after the gig.

The setlist in full was; (Pinch Roller) I.D., Cutt Off, Reason is Treason, Running Battle, Processed Beats, 55, Test Transmission, Butcher Blues, The Duke, The Nightworker's, Stuntman and L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever).

The encore was U Boat, Ovary Stripe and Club Foot.

It was a very special night, and I wouldn't have guessed I'd still be posting on a Kasabian forum nine years later. My only regret is that I didn't get into them just before the album was released. Some of The Movement's shenanigans sounds like it was a lot of fun. Wouldn't have had to pay mad prices for flag-wrapped vinyl either.

That said, Kasabian are really the only band that I've followed since the time of the first album, and that'll be why I'll stick with them as long as they tour and release music. Almost a decade on, I feel like I have to see how the journey will end, in a sense. I'd have never guessed they'd have made it Glastonbury headliners back in 2005, anyway.

Listening back to the debut album now, all sorts of memories flood back. People I knew at the time, the person I was, the ways that I'm not that person in 2014, and the viewpoint I had on the band at the time. It'll always be a special record and tour, for those reasons.

Kasabian really defined my sonic memories again, with West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. I listen to it, and I can picture my flat at the time, my job at the time and personal circumstances. It's another incredible memory prompt. I was lucky enough to see them twice in two days, the first week it hit #1 in the UK, again in Glasgow's O2 Academy and a gig in Dundee. A very special time. They've always been very direct with their fans, but those two gigs were really a celebration of the album being a success. They felt like private, intimate gigs between the band and their die-hards.

Speaking of which, does Bubbs still kick around?

The album came at a time when I wasn't sure what a third record from the band would sound like. It was something of a personal crossroad with following the band. I forgot about them a little in 2008. Only logging on to hear updates every three months or so. The debut record hadn't registered as a personal era-definer yet, something only time can bring.

What they finally pulled together, I found a little astonishing. It was the first time I really saw how ambitious a band Kasabian are. They've always had self-belief, but West Ryder was beyond even what they had talked about in pre-release interviews. It's the most underrated British album of the 2000s. A truly perfect balance of Serge's aims. The mix of 60s and 70s influence with that modern filter. It's completely it's own being, and why it's my bench-mark and favourite record of theirs.

My single biggest gig-going regret, is that I thought those two gigs would tide me over and I'd give the West Ryder arena tour a miss (to be fair, I was financially a little cash-strapped too).

They went completely down the rabbit hole with the mythology of the album, and I love it. I can tell you, when I first watched the Dublin gig in September 2011, I was fucking depressed that I'd missed out.

I saw them in the SECC in late 2011 (the setting for my taste of the Empire arena tour too). The Velociraptour! felt a little like a muscle flex to me. Like they were testing reaction to material. I could be wrong, but I feel like the positive reaction to songs like Switchblade Smiles may have had a small part to play in the direction of 48:13 (what I've heard, anyway).

I really can't wait to see how the new album informs the live set, post-Glasto. I'm fully expecting a crowd pleaser, greatest hits set, sprinkled with 48:13 big guns. Beyond that however, when it's back to arenas full of dedicated gig-goers, I want to see how the set balances up. Will they dive down the rabbit hole again? Will we see West Ryder style dedication to the new record?

This post ended up being a little bit of a screed. Veering in and out of topic too.

My hope is that the crowd on Glasgow Green is alright for them. The Big Weekend reception is historically shite, to be fair. The drawback of free ticketed gigs I suppose. Least they're on their stage last, so there's no impatient Jay-Z fans hanging around.

The little run of Kilmarnock/Dunfermline/Dundee will have a great atmosphere though!

That's great that circumstances allowed you to see the West Ryder tour! Unforgettable memories, I'm sure.

(Good news about Bubbs too! She was a big part of the official forum when I first ventured on to see what was what.)

I wouldn't call 40 confirmed gigs across 3 continents rumours of a world tour... Hope you can see them soon anyway.

Would that be this date perchance? If so, do you recall any of the set?

www.setlist.fm/setlist/kasabian/2004/king-tuts-wah-wah-hut-glasgow-scotland-73d37245.html