Anyone who knows me and has at least partial access to my dementia has
probably been bored stiff by the story of how I saw Kasabian in Pecsa with a
handful of people back when they were considerably less known in this part of
the world. I do totally confess to being guilty as charged, but concert lovers
will probably acknowledge the fact that we all have definitive experiences that
were pivotal in forming our tastes and habits. And that Kasabian concert is one
of those experiences for me.
I remember being quite upset about the low turnout, after all, I had just
read in NME that these guys are already playing to crowds of over 20 000
people. They’ll just take a look at our scarce numbers and decide we’re really
not worth their effort. Only we were, and as they thundered through an amazing
set as if they had, well, a very, very fast fuse, I learned that a good band
will work wonders from clubs to giant arenas.
There was of course a decidedly more encouraging presence in front of
Sziget’s main stage, yet I will moan again (last time, I promise) about how
they should have been the headliners. No questions asked, headliners. Send
Avicii to the world music stage as traditional Swedish music for when you’re
assembling IKEA furniture and want to blank your mind of all other articulate
thinking. Send him to the circus tent as
clown in residence. Send him to the beach to short circuit his damn turntable.
Just do something to have Kasabian as headliners because Sziget owes them that
much.
(Rummaging through Kasabian’s summer performances for an idea of how their
setlist evolves, I found them being co-headliners at V festival alongside
Calvin Harris. Our knob fidgeter from last year. In an odd, but somehow
satisfying way we’ll slowly get to see UK festivals being so yesterday compared
to Sziget.)
I realize I have been off track for quite a while, a bit like Tom Meighan going for a T-shirt change when Sziget gets too tropical for him. Back to our own sheep, as the French would say, or more precisely our own bumblebees. Darned seven thirty slot aside, Kasabian came, played, and conquered, as they were bound to. They are a band who now have enough strong songs to fuel a stratospheric set anytime and they know it. Yes, they are smug, yes, they like some posing and posturing, yes, they like going about with that rock star attitude. Thing is, unlike some artists who had (dis)graced the main stage earlier in the week, it suits them.
I realize I have been off track for quite a while, a bit like Tom Meighan going for a T-shirt change when Sziget gets too tropical for him. Back to our own sheep, as the French would say, or more precisely our own bumblebees. Darned seven thirty slot aside, Kasabian came, played, and conquered, as they were bound to. They are a band who now have enough strong songs to fuel a stratospheric set anytime and they know it. Yes, they are smug, yes, they like some posing and posturing, yes, they like going about with that rock star attitude. Thing is, unlike some artists who had (dis)graced the main stage earlier in the week, it suits them.
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