Author | Jamison Williams
Photography by Dylan Freehauf
Last Saturday, two British bands came to Terminal 5 and brought the house down.
The first band, British by adoption rather than birth, was Bo Ningen.
Originally from Japan, this London-based acid-punk quartet played their second show as Kasabian’s US Tour opening act and proved fitting of the role by stirring both the crowd and themselves into a frenzy. Even with Japanese lyrics, it became obvious after their first song “Slider,” from their new album III, that this was not a band whose music is centered around typical song structure. Bassist Taigen Kawabe’s glassy, operatic, and at times abrasive vocals are often cut intermittently by syncopated breaks or mixed-meter dual guitar leads.
Props for chops goes to guitarist Yuki Tsujii for not only being able to nimbly command a guitar fretboard even as he swung it over his head,
but also for his use of effects and feedback creating a type of demonic screech only found in old monster movies. All in all, those who enjoyed their sound were able to see a cool new band that kept them busy before Kasabian without necessarily upstaging the main event. Those who didn’t still got the chance to witness dudes in flashy silk robes demonstrating some quality hair acrobatics.
While Kasabian has had some trouble in the past finding widespread attention in America, you wouldn’t know it by looking around the room as the little floor space still remaining at the end of Bo Ningen’s set suddenly disappeared completely.
This became even clearer after the band took the stage and launched into their single “Bumblebeee” from their new album 48:13. Within thirty seconds everyone had their hands in the air as they chanted along with the song’s infectious “ay-ay-ay” hook.
Kasabian is one of those bands that are a great live act because of their balanced group dynamic. Vocalist Tom Meighan and Guitarist/Songwriter Serge Pizzorno responsibly share the frontman role, while the rhythm section of Bassist Chris Edwards and Drummer Ian Matthews accentuate stylistic changes in each song and give them their muscle mass. The latter and the former were displayed that night on songs such as “Vlad The Impaler” and “Shoot The Runner.” While I’m often annoyed at bands with touring members, I heard nothing from Keyboardist Ben Kealey or newcomer Lead Guitarist Tim Carter that I would deem superfluous. Anything added only seemed to fill in the cracks.
Their 16 song set not only included an even mix of favorites from all five albums, but also two tasteful covers. Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” was mashed up with their anthemic “L.S.F.” and Meighan led the crowd in a couple of bars of “All You Need Is Love” before bidding them good night on behalf of the band. After two years of being out of the country, Kasabian proved with catchy choruses and pounds of pub swagger that they were well worth the wait.
Follow both bands on Twitter and Facebook and check out their new albums III and 48:13 on Spotify
