Kasabian: Live At The O2 | Rating: 10/11 |
Released: June 26, 2012
While the award for “Most Self Explanatory/Redundant DVD Title” could easily go to this one, we’ll forgive the simplicity because Kasabian Seriously Kicks Your Ass is probably a little less than professional for their first stand-alone DVD release.
“Not bad for a little band from Leicester,” quips Kasabian’s lead vocalist Tom Meighan and let’s call that sentence out for what it truly is: an understatement of staggering proportion when you eyeball the sold-out crowd at London’s O2 Arena. There’s a reason why Kasabian are repeatedly nominated for various versions of “Best Live Band” awards in the UK; They’re a badass band of dangerously intelligent space-age rave rock who are not interested in being contained. That said, Kasabian: Live at the O2 is the conceptual containment of the little band from Leicester.
Filmed ten days prior to Christmas (a hell of an early present for the UK fans) and captured in HD, Kasabian: Live at the O2 is as raucous, visually and sonically, a rock show as has ever been captured on the screen. Touring in support of their heavily anticipated 2011 release Velociraptor!, the four man band armed with touring support and a full on string section stomped through songs from all four of their studio albums like “Shoot The Runner,” “LSF,” “Vlad The Impaler,” and “Switchblade Smiles” with a bravado and swagger that is difficult to challenge. That bravado and swagger has been earned due to the quality music they consistently crank out. The camerawork captures every facet and punch of that quality with vivid dynamism and brilliant sound quality. The high, low, and mid ranges are so clear as to make you feel a part of this massive spectacle and a spectacle it is with Meighan as the hip hop/rock leader of the band and Sergio Pizzorno (guitar/backing vocals) his feather-laden wing man. Kasabian rely heavily (but not too heavily) on the aid of the visual stimuli with a spectacular curved screen that warps around the back of the stage. Then there’s the Velociraptor!-inspired anime which is no joke, but then neither are Kasabian.
If this DVD says anything during the viewing, it’s that Kasabian is a band that you want headlining the next festival coming to a town near you because there may be no more impressive a sight or display of absolute command of a crowd than what happens during the last song of the night, “Fire.” It’s almost eerily Pied Piper-ish on a musical level but it’s entirely awesome, the image of it is well captured and makes the blood pump that much faster.
Yes, there is a bonus feature in the form of I Hear Voices, a 30-minute documentary following Kasabian on tour around the UK and Ireland in 2011, glancing a bit at the inspiration for the dynamic and dazzling stage production and some backstage time. On a scale of 1-10, the bonus racks up a 6, but it gets additional cool points for it being filmed in black and white, starkly contrasting the vividness of the live footage.