Oh My God

Wednesday night and another gig in Birmingham. Kaiser Chiefs at the National Indoor Arena. I'd been looking forward to this one for a while; especially as I knew Graham Coxon was supporting. I was more than a little dismayed, therefore, to wake up on Wednesday morning with a pounding head, sore throat and all the signs that I was in the grip of some kind of evil cold virus. Missing out on the evening was never an option, though, so I dosed myself up with Nurofen and hoped for the best...

The last time I visited the National Indoor Arena was September of last year when we took Daisy to see Balamory Live. Thankfully, Miss Hoolie and co were nowhere in sight this time and the venue looked very different with the stall seating removed to form a massive standing area. For reasons best known to themselves, the stewards decided that no one was allowed to stand until shortly before the gig started and so we were made to sit on the floor - like rows of overgrown primary school children, waiting for assembly to begin. An effective form of torture for the over-30's! Needless to say, as soon as the stewards gave the go-ahead to stand, there was a huge surge forward. Cam and I made it very close to the front; more than a little crushed but with a good view of the stage.

First up were Polysics, a four piece electro-punk band from Tokyo. Wearing matching red boiler suits and black wraparound shades, they looked like they'd stepped off the set of a third-rate sci-fi film. When they started to play, my initial thought was, this is completely insane, but by the third song I found myself getting in to the music. The band's cover of My Sharona went down particularly well with the crowd. The band have an incredible energy. Singer and guitarist, Hayashi, is especially manic and his performance really had to be seen to be believed. I wouldn't want to listen to Polysics every day but would definitely go and see them again some time.

Although I hadn't listened to much of Graham Coxon's music previously, what I'd heard, I'd really liked and I loved the single, Freakin' Out. Graham's performance on Wednesday certainly didn't disappoint and was marred only by a plump, adolescent Chiefette in an unflattering red t-shirt who persisted in shouting, "Boo, Gerroff, Kaisers!" at the end of every song. I was sorely tempted to turn round and give her a piece of my mind but settled for a Paddington Bear-style hard stare instead. Graham's set left me feeling that I should definitely check out some of his albums. He's quite easy on the eye too - my next pin-up, maybe?

By the time the Kaisers hit the stage, I was feeling well past my best and wanted nothing more than to go home and lie down in a darkened room. Had I been feeling better, I'm sure I'd have appreciated the gig a whole lot more. The atmosphere in the arena was truly amazing. The entire standing area erupted into a pulsating sea of moshing bodies, arms in the air, saluting singer Ricky Wilson. I haven't seen such adulation since watching the screaming girlies worship the boys from Busted when we took Joe and George to see them last year. However, it was not only girls deifying Ricky; boys and girls alike were completely transfixed. The band performed an excellent set with several new songs as well as those from Employment. By the time, the band reached the last song of the encore - a lively performance of Oh My God with significant audience participation, the atmosphere on the floor had reached melting point. Not only were my poor toes painful from being repeatedly jumped on but I was headbutted - acidentally - in the nose by an over-exuberant fan. It was a sore and subdued version of myself that limped back to the car park.


Oh My God - Kaiser Chiefs (Employment, 2005)