Kasabian / Miles Kane – live gallery and review from Fairview Park Dublin 17.06.26

The first night of this summer’s Fairview Park concert series belonged to Kasabian and there could hardly have been a more fitting band to kick things off. The Leicester outfit have spent decades building a reputation as one of Britain’s most explosive live acts. On Tuesday night they reminded everyone exactly what they’re about.

A giant festival-like tent is too-familiar territory for Kasabian. Their music was built for spaces like this. Packed crowds, raised pints, chaos. Even those who think they don’t know Kasabian almost certainly do. Their instantly recognisable anthems have consistently soundtracked everything television adverts and sports broadcasts for years.

The underside of the red tent glowed like a visual alarm as the firestarters entered stage. Sergio Pizzorno arrived with the swagger he’s known for, prowling from side to side like some kind of threat to public order. Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “Dublin Vision”, the frontman looked completely at home as he commanded the crowd from the off.

Anyone familiar with a Kasabian show knows subtlety is rarely on the menu. This was organised madness. The foot-to-the-floor crowd starter “Call” arrived early in the set and truly sent the audience into motion. That euphoric final drop turned the tent into a sea of bouncing bodies. There was barely time to recover before the iconic, bone-rattling bass riff of “Club Foot” tore through the venue.

Throughout the night, the band expertly balanced fan favourites with newer material. The audience had to wait patiently for recent release, “Release The Pressure”, written with Calvin Harris. Positioned towards the latter stages of the set, it proved a welcome shift in mood without sacrificing the momentum. Rather than bringing the pace down, the dance tune injected a fresh energy into proceedings and demonstrated the band’s continued ability to evolve. 

I would have liked to have heard “Switchblade Smiles” but all in all, it’s tough to fault the setlist we had. Kasabian Archives on Instagram was there on the night and agrees: “If there was anything I’d personally change, I’d probably pull Switchblade Smiles back into the set in favour of “Bless This Acid House”. I also think “Hippie Sunshine” is a strong enough contender open the encore. The show was awesome though and I thought the new songs sounded great live. You can really tell that Serge is coming into his own as a lead singer. It was also interesting to hear some new segues and transitions, particularly from “You’re In Love With a Psycho” to “stevie”, via Justice’s “We Are Your Friends.”

Even amid the chaos, there were sincere moments that highlighted the connection between band and audience. A nice moment came when Pizzorno spotted a young fan on his father’s shoulders near the front. The frontman gave a nice point and smile – if this was the youngster’s first gig, nobody tell him it will be difficult to top…

As the night raced towards its conclusion, there was only one song capable of bringing things to a fitting end. “Fire” remains one of the defining festival closers of the modern era and it landed exactly as expected. The crowd screamed every word back at the stage as the final chorus truly shook us. If there was ever an excuse to launch your beer skyward, this was it.

Before Kasabian took over, support came from Miles Kane. Known both as frontman of The Rascals and for his acclaimed partnership with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner in The Last Shadow Puppets, Kane delivered a confident set that provided the perfect warm-up for what was to come.

We caught up with another fan, Eoin, shortly after the gig. He was right up at the front of the crowd: “While we can’t wait to hear the rest of the upcoming album “ACT III”, the show was the perfect warm-up for the upcoming London gig in Finsbury Park. I was lucky enough to get to the secret gig in The Finsbury Pub. Spending time with the band, they are all true gentlemen who live for their music. Here, we had the perfect setlist of old, new, fast and slow. Kasabian always give 110%. They are one of, if not the best live band I’ve ever seen. Support from Miles Kane was the cherry on top of one hell of a Tuesday night!”


Miles Kane photos & set-list:

Set-list:
Cry on My Guitar
Inhaler
Rearrange
Sunlight in the Shadows
Coup de grace
Never Taking Me Alive
Come Closer

Kasabian photos & set-list:

Set-list:
Hippie Sunshine
Great Pretender
Call
Club Foot
Underdog
Empire
Shoot the Runner
Days Are Forgotten
You’re in Love With a Psycho
treat
Vlad the Impaler
Italian Horror
stevie
Release The Pressure
L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)
Ill Ray (The King)
Bless This Acid House
Fire

Photos & Words by Myles Dunne – @MylesDunnePhoto