Kaiser Chiefs & The Walkmen @ Roseland: Powered Up Pac-Men

So, it seems like just yesterday that I was explaining how I haven't stepped foot into Roseland since college - oh wait, it was! As luck would have it, I wound up at Roseland yet again last night for the NME-curated Annuals-Walkmen-Kaiser Chiefs triple bill. There was also a very loud rumor (a la Ticketbastard's purchase page) about Editors making an appearance at the show as well. Sadly, this was not a reality (see below).

Not to fret, I thought. Even though I arrived late and missed Annuals, I entered the ballroom just in time to catch my beloved Walkmen. I think last night served as my 9th or 10th time seeing the guys and sadly, it was positively the worst.

I'm not sure if it was the extraordinarily poor sound, the short set, or the multitude of new tracks/lack of crowd-pleasers but something was very off. Perhaps it was a combination of all those factors. Frontman Hamilton was not his usual alluring self, the band seemed stiff and the crowd has no qualms talking right over them. Yikes. I guess after all the amazing sets they've given me, I was bound for one disaster. Last night was surely the catastrophe amongst the bunch.

MP3: The Walkmen - Revenge Wears No Wristwatch (via Free Indie)

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However, the night wasn't a total washout. Headlining Kaiser Chiefs hopped on stage around 9:40 to an overzealous room of fans (which by the way was - shockingly - quite evenly split amongst Brits and non-Brits).

Their set opened with two of my favorites from their debut, Employment, 'Saturday Night' & 'Everyday I Love You Less & Less'. Despite my previous ambivalence towards Kaiser Chiefs (love the first album, very indifferent towards the follow-up), I must admit that they put on a highly entertaining show. 'Ruby' saw 3000 arms in the air and mouths agape singing along. By the time the band got to the track that put them on the radar, 'I Predict A Riot', the crowd was totally mesmorized. That said, the highlight for me would have to be the encore-closing, 'Oh My God'. The quintessential way to end the evening - with one of their strongest tracks/biggest singles to date. Well done, Kaisers. Well done, indeed.

Setlist: Saturday Night/Everyday I Love You Less & Less/Heat Dies Down/Ruby/Everything Is Average Nowadays/Na Na Na Na Naa/Born To Be A Dancer/Modern Way/Try Your Best/Thank You Very Much/I Predict A Riot/Take My Temperature/Retirement//The Angry Mob/Oh My God

MP3: Kaiser Chiefs - Saturday Night