In the court of the kings Kasabian

Kasabian, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

KASABIAN have always seemed like a nice, if mischievous, bunch of lads. They’re the ones who’d pile in for a party when your parents were away but remember to sort the recycling before leaving.

When they fired out their raucous, colours-to-the-mast eponymous debut in 2004 they were the fresh-faced princes of the East Midlands. Nowadays it’s more refined than the early-days sweatfest – a belligerent bear-pit of effs and jeffs has given way to a cinematic Pearl and Dean stage entry from a white-clad gaggle of half-smart courtiers who - appropriately enough - strike up Ill Ray (The King) to get going.

If in their beginnings they were seen in part, at least, as the heirs to the crown of The Libertines, then the bond between frontmen Serge Pizzorno and the snake-hipped Tom Meighan retains a hint of the Pete Doherty/Carl Barat dynamic - albeit their mic-sharing and doe-eyed looks are a little more considered and warm than their forebears.

That tallies with a slightly cleaner, more polished feel overall – an Eurythmics-infused rendition of Twentyfourseven is smart and slick and even the scudding, room-shuddering Underdog feels a little bit tidier vocally.

It’s not a sea change, but it seems like some of Meighan’s youthfully exuberant snarls have been toned down a little.

That feeling carries over into the often acoustic outros from many of the tracks but the early rawness rears its head again when pints fly and punters soar during a majestic Shoot the Runner.

After an interlude with a gentle British Legion from Pizzorno, it’s arms in the air for the start of Club Foot.

The epic guitar line of Re-Wired makes it one of the night’s standout tracks while old favourites like Empire and LSF sit alongside a sprawling, psychedelic Treat and a vibrant Bless This Acid House. By the time Vlad the Impaler arrives nobody needs an entreaty to get loose it’s already part-dancefloor, part polite bar brawl - before the baying mob bow down at the band’s invocation during closer Fire.

Everyone wants to be knighted in the court of Kasabian - all hail the kings.

Ciaran Jones