Music / Reviews
Kaiser Chiefs, Lloyds Amphitheatre – ‘Twenty years later still causing a riot’
As the first notes of Everyday I Love You Less and Less rang out across the Harbourside, there was no doubt that Bristol Sounds 2025 was officially in full swing.
The Leeds lads were in town and they were not here to mess about. This was a night for nostalgia, knees-up choruses and singing until your voice went hoarse.
The gig was part of the Kaiser Chiefs’ 20th anniversary tour of their debut album Employment, and to celebrate the milestone they played the entire record from front to back.
is needed now More than ever
It was a bold move to open a show with a full album performance but it paid off and then some.
Starting with that trademark yelp of frustration and angst, Ricky Wilson and the band took us straight back to 2005.
There is something wonderfully chaotic about Employment.
It is full of anthems built for jumping up and down in muddy fields and rainy amphitheatres, and the Bristol crowd knew it.
I Predict a Riot had the first full crowd singalong of the evening, and by the time Oh My God rolled around people were shouting the lyrics like their lives depended on it.
The Kaiser Chiefs’ 20-year-old album was built for jumping up and down in rainy amphitheatres
The evening began with the golden glow of a June summer sunset, a rare treat in itself.
The floating stage shimmered on the water with boats gently rocking behind it and a skyline full of cranes. It was all very Bristol.
But, as the band worked their way through Employment, the weather began to shift.
A soft drizzle started somewhere around Modern Way, and by the time the final song of the album had played out, the rain was coming down properly. Did it stop anyone? Not a chance.
What followed was a glorious greatest hits encore.
It opened with Never Miss A Beat, the crowd gleefully shouting “What do you want for tea? I want crisps” like it was a war cry. There was also a thumping cover of the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop, and of course, Ruby.
And then the finale, The Angry Mob.
There is something beautifully ironic about hundreds of people in ponchos chanting, “We are the angry mob we read the papers every day” while smiling and hugging and dancing in the rain.
For a band now two decades into their career, the Kaiser Chiefs showed no signs of slowing down.
There is something timeless about their music.
Whether you were a teenager in 2005 or discovering them for the first time at the edge of the harbour, they still sound fresh, urgent and full of Northern charm.
Sure, it rained. Sure, the seagulls got a bit too close for comfort.
But, as the last notes of The Angry Mob faded out and people sloshed their way toward the exit, it was clear no one cared and everyone had had a great night.
All photos: Nadine Ballantyne
Read next:
- What to Expect at Bristol Sounds 2025: Your Ultimate Guide
- Bristol Sounds Superfans: Kaiser Chiefs
- Review: Ed Night, The Plunge, Tobacco Factory Theatres – Surreal white-knuckle laughs’
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