Being the opening act at Glastonbury is not a job for everyone. It has rained all night and everywhere you look festival goers are nursing sore heads and, possibly depending upon how debauched the previous evening in Shangri-La, other body parts too.
But this is not a time to be gentle. The rain might be dripping relentlessly down our necks but no-one in the crowd has come for a rest.
It’s a time to get the wellies on, and watch a band who can grab a crowd by the scruff of their soggy necks, give them a cheeky kiss and get the job done. Glastonbury starts here.
In short, it’s probably not a job for the sensitive crooning of James Blunt, and it is perfect for The Kaiser Chiefs.
Charismatic front man Ricky Wilson knew this and threw everything but the kitchen sink into his performance. Within the first three songs “I Predict A Riot”, “Never Miss A Beat” and “Every Day I Love You Less and Less” Wilson had thrown himself into the crowd, attempted a Freddie Mercury singalong and leapt about posing for the cameras like a man possessed.
If he had appeared onstage by swivelling round on a high-backed chair a la The Voice I wouldn’t have been the slightest bit surprised.
With a punchy set list (Coming Home, Meanwhile Up In Heaven, Ruby, We Are The Angry Mob and finishing with Oh My God) and bags of energy The Kaiser Chiefs were a perfect start to the weekend.
Every record tells a story 
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