Kaiser Chiefs celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Employment in Manchester
20 years on and the Leeds band still possess that same indie flair.
Photo: Kaiser Chiefs
20 years since their debut record Employment, Kaiser Chiefs have proven masters of anthemic, crowd-driven indie rock, blending perfectly with their charismatic stagecraft. The debut that shot them straight into indie stardom and earned them the fourth best-selling album in 2005 is being celebrated with an extensive UK tour and festival circuit throughout the rest of the year.
While many of their contemporaries struggled to maintain momentum, Kaiser Chiefs have retained an instinctive understanding of audience engagement and musical timing, ensuring their work continues to resonate with both long-time fans and newer generations discovering their back catalogue.
A theatrical Jurassic Park-themed intro greeted the crowd, announcing the band’s arrival with a wink to their self-declared status as “dinosaurs” of the music industry. The five-piece then launched into the iconic synth stabs of Everyday I Love You Less and Less, followed by the riotous singalong of I Predict a Riot. Frontman Ricky Wilson, impossibly energetic, commanded the stage with mic stand acrobatics and constant crowd interaction, setting the tone for a performance that was as much a spectacle as the music.
For those unaware, Wilson announced the band would play Employment in full, delivering a setlist chasing the same order of its original release.
Early singles Modern Way and Oh My God retained that same signature punch when performed at Elland Road in 2009, a stadium-ready crowd pleaser, while deeper cuts, Na Na Na Na Naa and You Can Have It All provided a more new wave-infused charm, allowing arms to wave and lights to shine. Throughout, Wilson’s constant engagement in reading fans’ Valentine notes, teasing sing-alongs, and playfully thrusting the mic into the audience reminded everyone why he remains one of indie rock’s most compelling frontmen.
Visuals and staging amplified the experience, from revolving backdrops of a mock employment office to the occasional arcade-style pong synth kick courtesy of keyboardist Nick Baines. The encore brought the audience to a fever pitch. A cover of the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop had the crowd shouting in unison, before the band tore through hits like Never Miss a Beat, Ruby and The Angry Mob.
Wilson’s boundless energy, combined with the band’s flawless interplay, made the finale an explosive celebration of their enduring catalogue. Humorous nods from Jurassic Park-inspired visuals to playful self-parody balanced perfectly with the unrelenting musicality, ensuring that the show was both fun and technically impressive.
Performing Employment in full can expose uneven pacing, but Kaiser Chiefs demonstrated that the album still brims with vitality and charm. Their blend of melodic hooks and theatrical stagecraft turned the evening into a communal celebration, bridging twenty years of music with a crowd that spanned generations. This was not just a nostalgic anniversary tour; it was a constant reminder of British indie music, and by the time the last notes of The Angry Mob echoed through Victoria Warehouse, it was clear that Kaiser Chiefs remain masters of their craft as irrepressibly fun and endlessly inventive.
