I really enjoyed the Kasabian concert a few weeks ago. So much so that when I found out they were playing in Edmonton on Friday night, I decided that it would be a good idea to go see them again. Why was I in Edmonton? I don’t even know (besides visiting family and friends). Here are some reviews for that show. I’m not even going to bother providing context.
Pillar
Check out that picture. This pillar is a god among gods. I think it’s the main enemy in the Wrath of the Titans movie. Standing right in the middle of the venue, it split crowds into two. If this venue was in the South, I’m pretty sure all the black people would be on one side, and the white people on the other. This is Edmonton though, so you had all the white people on one side, and then all the other white people on the other side. Maybe one side is wearing Ed Hardy’s and the other side wears Tapout. I don’t know. On the other hand, if you arrive early enough, you can get a good leaning spot right in the middle of the crowd.
Venue
History
Edmonton is a pretty shady place. How do I know this? When I went to this concert, I had to empty my pockets, take off my jacket and get patted down. It was very thorough pat down as well (also, I know a bunch of people who have engaged in nefarious activities/spent time in prison). Edmonton Event Center, besides being arguably the most boring name ever, used to be Reds. Reds was this mish mash place where you can play arcade games, play pool, go bowling and clubbing at the same time. It was massive, and it was in West Edmonton Mall. I spent a lot of time there in my youth. Where else can you go clubbing, then when it’s a bad song, climb some stairs and do drunken neon bowling? With the golden days now over, the venue decided to rebrand itself and now is just the plain ole Edmonton Event Center. It’s a boring name and is quite fitting since it’s a boring venue in a boring city.
Sightlines – Look at those pillars. They can single handedly disrupt your concert experience if you stand in the wrong place. Aside from that massive distraction, the sight lines are pretty good simply due to the high stage. Reds also has two elevated sitting areas for people who are lazy. If you take away those pillars, the sightlines would be quite wonderful, but the ceiling would probably collapse.
Alcohol – Do you want to pay six dollars for a can (not even a tall can) of Coors Light, Blue, Corona, Canadian or a Heinekin? If not, then you probably are not drinking alcohol at the Edmonton Event Center. Absolutely atrocious selection and even worse prices. The overly aggressive pat downs at the door means that it’s a slim chance to get in a flask too. Mega fail.
Summary – You take what you can get. This is the only place for this sort of show, so you come. Be a champ and avoid the pillar of doom.
Crowd
Edmonton has a very moshy crowd. It’s all that pent up energy from having to drive half an hour to get a quart of milk. Seriously, everywhere I went in Edmonton, it was a fifteen to twenty minute drive. I felt like a prisoner in the car. If the Arcade Fire wrote a song about Edmonton, it would be called Sprawl III (Freeways beyond freeways beyond Red Robins) or something. Anyways, Edmonton has a very moshy crowd. My first mosh pit experience was in Edmonton, at the Collective Soul concert. Me and Tom were there, quite young and saw a bunch of people moshing. We looked at each other and were like, what the hell and joined the masses. It was fun. I regretted wearing my Club Monaco sweater (yes, that one) that night because it was so hot and I was sweating. Too much information? Yes.
Kasabian’s music is the type of music you should mosh to. It’s also the type of music you most definitely should sing a long to. Toronto did this proper. They moshed at the right parts, and then sang out the parts when they should. Edmonton did this wrong. They moshed at the right parts, moshed at the wrong parts, moshed at all the parts. This seem to befuddle the band a little, when they were trying to get the crowd to do the ‘oooo oooo oooo ooo’ part in the song Fire in unison and instead received a mish mash of screams, hoots and yeahs. My friend Nick reasoned that most people there were just there to do something. To each their own I guess. The enthusiasm was high, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and burn a few calories in the process. I guess that makes a good crowd, even if they didn’t sing along to the entire chorus of LSF.
The band
Kasabian was excellent live. I think they are now added to the list of bands I will see every time they come to town, regardless of anything. The thrill of their great songs were not diminished the second time around, which is a great sign considering I just saw them one week prior. Check them out. They kick ass.