Live review: Kaiser Chiefs enjoy rowdy Yorkshire homecoming in front of 30,000 fans

When originally announced last year, the show was to celebrate 20 years of the band’s debut Employment.

And while Saturday’s show in the grounds of historic Temple Newsam in their home city of Leeds ticked that box, it also doubled as a celebration for their footballing heroes Leeds United returning to the Premier League as Championship winners.

The crowd was a sea of white, yellow and blue, the trophy was paraded on stage and even striker Patrick Bamford joined the band on stage for a boisterious run through of their biggest and best known hit I Predict A Riot.

The local heroes’ iconic album, released in March 2005, quickly became a huge success, reaching number four on the list of best belling albums in the United Kingdom that year.

But it was not all about Kaiser Chiefs.

The day got under way with a performance from Ellur, a 22-year-old Northern indie-pop artist from Halifax, whose dream pop leanings were at a marked contrast to alternative rock band Hot Wax from Hastings who turned things up a notch with their fiery anthems.

The 20th anniversary theme ran through the day, with New York’s We Are Scientists celebrating two decades of With Love and Squalor while Razorlight also followed it up later with a 20th anniversary Up All Night set.

We were also treated to the jingly-jangly pop anthems of The Coral with In the Morning, Pass It On and Dreaming of You going down well with the crowd.

Completing the support slots were West Yorkshire’s very own The Cribs again marking the 20 year theme with a spirited romp through their debut release The New Fellas, before Razorlight finished off the starter set with classic such as America, In The Morning and Golden Touch.

This incredible line-up certainly warmed up the atmosphere and prepared the fans for the very big finale!

And that was of course the return of their local legends, Kaiser Chiefs, for their huge homecoming party.

The first half was all about delivering Employment in full, kicking off with Everyday I Love You Less and Less, I Predict a Riot and Modern Way.

Lead singer Ricky Wilson bounded about the stage with his endless energy as the group raced through all the songs from Employment.

Of course, there was plenty more to come, with a string of hits that have been a huge part of the UK music scene over the past 20 years, including Never Miss a Beat, Ruby, The Angry Mob and the hit from their latest album, Easy Eighth Album – Reasons to Stay Alive – released in March 2024 and which still showcases a band at the top of their game.

But there was more to come!

The band had a few extra surprises for their fans up their sleeves.

One included a reunion with former songwriter and drummer Nick Hodgson who performed together with the band on Oh My God.

Employment producer, Stephen Street, also celebrated with the band by making a quick appearance on stage and, getting one of the biggest cheers of the night, the Championship trophy was paraded for the joy of all Leeds fans – and they were joined by Elland Road striker Patrick Bamford for a second performance of I Predict a Riot – the player joining in on acoustic guitar.

The band and its music were truly the main protagonists of the night.

With no extra special effects around like flames, streamers and confetti, the band let the music do the talking - in fact, you could say that Ricky Wilson’s performance was on its own, the band’s very special effect!