Kaiser Chiefs - Making Blackpool Rock

Whoever thought of getting Razorlight to support Kaiser Chiefs was definitely reading off the same page: both acts are from the same period in music and roughly share the same fan base.

Lead singer Johnny Burrell is a man of few words but even he is taken back by the rapturous singing from the fans so early on in their set on Golden Touch. By the time they get to their final song, America the band had delivered a great performance.

For Leeds' Kaiser Chiefs the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens was always going to be a venue the band wanted to play. From the legendary Stone Roses gig there the venue has become one of the most iconic venues in the north.

You always get the impression that a lot of thought has gone into the presentation of the show with Kaiser Chiefs. Tonight's gig starts with the band playing on top of a small building which sits at the side of the stage as People Know How To Love One Another lights up the ballroom.

Golden Oldies, a single off their latest album, Duck, should have been on the playlist of every radio station in the country, but the band deliver a resounding version of the track.

There are enough confetti cannons, streamers and dry ice flares to keep any party going throughout the set, although the venue cleaners might not be too impressed! Just when things are getting settled in, lead singer Ricky Wilson decamps to the rear of the ballroom.

In keeping with the title track of the new album he invites a fan up to play Hook A Duck. In reality what this means is that at the end of the duck chosen is a note which denotes what song the band will play next, in Blackpool's case it is Good Days, Bad Days. In terms of offering something different it was a master stroke.

Back on the main stage Wilson shares that the first place he visited on holiday was in Blackpool as he introduces Northern Holiday.

The rest of the gig reads like a Greatest Hits album, Ruby sees the fans singing so loudly as if they are trying to make themselves heard in Leeds, whilst Never Miss A Beat tests the strength of the ballroom floor as the gig moves up to another level.

If you looked at today's singles chart you would never know that bands such as Kaiser Chiefs were as popular as they are, songs like I Predict A Riot were staples of the charts 15 years ago, but today indie rock seems to take a back seat to pop and rap music.

By the final track, Oh My God the confetti cannons had been fired again, Kaiser Chiefs had triumphed in Blackpool and never mind a duck, there hadn't been any donkeys during a show that illuminated Blackpool on a dreary winter's night.