Kaiser Chiefs are set to hit the road for a major tour which will be stopping at Leeds First Direct Arena.
The Leeds music legends will kick off their latest set of arena gigs with a concert in Swansea on November 2 which will be followed by a full programme of shows during the month. Undeniably, a stand out date will be their homecoming on November 12.
Frontman Ricky Wilson and bandmate Vijay Mistry have chatted about how they are feeling about the upcoming shows. Ricky said: “You think we’re still up for it? Cause, you know, sometimes you think “can we still do it?” Vijay added: “You do.”
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Ricky explained: “I can remember once, we played at a little place in Manchester - before Education, Education, Education and War came out and we hadn’t done a show in a while and I can remember being in the bathroom, looking in the mirror and thinking to myself ‘Is it gonna happen? Is it still in there? Is it still, like, in my ability to do this?’ And then you walk out on stage and it all comes back to you.”
Vijay told Kaiser Chiefs fans of the band, who have been making music for 20 years, he trains himself to get ‘match fit’. Drummer Vijay joked: “Well you start off small, so you gotta do finger exercises – I like to pick up a remote controller, and then turn the channels on the telly that gets the fingers moving.
“Then eight or nine months later, you can do one song. And then, you just keep building.”
Earlier this year, the Kaisers invited LeedsLive to their Old Chapel Music Studios in Holbeck and spoke to us about what Leeds, and particularly a homecoming show, means to them. Bass player Simon Rix said: “It is the hardest gig. For example, if you’re playing in Brighton, you’ll go there, have a nice time and play a show. But when we are in Leeds, it is one of the best gigs because of the crowd but you’ve got to sort out the guestlist, see your mum and dad."
Keyboard player Peanut added: “There’s this huge expectation we are going to arrive in a spaceship in Leeds. We want every gig on the tour to be great but equally when you come home to Leeds you know you’re home.
“I’m terrible for this but I think we should turn our phones off. We’d have a much better gig and tell people if you haven’t sorted out your guestlist, you’ve f**ked it.”
Dates
If you’d love to see Kaiser Chiefs on tour then they are playing lots of UK venues later this year. As well as Leeds, you’ll be able to see them play in Birmingham, Glasgow and Liverpool among other locations.
Fans look set to enjoy sets filled with classic songs and the band are currently also working on new material. You can see the full list of tour dates below:
- Swansea Arena - November 2
- Cardiff Motorpoint Arena - November 3
- The O2, London - November 5
- Newcastle O2 City Hall - November 7
- Hull Bonus Arena - November 8
- Liverpool M&S Bank Arena - November 10
- Glasgow OVO Hydro - November 11
- Leeds First Direct Arena - November 12
- Brighton Centre - November 14
- Plymouth Pavilions - November 15
- Bournemouth International Centre - November 17
- Birmingham Utilita Arena - November 18
- Nottingham Motorpoint Arena - November 19
Tickets
If you want to see Kaiser Chiefs on tour then you’ll be able to get your hands on tickets soon. You can buy them from 9am on Friday, March 25.
You’ll be able to get tickets from Gigs and Tours as well as Ticketmaster. To find out the latest events news in our city you can visit our Best in Leeds homepage. There you will also find a guide to great things to do in Leeds.
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