A whopping 13 years since last showing their faces in Perth, Leeds’ very own Kaiser Chiefs grace us with a visit to RAC Arena to celebrate 20 years of their debut album, Employment. A dilapidated building with a beaming red employment sign looms over the stage, illuminating a variety of rock instruments.

Everyone’s dad is here tonight, reliving their younger years. A sea of Leads United shirts fills in; there’s definitely a core demographic here tonight. British comedy icon and friend of the band Leigh Francis (Keith Lemon) dressed as the professor from Jurassic Park beams onto the stage, giving an introduction to the “formidable Kaiser Chief species.”

Out walk the 5 members of Kaiser Chiefs, dressed like a group of ruffians, all heading to different functions. They give a polite, courteous bow before launching into the song that launched their career, which also happens to be track one on Employment, I Predict A Riot. And boy, were they right about the riot.

Frontman Ricky Wilson jettisons off the speaker and flails the mic about like it mugged him off on the street as they scream-sing and thrash about with their guitars and drums. Twenty years into their career, and they’ve still got the moves. Modern Way is up next, which ups the ante as Wilson catapults his mic stand into the air and air kicks around the stage like he’s found a spider. 

The band sounds better than ever on track five, You Can Have It All, as guitar and drums clash in tectonic quakes of metal and electric against a rich Leeds accent. Incredibly, the song feels so much fuller here, where time has aged them like a fine whiskey. The sound is crystal clear and grand, with a whole career’s worth of practice showing they can play these songs in their sleep. 

“We’re playing if you hadn’t noticed, the album in order,” he quips, “We usually play this next song last, but now we’re playing it… sixth.” It’s Oh My God, every early 2000s child’s anthem as the sea of punters bob and scream along to the chorus of “Oh my god, I can’t believe it, I’ve never been this far away from home.” The band probably haven’t, to be fair to them.

The lads move about the stage like the true rockstars they are. Saturday Night is rugged and gritty, with proper Yorkshire chants carried over an incredibly heavy guitar riff that would be the perfect soundtrack for a Saturday night out in Manchester. What Did I Ever Give You is a real jaunty shanty that comes off effortlessly. Time Honoured Tradition sounds like a glistening mirror ball in an underground bar as Wilson croons against dramatic search lights and rapid seizure flickering and beaming around the sectioned half of the Arena.

There are a lot of deep cuts on Employment that have their moment to shine here with a lot more polish. During this show, Kaiser Chiefs prove exactly why this album has stood the test of time, and why two decades into their career, they have a staying power that has resonated with a large audience. 

Things take a bit of a slug on the back end of the album, where there’s only so many ways you can try to induce a seizure and croon over a ballad. The crowd feels it, too, as the slow mood turns to yawns and fights with security, who round up a riot of drunkards.

As if knowing this, the fresh PlayStation 1-style geometric graphics of the lads in a Jurassic Park truck being chased by a bug-eyed dinosaur beam on the screen on the album closer, Team Mate. The videogame ends with a picturesque pixel view of a tropical beach, as the band gets eaten, drums smash, and guitars shred into tatters, rising and rising to an explosive climax to the album.

Not missing a chance to give the crowd more than they bargained for, the band throws in fan favourites to top off the evening. A cover of the rock and roll rager Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones gets the encore into gear. “I’m gonna do that thing now, that singer thing,” Wilson says, starting an incredibly long call and receiving “ayyyye oh” crowd chant, leading into the flashy shaker spectacle that is Never Miss A Beat.

The indie pop groove of Hole In My Soul is an incredible inclusion that really sees the band try something new and euphoric, highlighting just how proficient they are in their craft. It’s swirling, bubbly guitars and violins that see the singer turned stuntman stand atop an upturned speaker to try to reach the heavens on that final glorious note of the last chorus. 

The ever-popular Ruby off the gang’s second LP, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, gets everyone up and out of their seats. There’s not a single silent member of the audience as hands go up and a wave forms below in GA. Ricky Wilson chucks the tambourine he’s been fiddling with all night into the crowd.

There’s a carefree sense of professionalism to the show, where the band's longstanding relationship and years of touring make every action feel seamless and casual in a way that only years in the limelight can. Things end with a sucker punch to the face of The Angry Mob, capping off the night with a proper British rock fry-up. It’s electrifying classic pub rock brought to an arena setting. Here’s to the 30th anniversary tour of Employment and the future of rock ‘n’ roll.