Chiefs go down a storm

Whether the Kaiser Chiefs planned their latest tour around their struggling football team or not is open to debate, but what's very certain is their ability to send fans into a frenzy.Infectious and at times anthemic indie rock was brought to life in an energetic performance by the fivepiece from Leeds, for the first of two soldout gigs in Wolverhampton last night.

Their second concert is tomorrow, perhaps giving them time to see their beloved Leeds United play Wolves at Molineux today. There was pre-match banter with a brief chorus of "We are the Wolves" from the floor midway through the set, which raised a smile with the band.

A Leeds fan in the balcony, wearing his team's kit, threw bass player James Rix an England flag with Leeds's emblem in the middle, which he spread out over an amp for the rest of the set.

The Chiefs are in a transitional phase which meant less of the familiar songs than many would have liked, but they did not disappoint. Frontman Ricky Wilson was energetic and entertaining and it is great to see bands who genuinely enjoy the stage.

They played more songs than many bands would risk to plug new album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob which is out on Monday. Despite being unfamiliar the new tunes were catchy and well received by fans - although We are the Mob wasn't as raucous and angry as the title suggested or deserved.

I Predict a Riot was particularly explosive and sent fans leaping for joy halfway through the set but they saved the best for last with a superb encore, with their debut single Oh My God, including lots of extra choruses, to send everybody home happy. Some fans spent hours getting to the concert from Milton Keynes, Coventry, Kenilworth, Stoke and Birmingham, as well as from within the city and surrounding areas.

Ian Cattell, 40, of Walsall, bought tickets from a tout outside the door for himself and his two sons James, 14, and Jack, 10. They said it was cool to have a dad that loved decent music.

Fans queued for up to 12 hours through a wet and windy night to snap up tickets on January 9. Within an hour all 3,000 tickets for the group's first gig had virtually sold out, with all £23.50 tickets for the second concert on February 25 claimed half an hour later.

However, so many touts turned up yesterday they had to sell tickets for face value. The band played nearby 120-capacity Little Civic in 2004

By Andy Rea