Michelle Shiers on October 9th, 2014

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UK’s more-than-lad-rockers Kasabian whipped a crowd of fist-pumping devotees into a frenzy at the Wiltern on Wednesday night. Having recently headlined Glastonbury, the band’s U.S. shows might seem a bit smaller but their sound is just as huge and their fans just as energetic.

• ||| Photos by Michelle Shiers

They opened the night with “Bumblebee” from their new album “48:13” – named after its running time and released in June – and then pushed into older track “Shoot The Runner.” Singer Tom Meighan displayed a healthy dose of (often mocking) bravado, sporting a suit jacket and chavvy white Burberry sunglasses, but this is a band that certainly have a sense of humor about themselves. Singer-guitarist Serge Pizzorno looked like a Spinal Tap-eqsque glam rocker clad in tight trousers and a fox tail. He walked around the stage hanging his arms like a primate with a pair of maracas.

While Kasabian write perfect indie-rock festival anthems, they also know how to respect the power of dance. Meighan pranced around the stage sticking his tongue out, giving the finger, and with the occasional crotch grab he and the rest of the band seized their fans with a stomping hurrah. Their encore included a cover of Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” and patrons exited the Wiltern still chanting the closing track of 2004’s “L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)” like a pack of drunken English footballers on a great night out.

Kasabian were preceded by Japanese quartet Bo Ningen, who kept the audience in disbelief with their psychedelic acid rock filled with serious distortion and even more serious hair flips. Singer Taigen Kawabe went from thrashing around the stage to standing hunched and witch-like before a wide-eyed crowd. Bo Ningen finished with a exceptionally long outro of noise and showmanship that would have made most headliners jealous.