British rock is in good hands with the likes of Kasabian and The Vaccines blowing away the fans, as witnessed in Singapore.

FOR just one night, the usually peaceful island republic of Singapore found itself under the sonic siege of a British invasion by Kasabian and The Vaccines, two of the best from the contemporary British rock scene. Explosive bass lines and wailing guitars were the order of the night at Fort Canning Park on Feb 8 as the two bands made the trip to the region, right off the Australian Big Day Out festival circuit.

Despite the concert surge – filled by teen pop acts and fading 1990s stars – in Malaysia, there is still a lack of edgy and cool rock-based acts to head to our shores. On the balance, fans still needed to travel to Singapore to catch the rock acts that mattered.

The Vaccines’ frontman Justin Young taking up guitar duties on one of the band’s delightfully juvenile Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra).

Opening the night at Fort Canning were The Vaccines, and considering the amount of buzz its debut What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? raised, the audience was expecting a hell of a lot from the quartet, formed in London in 2010.

Frontman Justin Young must have figured the best way to stun the crowd was to just jump into action, launching the opening salvo with Blow It Up.

Having some of the most enjoyably juvenile tunes since The Fratellis, the band also showed range with some slower ones like the utterly satisfying Post Break-Up Sex and the band’s breakout song If You Wanna. The songs were so catchy, even drummer Pete Robertson was mouthing out every lyric.

Young may have taken the hymnal vibe a bit too far with Wetsuit. While a damn fine song, sandwiched between A Lack of Understanding and Under Your Thumb, some late-comers must have been worried that they wandered into a Switchfoot concert.

Proving it hasn’t lost its sense of humour, new songs Tigerblood and No Hope hinted at an upbeat and more pop-influenced sophomore album in the works.

Perhaps since it was there as the opening band, The Vaccines’ set felt more than a little rushed, with Young only shouting the occasional obligatory “thanks for having us” before blasting into the next song.

Between the short playing times of their songs and the fact it only had the one album out, the London boys were in and out in just under 40 minutes.

“Are you looking forward to Kasabian?” asked Young, and hearing a huge cheer from the frenzied crowd, comically sighed: “Well, that’s a relief!”

By the time the headliners hit the stage, Fort Canning Park’s grounds were filled to the brim, housing some 6,000 screaming fans. The fort is turning into a real concert ground, hosting the Scissor Sisters in January and the Laneway Festival for its second year in Singapore, last Saturday.

Drill sergeant: Kasabian’s frontman Tom Meighan demanded the audience jump higher and dance harder. –Aloysius Lim/LAMC Productions

Strutting onto stage with sunglasses, neatly coiffed hair and a very snug pair of red khakis, Kasabian lead singer Tom Meighan looked like a bad Morrissey impression, contrasting sharply with shaggy guitarist Sergio Pizzorno in his black sleeveless shirt and matching raggedy pants.

The four childhood friends from Leicester in England set up Kasabian in 1997, its name a reference to a member of Charles Manson’s murderous gang, releasing a first studio album in 2004.

The opening songs of the band’s set in Singapore, Days Are Forgotten, Shoot The Runner, Velociraptor! and Underdog were pulled straight from its Big Day Out setlist. Long time fans were treated to some of the band’s older material, including its first ever hit Club Foot, the second album’s title track Empire and a healthy dose of West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’s most psychedelic tunes. Influences from its latest album Velociraptor!’s anthemic rock style had creeped into the older songs, perfect for the outdoor venue.

“You know the drill, I wanna see everybody jumping. Nobody better be standing still,” ordered Meighan.

One of the night’s highlights was the less often played La Fée Verte.

Literally, meaning “the green fairy”, the stage followed suit, flooded by green lights. Pizzorno, armed with an acoustic guitar, took lead vocals while Meighan stepped back and played tambourine. Borrowing heavily from the Beatles, the languid song had the audience swaying and “na-na-na-ing” along, a nice break from the more intense tracks.

“This next songs goes out to the Vaccines, I (expletive) love you guys. It’s called Fast Fuse,” hollered Meighan, kick starting the show’s energy again, after a swig of La Fée Verte. After just 14 songs, the band stormed off stage to howls of “we want more!”

The dark stage lit up again, like the smiles on their fans’ faces as Kasabian encored with Switchblade Smiles and a scorching double whammy from West Ryder: Vlad The Impaler and Fire.

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