IF the Kaiser Chiefs know anything, it’s how to work a crowd, writes Nigel Powlson.

Frontman Ricky Wilson was determined that no-one at Derby Assembly Rooms was going to remain seated during the Leeds outfit’s concert last night. So he climbed into the balcony and did a tour of the upstairs of the Great Hall, grabbing a Leeds United scarf on his way. “I better not wear this in Derby,” he apologised, before continuing to sing from the balcony while the rest of the band performed on stage.

It was that kind of commitment to ensuring that the crowd had a good time that guaranteed the Kaiser Chiefs’ gig was one to remember.

The band’s spiky anthems from their first two albums such as the chart-topper Ruby and their breakthrough track I Predict a Riot were greeted with the most enthusiasm. Wilson acknowledged himself that tracks from the Kaiser Chiefs’ most recent release The Future is Medieval were a harder sell.

“You probably won’t know this one but you can still enjoy it,” he said.

And certainly new tracks like Starts With Nothing and Little Shocks are among the band’s best work, even if they lack the familiarity of their earlier hits.

Main support on the night came from Fixers, an Oxford band who are sonically interesting even if they lacked the right material to appeal to the Kaiser Chiefs’ crowd. Put them on a bill with The Guillemots and there intricacies would probably have found the right audience