With Kaiser Chiefs promoting a comeback album titled The Future Is Medieval, holding two enormous outdoor gigs at a 12th-century ruined Cistercian monastery in their hometown felt like a conceptual masterstroke. But perhaps there are a few more unlikely parallels between the ancient, crumbling edifice and Leeds's perennial Britpoppers.
Where Kirkstall Abbey faced a serious assault by Henry VIII's troops during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Chiefs' grip on the public's consciousness has slipped since their million-selling 2005 heyday, assailed by processed pop's chart domination, and the fact that indie-type guitar bands are currently about as fashionable as the plague.
Band and venue are still standing, the Abbey aided by some discreet renovation and the Kaisers with a new, darker sound that nods to David Bowie and XTC. It made its appearance three songs in with Little Shocks, a creepy electro groove that surely deserved better than to limp to No 179 in the charts. And yet, few of their rivals could draw 20,000 people over two nights, a remarkable feat considering they once (as their old band, Runston Parva) played to four people in a pub over the road. It took a determined reinvention (and some of the catchiest British pop singles of the noughties) to make their name, and singer Ricky Wilson isn't going to let it go without a fight. He was everywhere: running from side to side, encouraging hands towards the air and even comically addressing the venue: "Abbey, you beautiful girl."
The picturesque but spooky setting suited other new songs such as Man on Mars (which explicitly recognised the Bowie influence with a tiny steal from Space Oddity), and the more contemplative Child of the Jago and Starts With Nothing, which suggest the Chiefs are maturing, whether or not their crowd are willing to move on with them.
Most had come for the hits from the days when Kaiser Chiefs singles were as familiar as football chants, but it's hard to tire of I Predict a Riot, which – like 2006's tabloid-attacking The Angry Mob – has gained a certain prescience in light of recent events. To his credit, Wilson didn't point this out, just concentrated on orchestrating the hand waving, which – during the likes of Ruby, Modern Way and Na Na Na Na Naa – looked as beautiful as the ballet.
By the time the crowd roared along with debut single Oh My God, Leeds United flags flying, it felt like an easy home victory, but a victory, nonetheless.
