BRIT Awards week started off with a Rock ‘n’ Roll bang in the intimate 02 Shepherds Bush Empire with a double gig from Blossoms and Kasabian. The night was in support of War Child, an organisation whose humanitarian efforts are recognised worldwide.

First up are Blossoms, a band more than capable of headlining the night themselves. The Stockport outfit, dressed head to toe in glam 70s attire, wasted no time in delivering a dazzling support set of indie-pop, glam-rock anthems. The set relied heavily on their hits including Your Girlfriend, I Can’t Stand it, Honey Sweet and Charlemagne, all delivered with astonishing vocals from animated front man Tom Ogden.

The band briefly exit the stage, only to return with a fully choreographed marching band arrangement for Nightclub showing their quirky and fun nature. Gary concluded the vibrant set, a song about a giant gorilla statue being stolen from a Stockport garden centre.

The support set was the perfect stomach liner for what’s to come next, as Hey Jude rings out around the theatre to test the crowd’s vocals before the headline act.

Sergio sprints straight to centre stage to deliver a blistering rendition of Call, an ravey pop singalong single from their most recent album Happenings.

The band are lined up at the back of the stage, leaving the entire front stage area for Serge to utilize as a dance floor.

Sergio smashed through an onslaught of crowd movers including Club Foot, Underdog and Shoot the Runner causing the crowd to descend into one unified whirlpool. Denying the audience a breather, a warning is delivered to the already frenzied crowd in the form of the poem Do not go gentle into that good night, spoken by Michael Caine.

The moshpit further intensifies for Kasabian’s no.1 single from 2006 Empire. Mighty Boosh and Bake Off star Noel Fielding briefly made an appearance for the electro-rock stomper Vlad the Impaler followed by a deep cut from the bands’ debut album Reason is Treason.

Sergio then glided effortlessly into the acoustic ballad Goodbye Kiss which shook off any doubt that he could carry the stripped back songs without ex-frontman Tom Meighan.

The band concluded the night with their hit single Fire. The chants continue as the intimate theatre is emptied and can be heard ringing out all around Shepherds Bush.

Sergio belts out a closing chorus of “I’m on Fire”, which he very much was. Kasabian proved that they could translate their big, bombastic style to a small intimate setting seamlessly.

Review and all photos by Sarah Stanley

THE SONGBIRD HQ