It’s the day after England’s emotional, last-gasp defeat to Croatia in the World Cup semi-final and noted football fanatics Kasabian are bouncing back the best way they know how: by playing a huge festival headline slot at Madrid’s mammoth Mad Cool festival.
Backstage, frontman Tom Meighan is sipping a cup of pre-show Yogi Tea that may be helping his voice but is doing nothing to calm his hyperactive personality. He shrugs off last night’s result. “It is what it is, we were never going to win it,” he shrugs. Right now he’s more interested in a bright orange graffiti marker somebody’s left lying around. “I haven’t seen one of these in years!” he cries with glee, grabbing it and setting about tagging every sheet of paper he can find.
Bandmate Serge Pizzorno cuts a more laidback figure. He’s laughing to himself at the length of the seemingly endless guitar solo we can hear emanating from Pearl Jam, who are currently onstage. “He’s shredding out there, isn’t he?” he grins. “The rest of the band must be like…” and he mimes impatiently tapping his watch.
The Collected Works of Kevin EG Perry 