Kaiser Chiefs – Terminal 5 – March 8, 2012

Long-time English rockers the Kaiser Chiefs brought their high-energy act to Terminal 5 last night, and put on a blistering show while constantly stoking the fans. Using a few tricks he had up his sleeve, lead singer Ricky Wilson made a great effort to keep everyone in the crowd involved in the show. Whether it was standard but playful crowd banter early on (“New York City, have you got your voices on tonight?”), leaning out over the barricade into the first few rows of fans, teaching them various “whoa-oh’s” and “na na’s” before songs like the very literally titled “Na Na Na Na Naa,” Wilson was keen on constantly stoking the audience.

That agitation gave the band big returns: Throughout the show those in the crowd stayed excited, as they chucked beers, hats and shirts toward the stage during “I Predict a Riot.” As if rewarding them for their frenetic involvement, Wilson disappeared briefly at the end of “Kinda Girl You Are” and reappeared on the second floor as his band started “Take My Temperature,” which he then sang as he lapped the venue, poking his head out over the crowd here and there when he wasn’t bobbing and weaving through the unsuspecting fans.

The great give-and-take with the concertgoers shined one more time near the end of the set during one of the band’s biggest songs, “Oh My God.” More beers were thrown as the fans spread out a bit to dance, and even opened a modest pit while Wilson smacked the microphone against his chest between lyrics. —Sean O’Kane