Simon Rix promises 'good night out' at Kaiser Chiefs' maiden Abu Dhabi concert

Kaiser Chiefs may have rocked the Dubai crowd before, but this time their performance will take place in a new territory. The popular English indie rock band will be one of the headliners at Abu Dhabi's award-winning three-day music festival Club Social starting October 28.

The Day 1 performance will see Kaiser Chiefs - comprising lead vocalist Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick Baines, and drummer Vijay Mistry - make their Abu Dhabi debut with a live set filled with their best-selling anthems, I Predict A Riot, Everyday I Love You Less And Less, Ruby and many more including hits from their latest album Duck.

"We've never been to Abu Dhabi before," bassist Simon tells City Times in a Zoom interview ahead of the concert. "So, maybe, people have not seen us."

"And that's good. It is always nice to go to new places where you can make new friends. They (visitors) can expect high energy, lots of songs that hopefully people will know, and even if people don't know the songs, there's going to be songs that people can sing and dance along to, and have a very good night out."

Kaiser Chiefs have performed twice in Dubai, and the crowd, as Simon says, was really good and made them want to come back.

Citing their recent performances at a festival in Belgium and a club in Belfast, Simon said that the band wants for every single person who is part of their show to have the best possible night out. "That is our challenge, and that is what we all try and provide," he said.

The best part about live performances for Simon depends on two things. When there's a new album, Simon always enjoys playing the new songs and seeing people's reactions to those songs. "It's always a good thrill," he says, adding that the "highlights" of general gigs are always the people.

"People always ask if I ever get bored of playing Ruby, I Predict A Riot, or songs like those and I say I never do because I think that everyone's reaction is always slightly different," Simon said. "And, also to see everybody enjoying themselves to songs we wrote in a room in Leeds quite a long time ago, some of them more recently, and to see them spread is the big part and enjoyment of being in a band."

Before taking to the stage, though, everyone's busy doing their own thing, says Simon, but usually an hour before the gig, the core group gets together, rid themselves of their girlfriends, kids, or the manager, and put on some music. "So it is just us and we sort of have a little mini school discount with five boys and no girls," Simon said. "We just focus and get in the right mood and frame of mind for the gig."

"It is more like forgetting everything else that is going on in your life at that particular moment and making the gig the most important thing."

Kaiser Chiefs, originally formed as Parva in 2000, got their current name in 2003, the same year when they released their first studio album 22.

Simon, one of the founding members of the band, was 26 when the group's debut album Employment (2005) was released. Prior to that, Simon had eight years of "trying to be in bands" and "trying to be successful."

But what came after, from 2004 to 2009, were five "crazy" years. "I can't remember loads of the stuff we did," Simon said. "Because it was like everyday we were flying somewhere, getting an award, doing a gig, going to a party, doing a gig, writing an album, recording an album, doing a gig, it was like constant."

Although that was good, "I think we didn't have the time to appreciate it," added Simon.

Now, in the last 10-12 years, the group has been touring and releasing albums in a rather relaxed manner. "It is a little bit slower paced, more relaxed. We get to go and see a bit of the cities, look around and have a cup of coffee, or go to the beach," he said.

Talking about how they functioned when they started out, Simon said, "This has to be successful, or the band is over. We always had that feeling like we were pushing so hard because we were so keen for the band to be successful."

Looking back, Simon would only ask his younger self to be more grateful, enthusiastic, and make the most out of it. "Things that you think are bad or terrible, are probably not that bad," he said. "Anyway, you must have forgotten about them now."

During the pandemic, everybody in the band did their own thing. "It was quite good," Simon said. "But nothing worldwide, just little businesses with our brands. So that was a really nice break."

Simon feels they needed that reset for Kaiser Chiefs. "Although that was like a terrible kind of time, I think the timing for Kaiser Chiefs was pretty good because we needed a bit of a reset."

And now that they have had the reset, all their gigs could now mean the beginning of their new cycle. "We've written some songs and we need to keep writing some more songs," Simon said. "We've got a couple of singles, and we need more. I think the present doesn't need albums, it just needs more singles or song tracks."

There's new music coming soon from the Kaiser Chiefs, Simon says, which will probably be out next year. "We have written some songs which we need to make sure they can be as good for an album," he said. "Hopefully that will be out next year, and we can get on with enjoying and appreciating the success."

• UAE