The Kaiser Chiefs packed out a sweaty Palace Theatre for their Splendour In The Grass sideshow, and just as they do every time they step onto a stage, they proved why they are regarded as one the most energetic and fun acts going about today.

Stonefield opened up the night with a blistering performance that caught many punters by surprise. The young sister quartet treated the ever-filing venue with their brand of chick-rock, combining the best sounds of The Runaways and Led Zeppelin. Showing technical skills beyond their years, with some face-melting guitar work, and the impressive vocal/drummer combination of Amy Findlay, the foursome blasted through their own stellar material as well a fantastic cover of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. This is certainly a band you want to keep an eye out for. Despite the members aging from 12-20, they have already played a slot at Glastonbury this year and did not look out of their depth in the large vicinity of The Palace.

You couldn’t help feel sorry for Papa Vs Pretty. Given the privilege of second warm up before the main act, they were outshone by Stonefield, and were soon to be followed by the unbeatable headliners. The Melbourne trio put in a decent shift, and were high in energy, but their music appeared to lack a certain accessibility that the surrounding acts possessed, with the crowd barely managing to feign interest for most of the set. To the crowd I would definitely recommend catching them in a different context!

There was no need to pretend though when the Kaiser Chiefs took to the stage, surrounded by an array of strobes and electronic beats. Wasting no time, the lads from Leeds kicked into an opening trio of "Everyday I Love You Less And Less", "Little Shocks", and "Never Miss A Beat", creating a frenzy amongst the crowd. A few people started crowd surfing from the get-go, while the mosh stirred and swirled underneath them. They were given a chance to catch their breath as the slower, cow-bell driven "Modern Way" followed, but it was short-lived as "Everything Is Average Nowadays" revved the crowd back up to full speed, causing Ricky Wilson to collapse in victorious fashion upon its finish.

It was probably a rest he deserved, as the commanding frontman hadn’t stopped pogo-ing about and egging on the crowd since the start. Fittingly though, as he lay on the floor, the band dove into "A Long Way From Celebrating", from their new album The Future Is Medieval, as Wilson sang on the floor. But, he got up in no time, chanting the new track like it was any one of their many would-be football anthems. Drummer Nick Hodgson had his turn for lead vocals during the electronic-woven "Man On Mars", which, though not drawing the floor-busting response of their more popular tracks, still went down well with the rowdy crowd.

The light bouncing that embodied the reaction of "Man On Mars" was shattered, as Andrew White strummed the opening chords of "Ruby". Hands were thrown into the air, as every voice in the Palace shouted the ba-da-ba’s and the Ruby-Ruby-Ruby-Ruby’s back at the band tenfold. A similar feat of audience participation was achieved next up in "The Angry Mob", with everyone eerily chanting the final lines. You could certainly feel a tension in the venue, as though this mob could erupt at any moment. And they finally did - as predicted before, a riot broke.

"I Predict A Riot" pushed the crowd to its climax, as Wilson leaned into the crowd to shake hands with his sweaty subjects. Bodies flew everywhere. Everyone seemed up for crowd surfing, the security stood powerless while limbs rolled across the top of the throbbing crowd. The action continued into fan favourite "Take My Temperature", as the band took a brief pause mid song to say happy birthday to a roadie. They presented him with a birthday cake, and got the crowd to sing along. Wilson dropped his mic to the floor and walked away like his business was done, before racing back and yelling “and I can tell by your tans you’re fucking healthy” getting the crowd sloshing back into the song, as he then parted the crowd, like a biblical sea, and was piggy-backed by an enthusiastic fan back and forth, while the rest of the band played during his antics. A fine close to the main set.

The wait between the encore was a bit strange to say the least, the cheers were as loud as any on the night, but they died instantly, there was no chanting for a return, not because they didn’t want one, but because everyone knew: they couldn’t and wouldn’t leave them lingering for a few more adrenalin snatching anthems. The band promptly returned, and cracked into the solemn "Child of The Jago", which while not so energetic, had the crowd crooning, “the future is medieval”. In a fitting finale, the Chiefs put in the highlight of the show, peaking the reception of any of their other much loved tracks. The jangling keys of Peanut lead into "Oh My God", forcing the crowd to bounce like people in a wave pool, the upper levels of the Palace shook, while everyone is unison chanted “oh my god I cant believe, I’ve never been this far away from home” until they could chant no more.

The band left the stage triumphant, assuring the crowd they’d never forget Melbourne’s name ever. The crowd left enthralled, sweaty, and smitten by one of the most energetic live acts of the planet.