Almost 20 years ago I was introduced to The Kooks as they played their first Isle of Wight Festival in June 2006, hot off the heels of releasing debut album 'Inside In / Inside Out' in January of the same year.
I am eternally thankful to my friend, Sam, who assured me I would love them. She was right. Since then, their music has been a consistent soundtrack of my life. That first album was a CD among about ten discs in the glovebox as I set off on a road trip around Europe – and they haven't missed a beat since, with seven albums under their belt and each celebrating their unique, Kook-y, sound. So, the lure of a school-night show in Adelaide (4 March) in front of a crowd of fans. . . I was there. First up, support artist Briston Maroney was in full swing. With long hair, a twinkle in his eye and a psychedelic backdrop, Maroney was an exceptional choice.
'Real Good Swimmer' is an absolute cracker of a song, reminiscent of Beck's 'Loser', with swampy, distorted guitar under spoken lyrics and blurry synths; and after sharing his love of The Kooks, crediting them as formative to his musical career and inspiration, set closer ' 'Freakin' Out On The Interstate' cemented him as an artist I'll add to my regular playlist.
Briston Maroney - image © Ciara Henshaw
After a short wait, The Kooks arrived onstage with frontman Luke Pritchard greeting the crowd with enthusiasm, clearly elated to be there. Moments later they launched into a blissful trio of 'Sofa Song', 'Ooh La' and 'She Moves In Her Own Way', which had the crowd bouncing and singing along in full voice.
Declaring his love for Adelaide, and getting plenty of love right back, Pritchard delivered his trademark trills to perfection and had the crowd eating from the palm of his hand, dancing and prowling the stage.
Familiar tracks 'Westside' and 'Bad Habit' hit the spot, while new songs 'Sunny Baby' and 'Never Know' showed that decades haven't diminished the band's skills at penning catchy, poppy, rock songs.
The Kooks - image © Ciara Henshaw
Quiet moments of reflection were scattered throughout, with Pritchard taking to the keyboard for a solo performance of 'See Me Now', a poignant moment as he shared the ballad for his Dad, who died when he was three years old, had dropped from the set for many years as it was too painful, but made sense to bring back now he's a father.
Acoustic versions of 'Seaside' and 'Taking Pictures Of You', which he hoped even one person in the crowd would know (we all sang along), were beautifully delivered.
Guitarist Hugh Harris chimed in with falsetto harmonies on most tracks and was a solid presence throughout the show. The entire band took a chance to show off on 'Do You Wanna', which veered from a rock classic into an awesome jam. Watching them interact with one another shows they're a solid unit, with touring drummer Alexis Nunez, and bassist Jonathan Harvey trading smiles with Harris and Pritchard throughout.
The Kooks - image © Ciara Henshaw
'Matchbox' and 'Junk Of The Heart (Happy)' wrapped up the main set in fine form, but we all knew there was something left and the cheering, whistling and whooping didn't stop until the band returned to the stage.
Two last songs, 'See The World' and 'Naïve' (with the crowd taking a chunk of the vocal duties on the latter), wrapped up a perfect night of music that reinforced The Kooks as one of my favourite bands, and as the four musicians took a bow it was clear I wasn't alone.
More photos from the concert.
