The Kooks @ The Guildhall, Southampton
27/01/2016
We first met The Kooks in 2006 after a string of bands caught the twangy guitar and floppy hair wave. Since then they have treated us to lots of great indie hits that can fill concert halls as well as dance-floors. Ten years and four albums later, the Brighton-based four-piece arrived in Southampton for the last show of their tour.
The set-list starts strongly, with the band dipping into Inside In, Inside Out to start the show. 'Seaside' begins the night, and naturally, the crowd are at their loudest. Another rarity from the same album follows up, the somewhat heavier 'See The World' is where we are introduced to guitarist Hugh Harris. Who, in my opinion is one seriously underrated guitarists from that early 00s era of indie music. His playing can range from aggressive chords, to intricate melodies adding great depth to The Kooks' sound. Those aggressive chords continued throughout the opening to the set, 'Always Where I Need To Be' erupted out of the speakers and despite a few vocal wobbles from Luke Pritchard, it was a strong opening few songs.
Photo credit - @touristfuture (on twitter)
It was as The Kooks arrived at the point in the show where they would play songs from the new album that doubt entered my mind and that of the audiences. That doubt about whether or not the group are relevant any more. There just wasn't a strong reaction to any of the songs like 'Down' and 'Bad Habit' which left the room feeling flat and lifeless. Even Harris's guitar playing couldn't save them. This might have been because he was put behind a synth for many of these songs. And when Pritchard went all Chris Martin on the audience and sat behind a piano, this seemed to be the final straw. The saving grace from 2014's Listen was 'Forgive And Forget'. The songs incredibly danceable beat woke the Guildhall up again. Musically, it's like a sped up Roxanne, the guitars are twangy and strummed in a slightly jaded way, but put that with the dace-style drums and you get a decent pop song.
'Shine On' was a strange choice to begin the encore. It's a tad lacklustre in its delivery and at this point it's clear that Pritchard's yelps throughout the set had caught up with him. His voice can at times divide opinion. On the record it can be unique and distinctive, but live it sounded soft. 'Junk Of The Heart' from the bands forgotten third album with the same name revived the crowd for one last time as the song that many people had been waiting for followed. 'Naive's instantly recognisable intro turned the Guildhall from an OAP's disco to a heaving indie-club. Overall, The Kooks have failed to hit the heights of their first album, and this shows not only on their albums, but also when they play. I cannot fault them as musicians, and the early stuff sounds just as fresh as it did in 2006, but Pritchard's vocal performance and the crowd's reaction to songs from Listen signals that The Kooks may be nearing the end.
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