It has been nine years since their first record
“Inside In/Inside out” was published. Now, after quadruple
platinum status in the UK, The Kooks are
back in Germany to introduce us to their new album “Listen”. In
June 2014 The Kooks came over to Germany for three concerts
which were sold out within seconds.
Now – on their European Tour - The Kooks returned to play at Munich’s Tonhalle. The concert was again sold out and about 2000 people packed the hall. British lads The Amazons supported The Kooks and nailed it with rocking uncensored sounds, really heating up the audience.
Gig review by Judith Müller
Now – on their European Tour - The Kooks returned to play at Munich’s Tonhalle. The concert was again sold out and about 2000 people packed the hall. British lads The Amazons supported The Kooks and nailed it with rocking uncensored sounds, really heating up the audience.
The Kooks started their gig with “Around town”, the opening track from their latest album. It took just seconds to get the
crowd into those new catchy soul-beats. You could not only hear but also see the change from an indie-rock band to a more R&B and
dance-sound band. Still, the four Brits carried an infectious
energy with their new material. You couldn’t help but dance your
ass off with the new tracks from the record forming the heart of their
show and delighting the audience.
Some of the changes can be attributed to the new
drummer Alexis Nunez from the “Golden Silvers”, who adds some
edgy drums and rhythm. But The Kooks owe most of their new
R&B-sound on the record to their hip-hop producer Inflo.
Jumping between new and old songs, the band was
supported by a beautiful light show superimposing their shadows
or running foxes. I'm not sure why a fox was chosen. Possibly because
a fox stands for ingenuity and wisdom? Or because of his superiority
to the wolf and his remarkable growth process? In any event, the colourful
lightshow suited their mixed set-list. From the track „Down“,
with Luke Pritchard displaying his talent for heavy guitar-riffs, to
„She moves in her own way“ where Pritchard dance-moves infected
the whole audience - the show had it all. The band found a perfect
mix of new and old tracks, promoting their new sound and their
growth, but also celebrating their old hits. Not even their funny
song “Eddie's gun” was missing - a fun song, in which a young Luke deals with his
erection problems. They also insisted on playing a brilliant acoustic
version of their new track ”Dreams”.
With the pronouncement “We’re going funky now”,
Pritchard rung in “Tick of time”, “Westside” and “Always
where I need to be” to finish the main set.
After a minute's pause Luke sat down at the piano and
played a beautifully calm version of “See me now”. The band closed
their concert with “Happy” and the all time favourite “Naïve”, leaving a happy, wired and dancing crowd behind. The Kooks managed to
carry us back into teenage-times but also showed what they have
learned and how they have grown over the years.
All in all it was another great show and the four
lads proved themselves as lifeblood musicians. After ten years The
Kooks are still a band that can blow you away! Undergoing various changes, the band’s success is well deserved. There is a reason
why their shows are always sold out. And they demonstrate this time
and time again.