The Kooks

The Kooks are fronted by Luke Pritchard and hail from East Sussex. I found it very surprising they were playing a venue as small as Toads Place. This is a group that's headlined festivals in Europe. For some reason, their sound hasn't translated to similar popularity in the US. Never the less though, they still know how to out on a great show.

The Kooks are on a summer tour in support of their 4th album, entitled Listen. I was late to discovering this album, but it is excellent. The group performed 9 tunes from Listen on the evening, which I was very pleased about. This included opener 'Around Town' to start the show. This got the crowd going from the beginning.

Pritchard really got the crowd into it by playing three of their biggest hits consecutively in the middle of the set. 'Always Where I Need to Be,' 'She Moves in Her Own Way,' and 'Junk of the Heart' all seemed to rattle the old building with some great audience participation.

I believe the best song in the Kooks catalogue is the lead single of Listen - 'Bad Habit.' The audience and backing band members belted out the driving background rhythm, while Pritchard danced and smoothly sang the verses. This is just one example of how dance friendly the album is. No one in the crowd could seem to stand still.

The final song of the night was 'Naive,' giving way to a long ovation for an encore, which I believe turned out to be the best part of the night. Luke first sat at the piano to play of slower tune in 'See Me Now.' This is a very raw number, written and sung by Pritchard to his father. After this emotional ballad, the Kooks turned it up one more time for 'Forgive and Forget' to finish. It was an appropriate closer to a great show!

One of the most surprising and probably best shows of the summer here. Just add the Kooks to the already lengthy list of great bands coming over from England. I'll definitely be on the lookout for them again.

Concert Rating: 3.5 Stars

The Kooks. Despite the name, they are anything but kooky. A tried and true band, the Kooks don't need me to tell you they are a good band, but screw that I'll tell you anyway. The Kooks are an awesome-to-the-max band. And with their new upcoming album "Listen", things looks surely to continue at a rampant and amazing pace. With magnificently entertaining songs like "See the World", "Shine On", "Rosie", and "Always Where I Need To Be", the Kooks are an ultimate delight to see live. Deeply satisfying each time a chord is played, and always intriguing when switching from electric to acoustic during songs, you can always feel the 'live' part of the live concert. So yeah, you should really think about seeing them live. Seriously, you should.
But of course, the best selling point of the band is it's frontman and lead singer, Luke Pritchard. A real entertaining character, Pritchard is a natural performer, knowing exactly how to please and sell a crowd. With spectacular dance moves and an intriguing stage persona, Pritchard alone was a delight to watch. And this in a way definitely made everything more awesome. These guys are really a band you will want to rock to, even if you listen to them or not. They have that classic rock feel and vibe, with a modern rock sound. Which turns out to be a stellar combination. The Kooks can be described in many ways, but that will never change the fact their music is among the best. Rock on, Kooks, you deserve it.

Alternating between high energy songs with catchy beats to acoustic sing-alongs is the combination that makes The Kooks so enjoyable no matter if it's a small venue or a huge festival. The Kooks will keep you hooping and swaying with every song change. You'll get excited when Luke grabs his acoustic guitar or when he ditches it all for the mic. No matter what, every time you hear his voice screech you'll want to jump up and touch him. Lead singer Luke Pritchard's voice is what ties all three albums together as The Kooks search for the right mixture of soul, hip-hop and rock. And with new singes like "Down", "Around Town" and "Bad Habit". You can hear the evolution from their first album, raw and Acousticy, to the more Beat and soul driven songs of the new upcoming album. These changes are why fans are excited about their upcoming album. I found The Kooks not from their hit song "Naive" like most people did in 2006 but from there great covers of "Gnarls Barkley - Crazy" and even through all the different changes the band has made throughout the years I think that Luke creative ability has made leaps and bounds since the first album and that is why I keep coming back for more.

I had never even heard of The Kooks before I saw them. I saw them sort of by accident. I was at Glastonbury 2007.

The only band I was excited about when the lineup was released was Arctic Monkeys. I did see them, they were great. But this band, the Kooks, they were something else. I was just walking near the Pyramid Stage and the sound of their set drew me in. It was both exuberant and laid back, which is exactly what I was looking for. I danced around and jammed out to all of their tunes and they were so adorable.

There is just something so sweet about a guy singing his heart out with a cardigan and an acoustic guitar. I didn't know any of their songs, so I didn't know which were the hits but my favorite bit was just as the sun was starting to set. They played this song called Oil. The people around me were big fans and were happy to tell me the name of the song after it was over. By the end of the set, they were my new festival friends. We linked arms and swayed along and they told me everything about the Kooks.

I have seen them 4 times since then and every time has been great but nothing has beaten the first time.

There was a great build up and opening for this gig as a huge curtain covered the stage and ‎the band appeared behind it, their silhouettes playing their instruments before the curtain ‎dropped and they opened up Eddie’s Gun. ‎

The Kooks didn’t let their following down and played all their old hits and the atmosphere ‎was electric all night, I felt they really grew into the show and got better as it went on.‎

The encore of “Around Town”, “Shine On” and of course “Naïve” was sensational as the ‎crowd’s anticipation was met. I sometimes think some of the bands such as The Kooks from ‎that era become victims of the success of their debut albums and their new music doesn’t get ‎the credit it deserves especially given the talent and exposure of new music and new bands ‎around.‎

Take a listen to new songs “Be Who You Are” and the brilliant “Broken Vow” (my personal ‎highlight of the gig) and with new tunes and live performances like this they could get back ‎into the indie elite. ‎

The Kooks concert was AMAZING! I've been a fan of them for about 4 years, but it was the first time I've seen them play live. The concert was a perfect mix of their old and new songs and the crowd was insane. Everybody was dancing and screaming the lyrics. It was great to be surrounded by such hardcore, enthusiastic fans, it really made the night rememberable. Their live performance was awesome. No massive fireworks or anything, just an excellent example of their amazing musical talent. Their music is best described as indie rock, and similarities have been made to Arctic Monkeys and The Killers. If interested, I would recommend their songs; Seaside, Taking Pictures Of You, She Moves In Her Own Way or Eskimo Kiss. The Kooks concert was an amazing night, probably the best concert I've ever been to, and I definatly recommend it to everyone and anyone!! The music is awesome, even better live, insane fans, and it doesn't hurt that the lead singer, Luke Pritchard, is pretty hot.

I'm a fan of The Kooks since 2008~2009, when I first heard them I felt so good, and it has been like this since then. I'm from Brazil and they have played there twice, but I it was not possible for me to go to either of the concerts.

Now I'm currently living in Norway and when Songkick notified me about the concert I felt so so happy, for the first time I would be able to see one of my favourite bands (if not THE favourite one)!

And they didn't let me down, it was amazing, it was wonder! Seeing them so close, singing all the songs that have been making part of my life for around 6 years! It couldn't be better! Awesome concert, from an awesome band and amazing guys! I'm proud being your fan ;)

It was way better than I expected!

I was a big fan of The Kooks for their first three albums. To be honest I do not enjoy their latest album so much. So I went there without a big expectation. Turns out they were incredible.

They are such a great performance everybody was having a really great time. The old songs really bring back memories of me playing their songs with my guitar in my room, brought me goosebumps!

I'm sure someday I'll look back to the day I watched The Kooks and smile.

PS. If you're wondering to watch their show or not, just watch it! Well worth it.

I've been wanting to see The Kooks live since 2008. So, I did not even think it was possible for the show to be as amazing as I had built it up in my mind to be. But,it was. It was easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to and I have been to a lot of concerts.

Go see the Kooks play live! if possible try to see them at a smaller venue. They play their new songs and they play songs from all of their old CDs. They ask for a requests and then they play whatever the crowd is wanting them to play. It was an incredible concert.

The Kooks absolutely blew me away last night. They have been my favorite band for years now and seeing them in person was a very moving and memorable experience for me.
With an excellent set list, The Kooks had the audience all mesmerized by their performance and singing along to every beautiful lyric. The songs chosen for the encore were perfectly selected, drawing the crowd into the performance even more before leaving. Overall, the show was 100% mindblowing and thoroughly enjoyed. Easily one of the happiest nights I can recall.