The Kooks In Manchester - Then & Now

Then it was 2006. Manchester was experiencing a balmy heatwave at the start of May. 16 years old, it was my first gig at Manchester Academy. The band had rocketed to success in the past couple of months, and the gig was a sell out, rammed full of excitable Mancunians enjoying the hot weather, ready to rock out to the hottest group in indie music at the time. The Kooks.  

Fast forward eight years.  

It’s the beginning of May again, only this time, it’s pissing it down with rain, in true Manchester style. We’re dodging puddles and running to The Ritz after being stuck in horrendous city centre traffic (lesson learnt: always use public transport where possible), eager to take a trip down memory lane. There’s some excitement in the air, but it seems somewhat nostalgic, rather than eager in anticipation.

The Kooks are back, after a break of over two years, (longer in the minds of many). But are they still any good? 

The short answer. Yes, they certainly are.  

They were welcomed back to Manchester, and indeed to the whole music scene, with open arms, and they ignited the crowd immediately, just as they did eight years ago.  

Opening with their newest single Down, they soon got the crowd going, clearly thrilled to be back themselves, just as much as their fans were to see them. Roaring their approval of the new song, which sounded a treat live, the crowd soon went wild as The Kooks followed up their opener by going right back to their debut album, with hit single Ooh La.  

The rest of the gig followed suit in much the same fashion, a taste of something brand new, followed by an absolute classic. And it worked perfectly.  

The band members themsevles have certainly come a long way since they were all thrust into the limelight in 2006. Luke Pritchard, The Kooks front man, has definitely found his own in recent years. Whilst he always had a presence on stage, he has now upped his performance to rival those of many a great front man. In 2006, I remember him as a young, shy, weedy guy, not quite sure what he was doing. And I seem to recall the vocals and sound of the band live were some what lacking, not that it mattered as their entire set was just screamed at them by the audience at the Academy.  

Here at the Ritz though, they sounded brilliant. Their back catalogue had a refined sophistication to it, still the bouncy, melodic pop which made them famous, but with subtle hints of more experience to it now. Their new songs promise great things from their upcoming album, each one with a unique sound; throwbacks to 60s & 70s rock and hints of Smoke on The Water with Westside; a touch electronic disco pop in It Was London. It’s retro, with that modern flair so specific to The Kooks.  

And as a front man, Luke Pritchard just owned the stage, strutting around like he’d never been away. Sauntering around like a cross between Mick Jagger, Pete Doherty and Steven Tyler, he got the crowd jumping like it was 2006.  

In that respect, not much had changed. Looking down from the balcony of the Ritz, at a sweaty mess of hot bodies, jumping, dancing, and throwing themselves into each, it did bring back memories of the wild night at the Academy, hauling girls off the floor as the crowd threw itself left and right, front and back. I was mostly grateful I wasn’t down in the middle of it anymore, though a small part of me did miss that feeling of being right in the thick of it.  

Of course to reach the great heights, Pritchard does have a little way to go as a frontman. The songs lend themselves to audience participation, yet Pritchard never really gave the crowd the chance to offer their own renditions of The Kooks’ classics.  

Not that they needed inviting. Any song from Inside In, Inside Out was greeted with a raucous shout of lyrics, as were most of their other songs too.  

Judging by their response to both the more recent Junk Of The Heart, and the very first single Naive, the crowd have stuck by The Kooks, and they were certainly pleased to see them back on stage again. If their new songs are anything to go by, there’s a lot more life in these 2006 indie darlings yet. 2014 could be their second homecoming. 

Set List

Down
Ooh La
Always Where I Need To Be
Bad Habit
Is It Me?
See The World
It Was London
She Moves In Her Own Way
Eddies Gun
Westside
Seaside
Tick Of Time
Sway
Around Town
You Don’t Love Me
See The Sun
Forgive and Forget
Do You Wanna
Sofa Song

Encore

Junk Of The Heart
Naive