Finally, the Kooks have come back to America. I was extremely fortunate that one of the few places they graced with their presence was the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. At 8pm the doors opened on to the lounge of the unfamiliar venue. The dimly lit bar area with its black couches and bluish lighting gave off a hipster vibe appropriate for the UK music extravaganza that was to follow in the adjoining room which featured the performance space and two levels of standing room.
Nat Jenkins opened, performing with members of The London Souls. Especially for having just linked up this week, as Jenkins told the crowd, they were quite good. The group entertained the crowd with upbeat songs like Pirates and Life Aint Easy and I found that the urge to bop along to the music was hard to resist as the steady bass lines pumped through the crowd, which only filled about half of the floor at this point. Nat Jenkinss enjoyable songs and British accent put me in the mood for those of The Kooks, but unfortunately we would all have to stand through a second opening act.
The Duke Spirit opened next. After what seemed like an extremely long set-up this London band delivered a painfully long set of fairly unmemorable songs. If the vocals had been louder, the lights less harsh, and the occasional unpleasant screeching of guitar decreased, I may not have minded the amount of time The Duke Spirit occupied the stage. For me, the most entertaining part of their set was the changing of the various percussion instruments taken up by the lead singer. From tambourines to maracas, the interesting percussion choices added something to the songs, if not musically at least visually. All in all, though, The Duke Spirit was just too much noise.
The Kooks, however, were worth the wait. Having fallen in love with many of their songs already, I was anxious to see how the band would perform some of my favorites live. All of the songs were amazing. Luke Pritchards energy and on point vocals made every song from the Inside In / Inside Out album seem better than the last. Cat The Dogs Dan Logan, a substitute bassist for the tour, fit right in with the bands sound and chemistry. In addition to old favorites such as Ooh La, She Moves In Her Own Way, and Naive (a song the entire crowd enthusiastically sang along to), The Kooks debuted some new material. I found myself swaying along to Sway and Mr. Maker, and Do You Wanna and Love It All left me wanting more of the catchy, kooky, songs that Pritchard, Max Rafferty (the original bassist), Hugh Harris, and Paul Gerrad seem to produce without fail.
After a brief break from the stage, Pritchard returned alone and performed a few of the bands slower songs acoustically. Seaside was beautiful, as always, and the entire bands performance of the high energy Sofa Song finished off a set that will receive no complaints from me. Not even the over a half an hour wait in the coat check line at the Music Hall of Williamsburg could damper the joy I felt from finally seeing The Kooks live, or crush my high anticipation of this UK bands next album due out in April. After this live show, April and The Kooks next trip to this continent seem much too far away.
