In a week ripe with tasty concert picks I found myself at the Wiltern this Monday night for the sold out Kooks show. Nearly three months after a promo tour saw them at the Troubadour and the Echo on back to back nights, they return to to the delight of a few thousand screaming fans.
Let the old timers say what they will about front man Luke Pritchard and his likeness to Jagger, but I had the sense that a majority of those in attendance last night had nothing but the lads from Brighton, England on their minds. Rightfully so! On more than one occasion the chorus from the crowd rang nearly as loud as the sound that was pumping out of the P.A. and even louder when Luke returned solo for the encore to do a coulple of accoustic numbers including “Seaside” with the crowd singing word for word.
Jagger and Richards may have set the standard, but when will we get over the past and let the kids explore the rock and roll without the comparison? Did anyone ever think that that might just be what rock and roll looks like? The kids at the Wiltern certainly got it. As for The Kooks, we’ll have to wait and see what they make of the whole mess. How many records do the Stones have now anyway?
