Toby White looks back at his experience of seeing The Kooks live
The Kooks have recently completed a highly successful, record-breaking UK tour, further establishing their reputation as one of Britain’s most consistent indie acts. Originating in Brighton during the early 2000s, the band quickly made a significant impact with their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, which became an embodiment of the mid-2000s indie scene. Their signature sound is marked by memorable melodies and a unique blend of rock, pop, and distinct British character has allowed The Kooks to maintain a dedicated fan base while also evolving musically over time.
Their recent tour stretched across places like Cardiff, Manchester, Brighton and London, with twenty thousand people attending at the O2.
The Kooks have gained a huge following especially more recently with their growing TikTok presence showcasing their brilliant music to a new audience 20 years on from the biggest album. Their famous creator AB on the social media platform is also an expert at introducing new people to the band.
The Brighton Centre gave the gig an intimate quality due its small capacity. This was even more evident with the two support bands, Day We Ran and The K’s. Day We Ran came out first and played four songs including their biggest hits like Foaming, Foresty, Piha Lounging and their most recent single Snake With a Bone. The band were genuinely excited about performing and thanked The Kooks for having them. They seemed very confident for only the third night of the tour.
Day We Ran’s music was good, but it was never going to get the same reception or atmosphere as the other two bands as the venue was nowhere near full at this point and they don’t have many people who know them in the UK. But they are huge in their home country of Australia, with 1.2 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Seamlessly The Ks came on stage and blasted through an amazing set including ‘Gravestone’, ‘The Bends’, and crowd favourite ‘Hoping Maybe’: an absolutely phenomenal song written by frontman Jamie Boyle. He once described it as “being very meaningful to him and important to the band’s live show.” Simply one of the best songs made in the genre in recent years. The Ks, from Earlestown, Merseyside, normally play more energetic indie music but this helps it stand out further. In their recent number 1 album, the slower song “Helen, Oh I” stands out in the same way, a meaningful slower song in an album pulsating with energy and adrenaline. Songs like these are what defines a band. Jamie’s charisma is what makes The Ks a really good watch live; he interacted more with the audience and even walked down to speak to us after they finished.
There was an interval here where we bought some unsurprisingly expensive drinks. While we were gone, the Brighton Centre began to reach its capacity. And then The Kooks came out. With the curtain now pulled back and the stage doubled in size, a screen showed off the band’s energy with close-ups enhancing the experience. They opened with ‘Sofa Song’ and delivered a phenomenal 26-track set that blended early hits like ‘Always Where I Need to Be’ and ‘She Moves in Her Own Way’ with newer material from their album Never/Know. The highlight of the night was a stripped-back moment when frontman Luke Pritchard sat at the piano for ‘See Me Now’, dedicating it to his late father and what he would think of him now. He spoke from the heart, saying the song was created from an old letter that he wrote to his father after he had passed. The whole band left, so it was just Luke and a piano.
When The Kooks left the stage without playing their biggest hits of all time ‘Ooh La’ and ‘Naïve’, the crowd chanted for them to come back. “One more song!” rang around the arena. Eventually, they came back giving two great performances of two great songs to end the night and give everyone something to take home.
