The excitement of The Kooks’ gig in Norwich had been looming for a while now. Having been rescheduled from the end of last year, the sold-out show was long overdue. The original ticketholders were not deterred, however, as the queue for the show as doors opened seemed never ending, and those late arrivals continued to trickle through the doors until 9.00pm when The Kooks set began.
Supporting the band on tour were London-based duo, Bones, who made their debut in the LCR at 8.00pm. The edgy female duo took to the smoke-filled stage naturally, exhilarating the crowd in front of them. It’s hard to pinpoint their sound directly; it combined a mixture of sounds. However, this was what made them so intriguing. Forget pop-girl bands, this duo were dominating the stage with their edgy, rock, pop, grunge sound; performing tune after tune after tune, and getting the crowd energised and moving, ready for The Kooks. The two stood strongly for “girl power”, performing an original song, ‘Girls Can’t Play Guitar’ after being shut down based on being a girl previously. Everything about this group was great. Their performance, the atmosphere, what they stand for and the general vibe created before The Kooks. A particular stand-out moment in their set was their tribute to the late legend, David Bowie, where members of the crowd held torches up on their phones and relished in the moment. I can’t think of a better band to have supported The Kooks. It was great to see something unique and standing for “girl power” coming out in the industry.
It was 9.00pm, the time we had been waiting for, for The Kooks to take to the stage. The British indie-rock-pop band from Brighton took their place on the LCR stage as screams surrounded the venue. A spotlight shone down on lead, Luke Pritchard as they opened their set with ‘Seaside’. However, this calm vibe was short-lived as the second song commenced and the stage was illuminated in lights from above and screens behind. The set was one that was made for all. Fans that fell in love with the classics; ‘Seaside’, ‘She Moves in Her Own Way’, and ‘Shine On’, and consumers of their new album, ‘Hello, What’s Your Name?’ There wasn’t a single song that didn’t go down well with the crowd.
You wouldn’t typically associate mosh pits with the music of The Kooks, but the LCR broke into various moshes throughout the 21 song set, centring in the middle of the venue and expanding up the steps of the main pit in the LCR. The stage was a second home for The Kooks, who performed effortlessly with true class. They are a classic band who belong on stages such as the one in Norwich’s LCR. The band declared they were back home on the stage in Norwich, and quite frankly, we didn’t want them to leave. The excellence of the gig was too much for some, however, as crowd members were rambling forward to the barrier for water; some even passed out at the side of the stage. Members of the crowd also took the opportunity to try to pull lead vocalist, Luke Pritchard, off the stage as he stationed one leg across to the barrier to get closer to the crowd. The gig wasn’t all as rowdy as it sounds, however, as the band slowed it down with spotlights, a piano and the crowd singing their lyrics back to them. The band closed their set with a 3 song encore. They performed ‘Shine On’, ‘Junk of the Heart’ and of course ‘Naïve’ to draw the night to an end.
The now sweaty crowd began to exit the venue after what was a fantastic sold-out gig. The Kooks, who had put on a 5-star performance, promised to return to the city of Norwich sometime in the near future, and truthfully, we can’t wait. I would definitely recommend spending your pennies to go and see this band on tour. There will be no disappointments.
Words – Mollie Maddox
Photography – Kayleigh Warren
