The Kooks - MySpace SecretShow @ The Metro Theatre,Sydney (28/08/08)

Sun 31st Aug, 2008 in Gig Reviews

The Kooks put aside the fatigue from last night’s opening show in Sydney to play to a small crowd at the Metro. It was free, it was the Kooks: what more could you ask for?

Waiting in line for six hours sucks, especially when you are not sure you are going to get in, but there was nothing that would dampen my spirits on this band. Despite getting put onto the – œlist’ at 3pm, I still had to line up alongside hundreds of prepubescent school kids some still in uniform, and couldn’t help but wonder why they weren’t learning about algebra instead of lining up outside the Metro. The next breed of scenesters flocked to the Metro in their ill-fitting tights and over-sized sunglasses, and it was left to the Kooks to provide the entertainment.

With a theatrical curtain drawing open as the first chords of Always Where I Need To Be played out, the screams were loud, and finally after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, it was on. The set was brief, it was fast, and sometimes the sound seemed awfully quiet, but it was all that you could expect in a free, secret set. Opening with the first single of their new album Konk, Always Where I Need To Be, The Brighton boys kept the crowd going with a song that reminds me of a rainy caravan park in Byron Bay, Eddies Gun.

Great tunes from their debut – Naïve, She Moves In Her Own Way and Ohh La – fit in nicely alongside new releases of Sway, Shine On and Do You Wanna_ from Konk. Do You Wanna was a highlight, with singer Luke Pritchard telling the crowd to sit on the floor and jump and dance as the chorus kicked off. The crowd lapped up every second they were given. Whilst many were seen constantly making sure they weren’t having too much fun to lose their illusive cool, the band fed off the energy of the young crowd.

The set finished just as it started – with gusto and screams from the teenage girls. The final song of the afternoon was The Sofa Song, with Pritchard leaning into the audience and being groped quite blatantly by all and sundry. It seemed a good warm-up before their final concert in Sydney, and a great taster for the crowds who will no doubt flock to see them at the Falls Festival this summer. Regardless of where they play, I know I will be there for it. If they play with this much vigour at a free gig, I guess we will wait and see what happens when the big bucks are on the table.