The Kooks @ The Astor Theatre(09/01/12)

Fri 13th Jan, 2012 in Gig Reviews

For those too busy or broke to fork out the cash for tickets to this year’s Southbound but still wanting to enjoy some of the festivities, the Perth leg of *The Kooks*’ tour at the Astor Theatre was the place to be. The date, falling not long after their once-fashioned arch rivals The Arctic Monkeys’ performance at The Belvoir, allowed fans not able to go to Southbound to experience both of these sensational live acts in person.

Filing past the music staple ‘humourless bouncers’ and into the nostalgic digs of the Astor Theatre, fans could opt to take a seat or amass near the front where seats had been removed to create a makeshift dance floor. Drinks were passed around as the opening act took their places.

Assuming the role of the “And friends,” portion of the ticket stub was Sydney indie kids Toucan. The duo, consisting of keyboardist Shea Duncan and frontwoman Jess Pollard, had decided to include fellow Sydney Conservatorium graduate and drummer James Jennings to augment their sound during the tour. The addition of live drums was a wise choice, marking the difference between a fairly unremarkable performance and a pretty exceptional one.

Kicking off with the most noteworthy song A Brave New World from their debut EP of the same name, the band quickly found itself some new fans with Pollard’s seductive voice.

Taking to the stage unusually early in the night, The Kooks were given an ecstatic greeting usually reserved for cult leaders or religious figures. Mumbling nigh unintelligible greetings to the crowd through his thick accent, frontman Luke Pritchard signalled the start of Is It Me from last year’s Junk of the Heart album. Pritchard’s Jagger-esque stage performance and disarming boy-next-door charm quickly won the heart of every woman in the room – and more than a few men. Following it up with the ever-popular and rocky classic Always Where I Need To Be, it became clear that vintage Kooks tunes would be the clear favourites for the night.

Though Pritchard’s mumblings came through at deafening levels during the song intervals, the mix remained largely well-rounded for the set – with the exception of some rather overpowering guitar later on. The next few songs were drawn largely from Junk of the Heart, though older tunes such as Down to the Market and She Moves in Her Own Way made the occasional feature. The onstage antics continued with Pritchard’s dancing and cheeky coaxing of the crowd, though the rest of the band though little of any distractions from the music.

After a few more songs the band walked off while Pritchard addressed the crowd with: “How’s everyone doing? I’m going to play an older song.” Every seasoned Kooks fan immediately predicted the delicate guitar intro of Seaside, though Pritchard’s restructuring of the vocal part often left many fans singing out of time with him. To herald the return of the band Tick of Time was then performed, while the vocal parts assigned to the band found them taking a more active role.

The theme of older songs was continued with Ooh Lah being a definite highlight that saw even the seated sections rise to sing along. The tweed jackets were off for the remainder of the set, as guitarist Hugh Harris demonstrated, as the 18-song set was concluded with Shine On and Do You Wanna.

A short absence from the stage was greeted by hearty calls for an encore which were answered in the form of The Sabateur, Junk of the Heart and the definitive evening highlight Naive that was ecstatically lapped-up by the crowd. Pritchard ended the night and the Australian leg of the tour with a brief goodbye: “It’s been really fun. Au revoir Australia, I’ll see you again next time.” Wrapping up an excellent show that left many punters walking away happy.