If there was a place to be for any alternative rock fans last Tuesday, it was definitely Corona Theatre! The venue welcomed three great live bands: Young Rising Sons, Joywave and the British band The Kooks.
Overall, the crowd was quite young and the venue mostly full of young women and couples coming for a chilled evening. It was already quite packed 20 minutes before the show started, as everyone was waiting for the first opening band: The American band Young Rising Sons.
The band made their way on stage, with frontman Andy Tongren having an American flag on his mic stand and bassist Julian Dimagiba wearing a Slayer shirt, that contradicted a bit with the style of music they were playing (but yeah, thrash metal is awesome so who cares?). The band showed their alternative / pop / hipster style from their first song until the end of their set. They played songs such as “King of the World”, “Turnin” and “Red and Gold”, taken from their eponym EP. They also played “Fucked Up”, “Home To You”, “Melt” and “Flesh and Bone”. They ended their set with their hit song “High” that made them famous worldwide.
The band, signed with Interscope Records, will release their full length debut LP by the end of the year, so stay tuned because you definitely will hear their name again soon!
Joywave was next. Daniel Armbruster got on stage with quite an interesting look: A nice hipster moustache, round glasses and a Canada t-shirt that would make any Canadian proud.
The band started with “Destruction”, taken from their album How Do You feel Now?, released earlier this year. They seemed pretty happy to tell us that they only played it once with us, compared to Toronto a couple days ago where they had to play it twice because people were just staring at them the first time without even moving. Well, we all know that Montreal crowds are the best, right? (Except most bands that skip us…). This song was probably the perfect one to start with, with its sample from Disney’s Fantasia and its heavily distorted sounds. I also loved their aggressive rock riffs along with the danceable synth that would appeal to anyone.
“In Clover” had a more relaxed house sound, with a total different pace between driving sections of rhythm and some moments of vocal modifications.
Their electro/pop style was extremely appreciated by the crowd during their set and they knew exactly how to warm up the crowd. Their performance was energetic, dynamic and entertaining. Even if the band can at first feel like a UFO, their unique style will easily convince anybody that those guys have talent and should be given a listen. After playing most songs from their album and reminding us that their set was 45 minutes long, frontman Daniel Armbruster told us that he has a gold record for his song “Dangerous” along with Big Data. Thus, he decided that it was the right time to play it live. It was a great performance despite the bass not being at its best for the song as it needed to be way heavier and louder.
The band also played the great “Parade”, with its synthesized elements and flawless transitions that were enchanting, as well as “Somebody New” with heavy guitars and a more old-fashioned indie rock sound.
Joywave also talked hockey on stage, mentioning that the great Brian Gionta that played with the Montreal Canadiens from 2009 to 2014 was from Rochester, NY, where the band comes from. “You’re welcome!” concluded the singer before telling us that their new record was available on vinyl and CD at the merch table.
The band that everyone was waiting for finally got on stage a few minutes after 10pm: The British band The Kooks! Luke Pritchard’s band delighted us with a really solid set, starting with “Around Town” taken from their latest album, “Listen” that was released on September 8th, 2014. The song, with its bubbling bassline and its scratchy sliver of guitars was a great way to start their set, despite quite a different style from what The Kooks accustomed us to.
They went on with another song from that same album, “Bad Habit” that was quite appreciated by the whole crowd but I must say I was really looking forward to their songs from album such as Inside In, Inside Out, and the band delivered! Their third song was the great “Ooh La” and it was flawless to me!
The band went on with two other songs from their newest album, “Down” and “It Was London”. I must say I was not the greatest fan of “Down” as it has too much of a percussive R’n’B loop in my opinion, but frontman Luke Pritchard made me change my mind, their live performance was amazing! The guitar solo in the middle of that song was mesmerizing.
The next four songs were probably my favourite part of the show: three of them being from their first album, the other one from Konk (or actually the second CD of the album, called “RAK”). The songs “She Moves In Her Own Way” and “Eddie’s Gun” are classics to me and were a real eargasm to me, until Luke Pritchard played acoustic versions of “Watching The Ships Roll In” and “Seaside”, cause those songs were definitely the nirvana of that evening.
The Kooks were energetic, classy, heart-melting, excellent, skillful, what else is there to say? Their performance was flawless and despite an okay last album (in my opinion), they have this presence, energy and will to please their crowd that make them a band that we want to see over and over!
Whether it was with “Always Where I Need To Be”, “Sway”, “See The Sun”, “Sofa Song” or the encore made of “See Me Now”, “Junk of The Heart” and the perfect “Naïve”, The Kooks were always on top of their game, proving that even after 11 years of existence, they were still an outstanding Britpop band that North Americans can’t get enough of.
The encore made the crowd go totally nuts, ready to scream the lyrics from the top of their lungs, jump and sweat like any rock fan should at a show. I look forward seeing them again in town!
The Kooks Setlist
Around town
Bad habit
Ooh la
Down (Sick solo in the middle of the song)
It was London
She moves in her own way
Eddie’s gun
Watching the ships roll in (Acoustic)
Seaside (Acoustic)
West Side
Always where I need to be
Sway
See the Sun
Sweet emotion
Sofa Song
Forgive and forget
Encore:
See me now
Junk of the heart
Naive
Review – Maxime Le Huidoux
Photos – Jason Hughes
