I have to start with an apology for tonight’s opener, lovelytheband. I really wanted to see you guys, but for reasons unknown, tonight’s show is incredibly early, and with your set time of 7 p.m., there’s no way I can get there. All of the parking in the area is still a bus lane at that time, so there’s just no way. Next time!
So yeah, as I walk into MTelus around 8 p.m., it’s almost time for tonight’s main event already! When I saw The Kooks last March with The Vaccines , I remarked that I hoped it wouldn’t be another 9 to 13 years before I could see them again—that’s how long it was, respectively, since their last visits to Montreal. Well, The Vaccines came back in January, and now The Kooks are back just over a year later too. I guess my prayers were answered; feast or famine, honestly!
Despite touring in support of their recently released 7th full-length Never/Know, it’s strange how little it actually features in tonight’s 21-song set. Only three songs! “Compass Will Fracture” and “If They Could Only Know” are solid offerings, but “Sunny Baby” has to be the highlight—a perfect soundtrack to the first day of unadulterated sunshine that we’ve had in almost two weeks now!
Not overloading a set with new songs is a smart move though, as it’s never long until the next absolute banger. In fact, the show starts with three songs in a row from the classic Inside In / Inside Out debut, in the form of “Sofa Song,” “Ooh La,” and then the perfect summer strums of “She Moves in Her Own Way.” What a start to the set!
The crowd is fully into it right off the bat, getting louder and louder as the show goes on, and frontman Luke Pritchard responds in kind. At the end of “Stormy Weather,” Luke grins back at the huge cheers; by the end of “Sweet Emotion,” it’s so loud that Luke is bowing to us! By the end of the set, Luke proclaims, “Thank you, you beautiful creatures!!!” Even guitarist Hugh Harris, usually a man of few words, effuses, “We f**kin’ love you guys!”
Since the set is more-or-less a Greatest Hits, it’s hard to pick a highlight—it’s relentlessly great for the duration of the 80 minutes. “Westside” is a groovy funk departure, with Hugh providing the synths, and lyrically sounds like a Beach Boys song, with its antiquated moral-laced chorus: “Well we can settle down / We’ll start a family / ’Cause you’re my best friend.” Pretty sure you wouldn’t hear 50 Cent singing like that. Someone in the crowd hands Luke a rose, which he grips between his teeth as the instrumental outro plays out. This fan was prepared!
“See Me Now” is unquestionably the most poignant moment of the set, a piano ballad dedicated to Luke’s late father, Bob Pritchard (1943–1988). According to Luke, the song has added meaning now that he recently had kids himself; perhaps that’s the reason for the early show—he needs the sleep! As if to derail the seriousness as soon as possible, it’s immediately followed up by “Eddie’s Gun,” the band’s classic ode to erectile dysfunction. What a way to kill the sentimental vibes!
“If you wanna get really crazy, now’s the time!” I didn’t need a second invitation last time they introduced “Always Where I Need to Be” in this manner, and I certainly don’t tonight either. As that dirty riff kicks in, I bounce around the floor section like a madman, just like last time, and a few more people go crazy with me this time around. I go equally nuts on encore opener “See the World,” another filthy riff I will never, ever tire of.
“Seaside” is the opposite end of the spectrum—a simple, mellow acoustic strum that doesn’t even clock in at two minutes, but gets a huge singalong to rival the mighty “Naïve,” which closes out the show for good. “Picture Frame” gets a rare airing too; according to Luke, “It just felt like a Montreal song!” “Matchbox” and “Junk of the Heart (Happy)” provide a euphoric end to the main set.
It’s my seventh time seeing The Kooks, and I swear they never get boring or stale. And this time, since it’s all over by 9:45 p.m., I’ll be home early and I’ll even get to write up this review on the same day! Result!
Setlist
- Sofa Song
- Ooh La
- She Moves in Her Own Way
- Stormy Weather
- Sunny Baby
- Bad Habit
- Westside
- See Me Now
- Eddie’s Gun
- Sweet Emotion
- If They Could Only Know
- Always Where I Need to Be
- Do You Wanna
- Seaside
- Picture Frame
- Compass Will Fracture
- Jackie Big Tits
- Matchbox
- Junk of the Heart (Happy)
Encore
- See the World
- Naïve
Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Alex Distaulo
