The Kooks @ Northsix: Absolute Hysteria!

Whoa. I wasn't expecting this. Sure, The Kooks have the #1 album in the UK, are working on their 5th single from the release, have been touted as 'the next Arctic Monkeys' but I wasn't anticipating the rapturous crowd that I witnessed on Saturday.


The band opened the show, just as they open their debut, Inside In/Inside Out with 'Seaside' and from the first acoustic guitar strum, I knew it was going to be a rowdy show. Laura was lucky, or perhaps unlucky enough, to be in the front row, while I settled for the 4th row. I saw not one, not two, but THREE fights break out (you drunken Brits, how I love you so), people climbing the pillars and then jumping into the crowd, the floor shaking and 500 fists thrown in the air at all times. And this is in just a 45-minute set!


By the time the band busted into the some of the larger singles from the album, 'Ooh La' and 'Naive', the fans were in a total frenzy. I was lucky to get these shots because my body was being thrown from one side of the stage to the other. It was really insane, but kind of amazing also. Is the band worth all the madness? I think they actually put quite a good show. Thumbs up, indeed.


NME success story # 741.