Photo Credit: Jess Bowden
Words: Amy Booth
Over two decades since The Kooks formed the band, their fandom is arguably bigger than ever before which means it was their time to headline the Co-Op Live arena in Manchester on Friday night.
The audience appeared to be a mix of ages, from the fans who have followed since the beginning to the wave of younger individuals who have joined in the more recent years. The band made sure to sing a range of tracks to cater for the broad audience with older tracks like ‘Eddie’s Gun’ receiving a collective jump around from the crowd.
The entire arena roared from start to finish. Everyone seemed to enjoy lobbing the plastic cups from one end of the arena to the other, and at some points even onto the stage itself. The energy was consistent, from the moment the support act, The K’s, entered the stage until the moment the lights came back on at the end of the show.
I had never previously seen a crowd that knew every single lyric for the support act, and it is apparent that this exclusive line-up was a dream come true for a lot of indie lovers. When The K’s asked if anyone had seen them live before, everyone said yes. They mentioned that they are from Earlestown and it felt refreshing to see a local band up on that stage in front of 23,000 people. The crowd even sang along to the other support act Day We Ran and cheered when The Kooks mentioned both bands again later in the show.
After releasing their sixth album, ‘Never / Know’ this year, the band made sure to sing new tracks. For example, ‘Sunny Baby’ alongside the classics such as ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’ and during ‘Seaside’ the band invited a boy from the audience to play the guitar. He was incredibly good, which seemed like a great gamble that paid off well. I am sure that this moment is one that the fan, Joe will never forget.
The lead singer, Luke Pritchard went on to acknowledge that it has been a long time since The Kooks last played in Manchester, with their last show being at the 02 Victoria warehouse, back in 2022. He went on to say that with a crazy world there is “a lot of hurt“, but the band want to create a “bubble“, full of peace and love. This seemed to really resonate with the audience.
The Friday night excitement came to a holt for a moment, when Pritchard dedicated the track ‘See Me Now’ to his late Father who sadly passed when he was just three years old. The crowd then held up their flashlights. He went on to thank the audience for getting him through the song.
The band closed with ‘Ooh La’ and ‘Naïve‘ for their encore, and the confetti fell over the crowd as their largest headline show to date headed to a close.
Taped Magazine 