Published on themusic.com.au | 17.01.15
Britpop outfit The Kooks hopped the pond to spread good vibes to a multitude of lucky Aussie fans on Saturday night.
The amphitheatre was already filling up nicely when Catfish & The Bottlemen hit the stage. They wasted no time in releasing the goods, their set heavily laden with riffs worthy of a Sly Stallone epic. Perhaps it was the vastness of the outdoor setting or the allure of general chit-chat amongst friends, but the band’s tight harmonies and generally impressive cohesiveness were severely under-appreciated by the crowd for much of the night. After playing a number of solid tracks, the boys finally managed to grab the audience’s attention as they cleverly segued into Rod Stewart’s Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?, immediately prompting an audience singalong.
The Griswolds got toes tapping and heads bopping with their cruisy, almost beachy set, the perfect accompaniment for a cool summer’s night. Their cover of Vance Joy’s Riptide had the crowd cheering, while Beware The Dog allowed for some fun crowd interaction, with synchronised claps and amplified cries of “woo!”
The venue positively buzzing, flood lights were adjusted and their name was emblazoned on a giant, illuminated banner (in case anyone had forgotten who they were there to see), so there was no need for introductions as The Kooks launched straight into their first song of the night, Around Town. The lads had a no-nonsense approach to performing, and limited stage banter allowed them to let their music do the talking. The Brighton boys were emitting some seriously good vibes from the get-go, as fans were laughing, smiling and grooving in their seats. Frontman Luke Pritchard busted out the acoustic guitar for She Moves In Her Own Way, and the audience had no trouble voicing their approval. The boys had even the lads-iest fans wailing along to every “whoa oh” between sips of beer.
Forgive & Forget prompted a serious case of what can only be described as ‘dad dancing’ among most of the male audience members, regardless of age. Things eventually got so rowdy that one barrier-jumping punter had to be restrained and escorted out of the venue by no less than five security guards. The lads ended the show with crowd favourite, Naïve, and it was difficult to find someone in the sea of people who wasn’t singing along. As fans exited the venue, it was abundantly clear that this gig was worth every minute spent trekking to Belvoir.
Charmaine de Souza 