The Kooks

Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, 08-12-08

A gig that can be summed up in one simple word: unexpected. Okay, so maybe not so simple but I'll endeavour to explain. It was like a bedroom full of perspiration and big tits (courtesy of Jackie). There were multi-coloured lights, strobes, dripping drapes. It was a basically a bloody great show.

The Empress Ballroom is hidden and when you find it, beautiful. Decked out in gold, cream and red, the black-sheeted backdrop and metallic rig juxtapose with the Victorian building, the chandeliers and the canopied balconies. It's definitely fit for kings…

Those kings? The Kooks. After a surprise support by Mystery Jets, Luke Pritchard comes out onto the stage and boy is he a tiny guy. He thanks the crowd for coming and listening to them play in this "beautiful building" and the show gets kick-started with a John Wayne Western-style intro.

First single, 'Always Where I Need To Be' off latest album 'Konk', goes down a storm. At one point the floorboards were actually bowing underfoot. It was manic. The heat gets turned up with 'Do You Wanna' and as Pritchard creeps over the crowd, drummer Garred grits his teeth and Denton showcases his intricate finger work.  It's a bravura display of stamina and energy and the bass seeps into our blood streams.

'Shine On' provided us with the reggae influences we have become accustomed to, while old classics, 'Naïve' and 'She Moves In Her Own Way' brought a bounce and some rather big cheers. As one girl put it, The Kooks are the "accessible" band. I suggest everyone access them, immediately.

Adam Mallaby