The Kooks at the Troubadour

The tickets for The Kooks show at the Troubadour sold out in seconds. The Kooks are gearing up for their release of their highly anticipated second album "Konk". I was completely sold with their performance at the FM 94.9 Holiday Hootenanny show seeing how much they have grown compared to their Spaceland show.

The Morning Benders




The Morning Benders turned in an electric performance that won over many new fans as the buzz in the room after their set was palpable. It seems like the Morning Benders have been everywhere lately as this was fifth time I have seen the band in three months. I can easily attest this was one of their finest performances. The sound at the Troubadour was dialed in and The Morning Benders took full advantage. Chris Chu (Vocals/Guitars) approached the stage with a swagger of confidence as started the jangly chords of "I Was Wrong". As much as I love "Damnit Anna", "Crosseyed" is hot on its heels for my favorite Morning Benders song. The razor sharp clean riffs of "Boarded Doors" were full of sunshine as Joe Ferrell (Guitars/Keys) augmented the song with a circus like Rhodes keyboard riff. The Morning Benders also got the crowd involved by distributing some noise shakers into the crowd for a rousing version of "Damnit Anna". I highly recommend you check out their show at the Detroit Bar with We Barbarians for free on February 25th. It may be the last time you see them for free.


The Kooks







The Kooks are going to have a good laugh at the so called sophomore slump after hearing the new songs off their upcoming album "Konk". The Kooks eased into their set with a couple of songs from their smashing debut album "Inside In/Inside Out" such as "See The World" and "Eddie's Gun". "Mr. Maker" was a showcase for Hugh Harris (Guitars) as he played guitar light years beyond his age with a calculated loose bluesy vibe. Hugh was playing the devil out of his angelic Gibson 335 guitar. In order to knock his guitar solo out of the park he would stomp on his Boss Octave pedal to take songs to another dimension. "Love It All" had Luke Pritchard (Vocals/Guitar) delicately strumming his acoustic guitar before singing the refrain "She says...Love It All, Love It All" with vocal harmonies from the rest of the band filling out the song. I also will commend Dan Logan's bass playing abilities for stepping in for the recently departed Max Rafferty and not missing a note. Hugh grabbed a cigarette lighter and used it for a slide as they broke into "I Want You". "She Moves In Her Own Way" had a false start as Luke was strumming his acoustic guitar so hard that he broke a string within the first couple of strums. "Seaside" was a fitting encore as Luke tackled the song by himself with the acoustic guitar. The show was so good that I had to go again to the Echo.

Hugh Harris's Pedalboard


The Kooks setlist for the Troubadour