The Kooks - EMI Rooftop/Terminal 5 (New York) - Wednesday, June 11, 2008

by Rachel Pesin
15 June 2008

On Wednesday, June 11, I was lucky enough to attend not one but two concerts by the THE KOOKS.

The first was a private event held on the rooftop of EMI’s New York City office building. It was a beautiful day out, and after a few 100+ degree scorching days, it was great to finally be able to go outside and enjoy the nice weather. As the audience chowed down on burgers and hot dogs, Kooks frontman LUKE PRITCHARD and guitarist HUGH HARRIS played an acoustic, four song set: “Naive” and “Ooh La” from their first album and “Always Where I Need to Be” and “Tick of Time” from their great new album, Konk.

The sound was crisp and clear and I was in a great viewing position, so I filmed “Ooh La” for your listening and viewing pleasure:

The show at Terminal 5 later that night was just as wonderful as the day show, but completely different. Instead of playing a stripped down set with half the band, the full band was there, playing in full force. They played an even number of songs from each album, much to the audience’s delight. While the new songs went over quite well with the crowd—and honestly, why wouldn’t they when the songs are as good as they are?—the crowd became really animated when the band played their old songs; it was as if every song from their old album had been a huge hit. The band and the audience were loud, lively, and interactive and it was really fun to see the craziness going on below from the balcony. (In my old age I sometimes like to stay away from the spirited youngsters in the crowd and watch the action from a safe distance.) In all, it was a fun-filled, Kooks-filled day.

Some photos from each event:

Some great photos, courtesy of Alyssa Scheinson:

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