Celebrating two decades of hits, the band headlined TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre for one of a run of special shows marking the 20th anniversary of their debut album Inside In/Inside Out. Melodic indie rockers Circa Waves performed as special guests while ‘one to watch’ band Girl in the Year Above opened the night. Sunshine beamed down on the audience, with pints flowing and a buzz of anticipation in the air.
The Kooks kicked off the night with Sofa Song and Always Where, frontman Luke Pritchard and pals had the crowd in the palm of their hands from the off. She Moves In Her Own Way performed acoustically mesmerised everyone, while the band then went on to perform a string of crowd pleasers including Eddie’s Gun, See Me Now, Seaside, Shine On and Do You Wanna before ending the set on You Don’t Love Me. An encore saw them perform Ooh La and Naïve.
My personal highlight of the night was seeing the crowd light up when Luke Pritchard started singing Seaside. It felt personal and special, with the thrilled Scarborough audience screaming the lyrics ‘Do you want to go to the seaside?’. After this gig, I can’t think of a better venue to see The Kooks, a band that reminds me of long teenage summer days on the beach.
Luke Pritchard had fantastic stage presence and danced through the band’s songs with a relaxed yet captivating air that was infectiously fun.
The crowd moved with him, excited when he shouted: “ Scarborough! This is such an amazing place, I can’t believe it has taken us so long to play here.
“What a wonderful night, we can’t wait to come back here!” Much to the delight of the audience, the band then played their biggest hits Ooh La and Naïve as an encore. People of all ages, started climbing on each others shoulders as the bouncy guitar of Naïve began to play.
After the crowd had screamed every word of the final song, they started chanting ‘Yorkshire’- a pre-requisite to any gig in ‘God’s Own Country’. The band joined in with the chant as they took their final bow and left the stage, obviously enjoying their trip to the seaside.
1. The Kooks at Scarborough
Standing was sold out at the show, and the crowd was packed with fans having fun and dancing. Photo: Cuffe and Taylor
2. The Kooks at Scarborough
It certainly was 'T-Shirt Weather' when Circa Waves opened for The Kooks, with the glorious summer sun shining down on the outdoor venue. Photo: Cuffe and Taylor
3. The Kooks at Scarborough
The Girl In The Year Above were great and go the crowd buzzing. Photo: Cuffe and Taylor
4. The Kooks at Scarborough
Proudly wearing band merch to the gig! Photo: Cuffe and Taylor