These two fabulous British bands, The Kooks and The Wombats, got together for one night last Friday, September 12 to play an intimate show at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ.
TLC friend Rachel Pesin was there. Read her review below:
Though I was struck down with a cold and pain from wisdom teeth removal, I just had to suck it up and head down to the New Jersey beach to see The Wombats AND The Kooks (a double whammy of goodness!) at the famed Stone Pony; a gig this good is the kind you can't pass up.
First up were The Wombats, who really riled up the crowd and got us excited for The Kooks. I really love The Wombats' music but always thought something was missing from their live show; not so this time--they were great! Their fast-paced, indie-rock disco tunes had the audience moving their feet. They even encouraged the crowd to get to know one another by saying something like, "Now's the time to touch the person next to you...even if you don't know them." How can you not like a band that tries to facilitate such strange comraderie?
After a quick changeover, The Kooks came on. What can I say about them? They kill it live every time you see them. Every catchy, poppy love song they play has the girls swooning, the guys jumping around, and everybody singing along. What was different about this show was the size of the venue and the age of the audience. Through hard work and constant touring, The Kooks have gained more and more fans and played larger venues each time they come back, which made seeing them in the tiny Stone Pony a real treat. Though I was all the way in the back of the venue, I was still only thirty feet away from the stage--that's something you just don't get at bigger venues or festivals.
As for the crowd, I would say the majority of the people there were well under 21; probably in the mid to late teens. To some this might seem normal, but this really surprised me. I had no idea that teens of today had stopped solely listening to mainstream music and ventured out of the box. I know The Kooks have pretty accessible music, but it still takes effort to get into them, love them, buy a ticket to their concert, and show up and sing along to every song; I was thoroughly impressed. And it wasn't just The Kooks--I looked around during The Wombats' set and saw a bunch of kids singing along to their music, too. When I was 15 and saw The Strokes at the Stone Pony in 2001, I was the only person there under 21. It seems like the musical taste of young kids today is changing, and that couldn't make me happier.
MP3: The Wombats - Patience (Take That cover)
MP3: The Kooks - Kids (MGMT cover)
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