The Brighton rock quartet embarks on ‘The Best Of’ tour, and it’s a glorious one.

“What a way to spend Saturday night”, thought everybody in the room.

When a band you started to listen to over 10 years ago is about to release their ‘The Best Of’ compilation, first you think “Damn, I’m getting old” and second, you just reminisce about the passing time. But then, when you go to see them perform, it seems like nothing’s changed and you’re simply frozen in time. Tonight is one of those moments when guitar music purely shines, revitalising that spark that set mid 2000 on fire.

As I walk into the grand Alexandra Palace, the view exceeds my all expectations. Of course, my attention is quickly drawn to the fully packed room with a few individuals proudly sporting the band’s merchandise, before my eyes land on a massive curtain hanging down the stage. Well, The Kooks surely know how to make an entrance.

As the anticipation is reaching the highest of levels and the air is getting thicker, the lights go out. The deep beats coming out of the speakers accompany the four figures slowly emerging on stage, just a few seconds long intro that seems like a lifetime.

Diving headfirst into their outstanding debut album, Inside In / Inside Out, with Eddie’s Gun, You Don’t Love Me and Sofa Song, the band serves exactly what we came here for. The nostalgic gleam flashes throughout the room, hitting not only that part of the crowd who remember when that record came out, but the younger lot too.

“Welcome to our The Best Of Tour”, vocalist Luke Pritchard shouts, receiving loud screams in response. “You guys are amazing, you’ve blown my mind already”. And there’s no better way to put it.

The Kooks present a plethora of vibrant tunes tonight. With four studio albums in their repertoire, released in the span of a decade, undoubtedly there’s something for everyone.

The thrilling soundscape of the band’s most recent 2014’s Listen is brought to life by the clapping rhythmic of Bad Habit and Pritchard’s infectious vocal effort in Down. With singer’s funky dance moves and the audience joining in for a massive sing-along, the latter falls as one of the stand-out moment in tonight’s set. Despite its messy origin, as vocalist shares some insights from the time the song was written, the catchy beats simply wake up a dancer in all of us.

However, the material taken from their debut still elicits the biggest excitement. To celebrate their upcoming career-spanning The Best Of… So Far album, The Kooks showcase all the favourites. The rawness of their guitar-driven soundscape is masterfully captured by See The World and the nostalgic She Moves In Her Own Way, stated as the only hit they’ve got (quite a debatable issue of course) by the frontman himself, whilst the upbeat essence of Ooh La sets all the hips in motion.

The Kooks‘ brand new single Be Who You Are is a confident statement, wrapped up in a familiar sparkling guitars and sharp vocals. The band who’s been through some ups and downs, changes in the line-up and experiments with their sound can still deliver a masterful pop rock tune. That’s something they master so well.

The band’s stage presence hypnotises, accompanied by the dazzling lighting sets adding an alluring factor to the whole live experience. Aesthetics blend in the broad guitar work, courtesy of Hugh Harris with Peter Denton‘s groovy bass lines, all backed up by erupting drumming patterns, and Alexis Nunez is to blame here. Pritchard’s raw and careless vocal mannerism is something we’ve come to love over the years, inspiring that emotive and vivid passion.

The acoustic re-work of endearing Rosie and piano-laden See Me Now take it down a notch, creating a truly exceptional moment between the band and the crowd. “Seriously, we appreciate all of you. I would hug everyone if I wasn’t this sweaty”.

With vigorous Matchbox and melancholic Seaside rounding off the main set, the energy is still on-point but unfortunately we hear “This is our last song. But you never know, we might come back”, as The Kooks spin the dynamic Junk Of The Heart (Happy).

The confetti cannons go off when the band returns for an encore. With a spirited Around Town and buoyant Shine On it feels like the set has just begun. Naturally, Naïve triggers all that is left in the crowd to finish it off the only way possible. Releasing their ‘The Best Of’ compilation and putting on a glorious live show, The Kooks only prove that they are indeed one of the best pop-rock bands this country has ever seen. And you don’t need to be naive to see that.

Photos: Kasia Osowiecka