I remember the first song I heard by The Kooks was 'Ooh La' in 2009. I'm not sure where or how I heard it, but i'm glad I did. Since that first listen, The Kooks and the infectious guitar riffs and choruses that feature in every single one of their songs, have had me bopping and singing along.
Last night, I saw The Kooks play live at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, and they were pretty darn awesome live if I do say so myself. The opening act were pretty snoozeworthy (I literally closed my eyes and had a little nap during their set). It was the first time I had seen The Kooks play live, and they are one of those bands that sound exactly the same live as they do on their CD (I guess I should be saying mp3's, since basically no one buys or listens to good ol' hard copy CD's anymore). It was pretty great to know that they aren't one of those 1000% over-autotuned bands/artists (*not naming names, but said overtuned artists like cough Selena Gomez cough!*)
Luke, the lead singer was just so energetic and reminded me of a combination of Mick Jagger and Road Runner from the Looney Tunes when he danced. He literally pranced and worked the front of the stage like a true frontman should. Let's just say that he was shakin' his (hipster) moneymaker and his mass of hair/fro? like crazy throughout the show. Hugh the guitarist was also amazing, he literally just shredded the shit out of the songs.
Basically the concert was kind of like a performance of The Kooks greatest hits album (if they had one). They played their most beloved songs like She Moves In Her Own Way, Shine On, Seaside etc. My personal favourites wereAlways Where I Need To Be (which had literally everyone standing up and just dancing and screaming/singing along in my case), and Naive (I legit bought tickets so I could witness this beauty performed live since it's a song that I will always love). They also played a couple of popular songs from their third album Junk of The Heart, but I was left disappointed when they didn't play some of the best tracks from that record (aka. Eskimo Kiss, Rosie, How'd You Like That). Also, I was pretty p'd off since they only ended up playing for like an hour and fifteen minutes...but it's pretty much impossible to feel sad when you're watching The Kooks because their music is so catchy that you can't help but dance and feel happy.
My photos are pretty horrific unfortunately, since I was sitting pretty far away from the stage (basically at the back) and using an iPhone (taking my DSLR along was not an option yesterday unfortunately since I went to the concert straight from uni), but nevertheless here are a couple of shots:
Britney Spears once sang the line 'I must confesssss, I still believeeeee,' whilst prancing down a school hallway, and dancing like a boss in pigtails (with fluffy pink elastics that were the bomb-diggity) in one of her best songs ever, 'Hit Me Baby One More Time.' And, Blogspot, I know we only just met, and I think it's been a week since I started this blog, but I feel like I am comfortable enough to tell you the truth.
*Cue Usher singing 'these are my confessions' whilst the lights dim*
I was a massive JoBro fan back in the day.dun dun dunnnnn....
If you have known me since I was an annoying middle-schooler (bleurgh), this is not new information and you have probably endlessly teased me about it; but alas, here is my deep dark secret (LOL).
I must admit, my love for the Jonai did die down for a significant period of time due to their hiatus, and did turn into a bit of resentment (because they never once came here in the eight years for a single performance...and still haven't come to this day...yeah i'm not bitter at allll :/ ). But searching through my iTunes in the past Summer break, I finally decided to not skip past all their songs, and just had a massive JoBro listening session. And you know what? It was like no time had passed at all. You know when you listen to a song that you absolutely used to love and one that holds a special place in your heart, and when it comes up on shuffle you remember just how significant that song was to you and all the memories associated with that song come flooding back? Yeah, I totally had one of those moments. Pure hardcore nostalgia.
Anyways, i'm rambling. The simple story is, the brother's Jonas are back with new music, and I thought i'd do a little review on it. When I first heard that the title for their comeback single was 'Pom Poms', the first thought that popped into my head if I recall correctly was, 'what the actual fuck?'. Then I heard a leaked clip of the song, and to be honest, I wasn't impressed at all. I just thought it was a mess of horns and brass playing in an ugly sounding minor key. However, the music video was released, and damn, were my initial reactions to the song completely and utterly wrong. The edgy marching band/high school cheerleading theme was entertaining and fun to watch (it's like a semi-twerk video tbh), and the song itself, is ridiculously catchy (it's a really good workout song, if you're one of those people who don't listen to electronic or hip hop genres when werkin'/dying on dat treadmill.) Plus, the riff played by the brass band and the chorus of the song is one that drills itself into your brain after a while. I must state however, that the lyrics aren't the best. So if you're after some good ol' fashioned pop, give this song a listen.
Also, my 13 year old self would probably be hyperventilating and crying right now, since I managed to get a ticket to the Jonas Brothers Live Tour show in Toronto that's happening in July this year (just to state, I was originally going to America and Canada during this period, but it so happens the tour dates coincided with the dates of my trip! #happydayz!!!) But I guess you could say my 18 year old self is pretty damn excited to see them for the first time ever as well, if i'm being completely confessional.
I’m gonna be blunt. Today's music is becoming increasingly
shit. I’ve had enough of hearing the ‘omG, lemme sex you up and touch you everywhere inappropriately, whilst we snort
coke off each other and become soooo crunk that we projectile vomit on the
floor’ lyrics often featured in dubstep-infused clubbing crap (yes, I’m looking
at you Mr Worldwide/305 and Flo Ridaaa always featured on David Guetta
tracks.) I also have a disinclination towards such music because (excuse me if
I’m being overly stereotypical), I’m sick of hearing lads and gangas singing
along with their windows rolled down, in their zooped up cars with the whole
‘doof-doof’ bass sound system going on. #STOPIT.
However, I don’t totally hate all of today’s music. By no
means am I some music elitist with immense musical knowledge-- lets be real, I love boy bands-- these are just my useless opinions (lolz).
There are occasional shining lights that stick out amongst crappy clubbing top 40 anthems, and that shining light goes by the name of Mike Rosenberg, or Passenger as most of the world knows him. I had heard the name 'Passenger' floating around the interwebs and on a couple of music blogs a few years ago, however never truly paid attention to all the praise and hype that was slowly developing. However, in February this year, I learnt the true beauty of Passenger's music, seeing him play in the Sydney Entertainment Centre as an opening act for the 'Ginger Prince' himself, Ed Sheeran. I was instantly in love with his unusual voice, witty lyrics and catchy melodies.
Fortunately yesterday, I had the chance to see Passenger busk in Pitt Street Mall, and it was honestly such a great experience to see the man in action doing what he does best: playing an acoustic set--just pure angelic vocals and a guitar. It was also a massive plus that my friends and I were pretty close proximity-wise to him in a crowd of a couple hundred people. Here are a couple of photos from today (I apologise for the crappy photo quality and heads of hair that can be seen. Teen girls are just so darn tall these days, and iPhone picture quality isn't that flash peeps.)
Apart from singing a wide array of tunes from his 2012 album 'All The Little Lights' and older record 'Flight of the Crow,' he whipped out a couple of covers. My personal favourite was his folkish rendition of Bruce Springsteen's beloved hit, 'Dancing in the Dark' that had me awkwardly bopping along. Other crowd pleasers included his freestyle of Taylor Swift's [feat. goat noises] 'I Knew You Were Trouble' (Video of the original goat version here. Trust me this is a nugget of Youtube gold) and Haddaway's 'What is Love (Baby Don't Hurt Me).'
Amongst his original tunes, my most treasured of the day were the songs 'I Hate' and 'The Wrong Direction.' 'I Hate' is one song that never fails to make me LOL/LMAO/ROFLMAO (i'm being metaphorical here, i don't actually roflao or lmao in real life...and if you do, I ain't judging, but there is a large chance that I will pull the :/ face at you). Whilst, 'The Wrong Direction' is just a super fun little tune to awkwardly dance to. However, the most popular of the day hands down, was the super lovely ballad 'Let Her Go.' It had everyone singing along--the dudes singing an octave low and off pitch (oopz), whilst teen girls sang like they were part of the Australian Girls National Choir singing 'I Still Call Australia Home' in all those cheeseball Qantas ads. Nevertheless, it was a super kawaii and intimate moment between Passenger and his fans. My video footage of 'The Wrong Direction' and 'Let Her Go' is below, so check it out yo! (Again I apologise for the crappy video quality, I filmed everything on my iPhone and it kinda sucks unfortunately. But nevertheless, they still showcase just how good his voice is live.)
Let Her Go
The Wrong Direction
Before I ramble on, let me state an important fact here: Passenger currently holds the number one song in Australia with 'Let Her Go,' yet played a free intimate gig for his fans. If this doesn't make you see him as some sort of angel or make you coo "awwwww, what a nice guy" than I can tell you're a tough cookie to please. From what i've seen of him, Passenger is just a cool, endearing dude who just loves his music, and wants to thank his fans as much as possible. I also found it especially cute how in awe of the crowd he was, especially due to the fact that he used to busk in Pitt Street Mall a couple years back, where he said he basically had no people watching him (the pigeons were his main audience.) *cue Hilary Duff singing "hey now, hey nowwww, this is what dreamsss are made of" from the Lizzie McGuire movie*
Essentially, what i'm saying here is check out Passenger. If you like really chilled out, acoustic music by an amazing lyricist (think a la Ed Sheeran), he's your man. Plus, this dude is incredible live, and he occasionally busks for free when he's in town (whadda bonus!!!) Here's an official live version of my #1 favourite, 'I Hate.'
