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Portland is famous for many things. Cheap rent. Rain. Bike messengers with elaborate sleeve tattoos. More rain. But Portland is also widely known for its coffee and, in turn, its coffehouses, which is exactly why we convinced British rockers The Kooks to play a rare unplugged show at the tiny brewhouse Backspace, right smack dab in the middle of their current US tour.
Now, to devoted Kooks fans everywhere, the line outside of Backspace this past Tuesday probably wouldn't have seemed that odd. But for many of the staff members at the tiny club, it was pretty surprising to see a three-block line snaking around the venue. Once most of those lucky fans got inside, they caught a stripped down set by Seattle's The Dutchess And The Duke. If you haven't checked out this band's brand of sixties influenced psych rock already, please do yourself the favor. Personally, we can't wait for their album to drop in July.
Following their fairly brief set, the Kooks made their way to the stage and, well, that's when the screaming started. Over the next hour, countless teenage girls wailed their lungs out at the band and snapped pictures of them on their camera phones, as they played an unplugged set that included recent hits like "Always Where I Need To Be" and "Shine On," the latest single off their new album, Konk. As lead singer Luke Pritchard began strumming the chords to fan favorite "Naïve," the couples in the crowd began to dance with one another.
That, it seemed, was how the night was going to end. But as everyone exited Backspace and began snatching up some limited edition silk-screened posters, Pritchard hopped back up on stage and played one more song without his bandmates. Which, of course, resulted in more teenage screaming. It was definitely a memorable way to end the night and we would like to thank the Kooks, The Dutchess And The Duke, Capitol Music, Astralwerks, Hardly Art and the entire staff at Backspace for making this happen.
And, to all the fans who couldn't get in but ended up watching the show through the windows, we hope you enjoyed it as well.
We'll see you in New York for the 150th Secret Show!
Now, to devoted Kooks fans everywhere, the line outside of Backspace this past Tuesday probably wouldn't have seemed that odd. But for many of the staff members at the tiny club, it was pretty surprising to see a three-block line snaking around the venue. Once most of those lucky fans got inside, they caught a stripped down set by Seattle's The Dutchess And The Duke. If you haven't checked out this band's brand of sixties influenced psych rock already, please do yourself the favor. Personally, we can't wait for their album to drop in July.
Following their fairly brief set, the Kooks made their way to the stage and, well, that's when the screaming started. Over the next hour, countless teenage girls wailed their lungs out at the band and snapped pictures of them on their camera phones, as they played an unplugged set that included recent hits like "Always Where I Need To Be" and "Shine On," the latest single off their new album, Konk. As lead singer Luke Pritchard began strumming the chords to fan favorite "Naïve," the couples in the crowd began to dance with one another.
That, it seemed, was how the night was going to end. But as everyone exited Backspace and began snatching up some limited edition silk-screened posters, Pritchard hopped back up on stage and played one more song without his bandmates. Which, of course, resulted in more teenage screaming. It was definitely a memorable way to end the night and we would like to thank the Kooks, The Dutchess And The Duke, Capitol Music, Astralwerks, Hardly Art and the entire staff at Backspace for making this happen.
And, to all the fans who couldn't get in but ended up watching the show through the windows, we hope you enjoyed it as well.
We'll see you in New York for the 150th Secret Show!
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