The Kooks, Mean Fiddler, 23 March 2006

The perfect antidote to a seemingly endless winter, Brighton four-piece The Kooks brought a ray of summer sunshine to the Mean Fiddler last Thursday.

Not having heard much of their material before the gig, I awoke on Friday morning with the four piece’s jangly guitar riffs and catchy lyrics bouncing in my head- I haven’t been able to get them out of there since.

It was all great tunes and very little banter during The Kooks’ 45 minute set. Scruffy curly-topped 20-year old Luke Prichard bounced all over the stage climbing onto any piece of equipment he could see.

Their melodies were toe-tappingly addictive and their thousand-strong army of teenage fans sang along to all their songs. The highlight was their last single, You Don’t Love Me, which shows youthful awareness rarely seen since songs from Supergrass’ and Blur’s debut albums.

The Kooks are growing in popularity at unstoppable pace. They’ve already sold out two nights at the Astoria in May. By the time the summer’s festivals come around, their feel-good sound will be perfect for the main stage.

Rifles, 93 Feet East, London- 9 March 2006

Back in London after a three week UK tour, this was the Rifles homecoming.

“Let’s make it a memorable one,” lead singer Joel Stoker announced as guitarist Lucus Crowther, threw out cans of beer to the crowd.

The 250-capacity venue sold out six weeks before the gig and the crowd - in their late teens and early 20s - were all up for it.

With their Mod image and Jam-inspired guitar riffs, the Rifles are riding high on the back of the current ska revival.

For Local Boy, which Radio 1’s Zane Lowe has described as “the hottest record in the world”, the band’s mates stormed out from the back, diving from the stage. Support band Milburn were up on stage next- doing the same and then guitarist Crowther was off - he lost his trilby and glasses in his dive.

The crowd were left clapping and chanting “Rifles” for a good five minutes before the band returned for their encore. Crowther asked for his hat back and Stoker quipped: “It makes him the man he is.”

They apologised for taking so long to return to the stage- apparently they were practicing out back. It paid off though- No Love Lost went down well to end this short but storming set.

Orson- 100 Club, London – 14 February 2006

Hollywood soft rock band Orson were milking the fact it was Valentines night in the intimate 200-capacity 100 Club. Bassist Jonny Bentjen had flowers ‘from his girl’ rested on his amp and singer Jason Pebworth dedicated their songs ‘to the ladies’, who were mainly in their late 20s and dancing at the front of the crowd

Velvet jacket-wearing Pebworth, had sweat pouring from under his trilby as he tried desperately to maintain his cool jazz image.

A female fan told me how she thought they sounded somewhere between The Killers and Duran Duran. Sadly, they were far from being as exciting as either of these bands - the bulk of the set, particularly the piano-led numbers, was like listening to a lacklustre version of Maroon 5.

Their cover of Hall and Oates’ classic I Can’t Go For That was the highlight, Pebworth showing a strong vocal range.

The band got the best reception of the night for their catchy Radio 1 A-list single No Tomorrow, which is about breaking up with a girl - rather inappropriate for Valentines. Adolescent boys with striped shirts and floppy hair pushed through to the front and try it on with the ladies. But they weren’t interest - Orson was their only date for the evening.

Rakes –Astoria, London – 2 February 2006

No wonder wiry Rakes front man Alan Donohoe seemed so excited. This was the first time they had headlined and sold out the 2000-capacity Astoria.

He danced around like a maniac for the entire set, his hands gesticulating tirelessly. He was hand jiving, doing the Agadoo, and at one point it looked like he was attempting the Birdy Song.

Leeds support band Duel’s electro rock was a difficult act to follow. Lead singer Jon Foulger, looked uncannily like Julian Clary donning yellow lycra trousers.

The crowd, in their late teens and early twenties, were in a frenzy as balloons were released from the ceiling and the Rakes fired up adrenaline fuelled Retreat - they sang along to all the words in this familiar song about binge drinking in London.

The Rakes’ unashamedly cockney sound is like fusing the Clash with the Streets. But the low point of the set was the slower songs in the middle - even bringing their mate Ethan onstage to play the tambourine couldn’t save them.

Their catchy angular rock soon kicked in again for the shamelessly political Strasbourg. Donohoe swang his microphone in the air, lunatic drummer Lasse Petersen went wild and the kids are crowd surfed to the front to conclude this chaotic live performance.

Morning Runner- Dublin Castle, Camden, London- 19 January 2006

As the crowd awaited the arrival of Morning Runner- Chris Martin’s favourite new band- there was an electrifying feeling in the air.

The Coldplay singer was apparently in the audience but I couldn’t see him. The crowd, mainly 20-somethings, had come to see the tip of 2006.

As the band eased there way through the full-to-bursting Dublin Castle punters, pianist Chris Wheat ‘Fields’ mumbled as he pushed past my mate: “Sorry, I’m in the band.”

Later he came back, less apologetic, more cheekily, to ask for a sip of her drink.

Vocalist and lead guitarist Matthew Greener, an unshaven rockstar in the making, got the crowd going as they launched into their set, their sound resembling Coldplay, but with a punky, grittier feel.

A new fan, a wild eyed man in his 50s, performed air guitar at the front of the crowd and when he disappeared, the band asked: “Where’s the old guy gone?”

Apart from the banter, Greener’s vocal range was superb, while Field’s keyboard and backing harmonies echoed soulfully behind him.

Even a temporary hitch on the night- Greener’s out of tune guitar- didn’t dampen the ardour of the fans.

Radio One’s Steve Lamacq’s single of the week Burning Benches kicked in accompanied by frenzied pogoing from the indie kids.

Not to be outdone, the old guy returned - this time on the floor, kissing the stage.

This piano-led anthem certainly received the best reaction of the night - from people of all ages.