Kero Kero Bonito, an indie-pop trio from London, brought a bout of chaotic energy and angelic vocals to Madisonians on Friday.
With the crowd chanting “KKB” at the top of their lungs, Sarah Midori Perry — lead vocalist and KKB fan favorite — walked on stage wearing an oversized tin-colored jacket, just steps behind her bandmates Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled. With the upper half of her face covered, she sang the lyrics to the opening song “Battle Lines” off of the group’s most recent release Civilisation I.
After removing the aluminum coat, Perry greeted the audience. The show continued with a few songs off of the band’s second LP. The audience, fully engaged, danced to the band’s loud bass lines aggressively, pushing each other over but remaining excited through all of it.
The vocalist passionately sang with repetitive hand motions. When she wasn’t singing though, she was jumping and throwing her head and long black hair around, encouraging the audience to mirror her. Lobban, a multi-instrumentalist who spent most of his time with the synth, sang back-up on a few of the tracks and entertained with his spastic dancing.
During the fourth track and KKB’s most popular song, “Flamingo,” Perry held her iconic pink plush flamingo above her head while singing. A few fans had their own stuffed bird or used a t-shirt or towel in place of one, simultaneously yelling every word.
In between songs, the band goofed off. At one intersection, Perry played the Harry Potter theme on the keyboard in front of her. Expectedly, the crowd whooped and threw hands in the air to show their love for the fictional series. Perry exclaimed, “Slytherin is the best don’t at me,” and immediately went into the next song. Members additionally expressed their love for Wisconsin by dedicating one track to the beloved fast-food chain Culver’s.
The second half of the show was calmer, most songs being from their most recent LP Time ‘n’ Place. “Dear Future Self” worked to relax the listeners, the lights went from crazy lasers to calmer beams of thick colorful lights. From jumping to swaying, the crowd became captivated in the lo-fi synth sounds and Perry’s ethereal vocals.
Nearing the end, Perry required that the audience pull out their phone flashlights. “Sometimes,” a track highlighting that life is both good and bad at times, was bright and radiated love from all directions. Unanimous swaying unified the audience and the members within the band until all groups were moving as one.
For the encore, the band played “Vertigo” and finally, another one of their most popular, “Trampoline.” This last track commanded the crowd to jump with Perry, the lyrics being “Jump, jump, trampoline, fly to where you want to be.” The crowd followed her in a crazy amount of energy and height, shaking the floor and spilling drinks.
Kero Kero Bonito put on a remarkable show. The unmissable happiness was written all over the crowd’s faces — faces beaming with light only this London indie group and their playful music could bring.
