Usually, openers for your favourite musicians are ironically, terrible and awful. Â That wasn’t the case when Koo Koo Kanga Roo was the first ones up to open for Frank Turner. Â The duo was silly and adorable, and were gigantic balls of energy as soon as they stepped on. Â They started with a song about the alphabet, and from then I was hooked.
They sang about cats, taught us to be ninjas, and asked us our favorite colors. Â They convinced us that unicorns were real, and came to join us to dance in the crowd. Â They got us all to do the hokey pokey and step out of our comfort zones; I’d never seen another group do that before. Â I’ve seen intense crowd interaction, but this was the most I’ve ever experienced or even heard of, for that matter.
Basically, a Koo Koo Kanga Roo show is like what you wish kindergarten was like everyday. Â It was carefree and goofy, and no one was ‘too cool’ to participate, because everyone was doing it. Â Their interactive dance party was incredibly fun, and the positivity really boosted everyone’s mood.
After the show, I got to talk to them and hang out. Â They didn’t always really sing children’s songs, but it’s what they’ve ended up doing happily. Â The duo is from Minneapolis and have fans from 2 to 52. Â Both moms and dads and children and teenagers have gravitated to their sense of whimsicality, making them stand out. Â They’re extremely personable, and unafraid. Â The two can laugh off the annoyed members of the crowd and embrace their ‘joke band’ shtick. Â It’s a brilliant doofy stupidly fun gimmick, and it’s something that this world definitely needs.