The Kites Sell Out Oporto With Their Headline Show 

Homegrown Leeds band The Kites headlined two shows at Oporto bar, and I had the pleasure of attending their first. Due to the incredibly high demand, the young four-piece had to add an extra show just to accommodate their ever-growing popularity. 

Formed back in 2018, the indie quartet has made their name known throughout the years for their melodramatic, emotional rock, claiming plenty of devoted fans. Fresh off their newest single “Skylar”, their recent trips to Manchester and London, the band returned to Leeds at last for two headline shows at the Oporto bar. With support from the five-piece band mondaytalk, The Kites were sure to deliver their best in their hometown.

The band first dived into their most recent single ‘Skylar’ with gritty guitars and lead singer Joe’s husky vocals. The punchy instrumentals and his heartwrenching voice filled the compact venue that is Oporto, fans listening attentively and others fell for the song instantly, bopping their heads til the climax with Joe’s growl. Then, a familiar melody rang, introducing the nostalgic opening to one of their biggest hits, ‘Drunk in Japan’. The radiant guitars by Jake, driven by tight, powerful drums by Ollie and elegant bass from Elodie, there is a reason why this song is so loved. Their criminally underrated bop “Drive” from their 2024 EP “Headlights” followed next. “DRIVE! DRIVE!” the crowd shouted during the chorus, and Joe caught up with the energy of the crowd, allowing us to decide which song to play next through a cheering contest. 

‘Living Room’ won against ‘Hello’, which brought us down the memory lane as they started playing older songs like ‘Jaded’ and ‘LS21’, both from their debut EP Postcode (2023). 

Joe said, “This was the first song we ever wrote, first song we ever came together as a band. We used to play this song last, but we don’t anymore…” A wave of nostalgia swept through the room as fans melted into a collective ‘awweee’ which instantly turned into cheers once ‘Jaded’ started playing. Then Ollie came forward and surprised us with his live playing of the harmonica, the audience joined in with Joe as we all sang along to the outro, a special moment as our voices filled the room.

After ‘16’, we are halfway through with all band members visibly exhausted. “I am kinda knackered”, Jake confessed, “I don’t even know what’s next!” earning a few chuckles from the crowd, yet they absolutely smashed the last couple of songs. Firstly, ‘Emily Emily’, a fan favourite, then an unreleased track ‘80s’ featuring a badass bridge with the bass. “Thank you for cheering”, Joe cracks a smile, before diving into the emotional rock that is ‘Myself’, his aching growls in the outro lingering as the crowd applauded. 

We reached the end with ‘Comeback Kid’. “We’re gonna be back next year in Leeds, we’re gonna be where we wanna be whenever we wanna be, this band is fucking awesome…” quote Joe as he was coming up onto the sidefills, becoming intimate with the crowd as he sang his heart out into the mic, ending the night on a high note (literally).

Words by Janis Law