kings of leon

sup,

so I saw one of my favourite bands last night, Kings of Leon @ the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

a bit of background of my love for KOL...

I first heard them in July 2003. I was completely blown away from their 1st album Youth & Young Manhood. I mean, I have never heard a band like them before in this day and age. They were four scruffy young men from Nashville Tennessee, who hid behind long hair, shaggy beards, and their instruments. The lead singer (who I have an undying love for) Caleb Followill - his vocals are so strained yet soulful. There is a hidden pain behind it....and little signs of it peeks through when you hear him wail out his lyrics.

I then saw them for the first time in February 2004 @ the Perth Big Day Out. They played the small stage at the same time as The Dandy Warhols (who had been around since '93, who has had a string of hits, and just released the controversial doco DiG! and their album Welcome to the Monkey House) then followed by Muse, so obviously, everyone decided to go see them. Not me. I wanted to see the four Followill's from Nashville who opened my eyes to a different sound to alternative rock, not just New York Garage stuff like The Strokes or Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but a band who had the influences from their southern gospel upbringing, with hints of rebellion yet shyness.

Needless to say, it was one of the best shows of the day, and that day I was spoiled when it came to bands, I saw The Strokes, Jet, The Darkness, The Black Eyed Peas, Thursday, The Mars Volta, The Flaming Lips (who I chose to watch instead of Metallica, but thats a different story for another day). So all in all, I saw so many good bands, but Kings of Leon was up there for me. They played at approximately 4pm on a hot summers day. They sported there skinny jeans and tight shirts accessorised with chains around their neck. Particularly, Caleb wore these giant purple lensed sunglasses with white frames which was a touch androgynous, yet so sexy....his image of his shaggy long hair, short cropped fringe and glasses was the epitome of a man for me....he has set the bar, and I am yet to find a replica.

They toured again when the release of their second album Aha Shake Heartbreak started. I love this album, but obviously, not as much as the first, but the love is still there. You see, living in Perth, you don't get many bands coming to you, and if they do, its in a festival form such as BDO or Rockit or Southbound. Kings of Leon played BDO 2006, and I willfully attended the festival in order to see them. Obviously there were other great acts too, such as, Iggy and the Stooges, The White Stripes, the Magic Numbers, Franz Ferdinand, The Mars Volta....I was there to see KOL. This time, unfortunately, they played the big stage. Good for them, but bad for punters. The curse for punters when you watch the band on the big stage, the sound gets pushed by the wind, and there is nothing they can do about that. So me being a tiny little 23 year old girl standing at 5'1...there was no chance I can compete in a moshpit, no matter how hard I try...the sound was disheartening, but their growth of support from my hometown was encouraging....music like this was being heard by the 1000s.

2007, the release of their third album, Because of the Times. To be completely honest, I didn't like this album when I first heard it. I wasn't blown away, I felt that they were going nowhere in this album. Don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE IT now, but at the time....and I don't know if it was because of their growing popularity....but I just didn't get it. I didn't click with the album, or the music they were offering....I didn't see them tour Australia (let me know if I am wrong here) but I don't believe they toured Aust with this album...so I woudn't see them live again until 2009....

Which now brings me to date. Only By The Night is a sensational album. This album reminds me on why I fell in love with the band in the first place. Obviously is a bigger sound than Youth and Young Manhood, more of a studium feel (which I believe they were aiming for), but the music, sounds and feeling within the music reaffirmed with me why the are my favourite band. The opening track CRAWL is all rock, they set the mood for darkness and angst with CLOSER....this album is dark, dirty, sexy, and rock with their southern roots intact. I'd like to quote the album as a fangirl...its hot hot hot!

So this takes me to the concert I attended last night (such a long way to get here I know...but I really wanted to show how much I followed this band in the past, and plan to follow in the future....I am not a throw away fan who likes one song).

In anticipation of the show last night, I was psyching myself up, listening to all their records, hoping they will play a good selection from their first album....they didn't leave me disappointed. Kings of Leon walked out to a screaming crowd (I wish I had general admission, but because of their popularity, and the fact that I now live in Sydney...its a war zone to get good tickets...I ended up being in the grandstand) they opened with CLOSER, and if you know the song....you just stand there swaying, closing your eyes and breath in the energy and mood of that song....

Then they broke into CRAWL, another crowd pleaser...my friend Jason and I danced our little butts off! Further on into the set I was going to be pleased with their song selection.....it was the first 8 beats of the famous 'cow bell" (more cow bell!) which got me uber excited. They played my FAVOURITE track, CALIFORNIA WAITING!!! Funnily enough, I was the only one in my section that knew this song...which had me a bit confused (yes my friend Jason didn't know it...because I pretty much dragged him to this concert with him knowing only the latest album really).

After California Waiting...they continued on the Youth and Young Manhood track and played RED MORNING LIGHT! Again, I was the only one who knew this song....and the two idiotic guys who were next to me said "fucking get to the stuff we know". This is when I knew that the crowd (well the crowd surrounding me anyway) were throw away fans...they like Sex On Fire etc and thats it. As they finished Red Morning Light, they broke out into WASTED TIME (another favourite of mine)...no one knew it. But as soon as they played something from Only by the Night...the whole stadium erupted with the crowd singing along....this erks me, I'm sorry, I can't help it...it just does.

The idiotic guys next to me spent the whole time on their mobile phones, texting, and the people next Jason spent the whole time sitting down. This is a fucking rock concert, get off your arses. So it got me thinking....am I so far back because everyone at the front love ALL FOUR ALBUMS and have been a fan since 2003....or are they the new fans who don't know any of their previous stuff and will move onto the next cool band to come along when KOL start working on their fifth???

I'm all for new fans...but ones who a disrespectful, like the douchebags next to me, who disappeared for a while, then came back with a girl (who didn't have a seat and I have a feeling she was a hooker - she looked like one....and not a high class one), or were they loyal fans such as myself who waits for them to tour Australia....holds out for the tour....travels to Melbourne to see them play four songs at Sound Relief? (yes, I did)

I must say, it got me down.

But I stopped thinking that way, and just enjoyed the show, dancing the night away to good music, and anticipating each song with enthusiasm and wonderment, and all four Followill's left me feeling like I just had the best sex of my life.