Gig Review: Kings of Leon
December 8, 2007
7th December 2007 at Nottingham Ice Arena.
Photograph by Michael.
I had been so excited to see Kings of Leon again after their outstanding performance at Oxegen earlier this year, & last night they did not disappoint!
The support was Manchester Orchestra, an indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. I quite liked them, some songs were a bit slow, but their set didn’t drag at all & it seemed like they were only on stage for ten minutes rather than the half an hour or so that they played!
Kings of Leon were just amazing from the moment they hit the stage. The crowd was going nuts before they even played a note! They started the set with Slow Night, So Long & barely stopped until they got to the end of Trani (at least I think it was that song, please correct me if I’m wrong!), where Caleb threw down his microphone & walked off before the encore. That’s what I like about Kings of Leon, there’s very little chit-chat & they get straight to the point - the point being amazing music! They played around twenty songs all together. From what I can remember they also played (in no order): King of the Rodeo, Milk (the disco-ball-light-show towards the end of this was breathtaking), Taper Jean Girl, The Bucket, Four Kicks, Razz, Molly’s Chambers, On Call, Camaro, McFearless, Black Thumbnail, My Party, Ragoo, Fans, Holy Roller Novocaine & for the encore they played Knocked Up & Charmer. I’m fairly sure I’ve missed out a song, but I’m sure someone will tell me what it is eventually.
I was pleasantly surprised that they played Knocked Up for the encore; I wasn’t expecting to hear that live again. Although all the songs sounded great & they played most of my favourites (although no Red Morning Light or California Waiting - boo), I think three tracks stood out to me this time. The first has to be Arizona, as it made me well up. I think that it is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard live, & it is also a song that means a lot to me personally. I think that the sunset backdrop while they were playing it was very appropriate. The second has to be My Party, because the bass sounded bloody awesome! I hadn’t really noticed how good the music sounded before. The third was Molly’s Chambers, just because I’ve had it stuck in my head for the last week & I was grinning the whole time they played it.
Come to think of it, I was grinning from start to finish. They are an amazing band & I can’t wait to hear their next album, & hopefully see them for the third time in the not too distant future!
The best part of this gig was walking into the area, great venue and the crowd was up for a good night, great atmosphere i thought as i walked in. A few songs in i was totally bored the songs were very samey and seemed to drone, could not hear the vocals but overall the sound was ok.
I tried to ignore all this and get into the set but i was just left feeling really bored, i wish i’d had some coke as i would have got off from the audience.
This was the most disappointing live performance well gig i’ve ever been dull, and pointless. I think maybe just stick to listening to a CD at least i wont be dissapointed at spending good money on polished over hyped dull nme band (WELL DONE TO NME FOR THEIR BRAINWASHING
overall rating 4 at least they have learned how to play their instruments
Everyone’s entitled to their opinion! I personally thought it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. I also hate NME, I just think KoL are probably the only good band that NME like to hype up.
I’ve seen the KOL a few times live now and i must say, I have been more than impressed. I think they are excellent. They must spend hours getting their set that tight!