Well it finally happened, I saw KINGS OF LEON!!!!!! And it was every bit of amazing as I thought it would be and then some. They walked out of the pitch-black hall to a classical requiem that haunted the venue with anxious screams from the Warfield in San Francisco, CA. Then one by one we could catch glimpses of them as the ushers led them in with flashlights and fans flashed their digital cameras; as the screams elevated the lights flooded the stage as they opened with “Crawl” off their new album “Only by the Night”. Their drummer Nathan Followhill commands your body to feel him through every pounding he’s that talented. Then Caleb Followhill lead (yes if you didn’t know they’re familia) lends his raspy southern vocals to the sweet guitar and bass of Matthew and Jared Followhill. Every member has such a specific roll that you can hear in the sound of each song. There are only a few artists that I can listen to their entire discography and not either play out or get bored. These favorites ranging from Led Zeppelin, to Tom Petty, Faithless to Bjork or Radiohead to Andrew bird. The genre of each artist is irrelevant it is their ability to transcend time and grow as musicians. Kings of Leon has done that through their career. There concert was a reflection of that growth, they played their hit songs from their earlier albums such as “Four Kicks”, “Knocked Up” and “King of the Rodeo”. As amazing as they were on CD they mixed it in with their newer gems like “Manhattan”, “Revelry” and “Milk”. Caleb was phenomenal despite the fact he said he was sick which I didn’t notice when he belted “Cold Desert” however when he back tracked and wailed in “Charmer” the sexy high howls weren’t achieved but it didn’t matter because the audience filled in for him (for the worse), which I think he appreciated because he gave us a little smile for each scream we attempted. When ever I see videos of them playing overseas you can barely hear them because the sea of fans over power them almost Beatle status, I think KOL was proud to finally be respected for their music and be able to see it here in their USA. In every article/interview you hear the guys talk about their struggles with respect, the personal battles and the relentless limelight; I hate to break it to them but after this album I’m not sure those are going away anytime soon. I can go on and on about the songs they played but let’s not forget their new single “Sex on Fire” (also one of my new ringtones) which gets every girl I talk to hot and bothered. As if their physical attraction wasn’t enough they’ve grown as longhaired young kids in skinny jeans and anorexic vibes into hot men with tones muscles and (sadly) shorter hair but the skinny jeans still stand. With their southern rockin sexiness Jared’s bass lines strummed inside “hot as fever rattling bones”. I was attempting to video them as they sang but the crowd was jumping and I decided to drop the camera and belt out with the rest of the maniacal fans who came to see KOL’s sex on fire…. literally. My only disappointments would be 1. That they didn’t play an everlasting set including their discography and 2. That I didn’t get to meet them in person and 3. That I didn’t see them in the UK who seems to love them almost as much! I know all of these requests are out of the question and asking a lot so I will keep my pictures, videos, and memories of this kick ass show letting me smile at the thought that I WAS THERE!
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