Kings of Leon make me taste blood
I saw Kings of Leon at a sold-out show last night at the Ogden, and it was possibly the best show I’ve seen so far this year.
In addition to a catalog of songs that grows and shimmers live, I was completely blown away and converted by the stage presence (and yes, swagger) of these brother/cousins who acted like they’d been doing this for decades. My pal in attendance pointed out the similar brooding demeanor of guitarist Matthew Followill to Keith Richards, and I have to say that I saw more than a little of Jagger’s panache in Caleb’s frontman posturing. This was very good. As a band they were tight, intense, and a real joy to witness doin’ their thing.
Although the show was short at 70 minutes (and left me with a strong hankering for more), the setlist was top-notch, heavy on the older stuff, with a crowd absolutely bursting with enthusiasm. This spilled over and manifested itself in shoving and attempts at moshing — leaving me with a head-butt to the mouth and the taste of my own blood.
But the ferocity of the music fully recharged my soul in that inarticulable way, and I cannot recommend this tour strongly enough. Any guys who are confident enough to write and sing a song like “Soft” deserve due notice in my book. Ha. This is a band that absolutely needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated. Sure, I’d heard their studio albums, but it really didn’t prepare me for the sheer . . . supernova of last night.
My Third House (b-side) – Kings of Leon
(A great recent b-side from the On Call CDS which actually has lyrics about Colorado so clearly there’s a theme here)
Opening band Snowden was . . . snowed in (and isn’t it ironic). They didn’t make it out of Wyoming, so local band Born In The Flood filled in and impressed me as well. All my Denver friends keep telling me to check them out, and their set last night convinced me to give their music a closer listen. Last night was time well-spent on all fronts.
Name: Heather Browne
I love your blog, love pearl jam, and have been listening to kings of leon for nonstop for the past 2 weeks. i cannot wait to see them at Lollapalooza, and have been debating to go see them at the electric factory when they are in philly in june…based on your review – i think i have no choice but to go!! keep up the awesome music education and reviews…i check your site as often as i do ebay and craiglist….xoxo CMG
CMG — May 6, 2007 @ 9:37 pm
thats chill,
i saw them a while ago with the shout out louds and secret machines, still one of the best shows i have ever been to.
Im glad they are still rocking hard, when i saw them they were the deffinition of bad ass.
JJ — May 7, 2007 @ 10:54 am
i wish i could see KoL here in Austin on wednesday, but Modest Mouse is going to be in town as well and I saw KoL the last two times they came…so i made a hard decision.
only in austin: in one night, you have the choice to go see Kings of Leon at Stubbs, Modest Mouse at the Backyard, or Damien Rice at Bass Concert Hall.
hunter — May 7, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
We got Damien Rice also on Saturday night and I chose KOL. I choose to rock. :)))
heather — May 7, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
Dammit! I really wanted to go to that KoL show – because I love love love their 3 albums – but I had a friend’s 40th birthday party to go to Saturday night. Which wasn’t nearly as fun as the KoL show, I’m sure. Dammit!
Jeff C. — May 7, 2007 @ 2:02 pm
Went to the opening show in Seattle last week at the Moore. Heather, it was where they filmed the Even Flow video so it was pretty cool to be at that venue. The show kicked ass – they really did rock and the new songs sound better live than they do on the album.
Smik — May 7, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
Not really sure what’s going on here…a “jj” and a “jeff c” have already commented. Seems like there’s a weird Fight Club moment going on…
Anyway, thanks for the pic of the marquee. I might have to shoot up to capitol city to go see the Hold Steady. Hopefully the pain in your mouth wasn’t so great that it surpasses the possible joy of a Hold Steady show…or maybe that should read the joy of a possible Hold Steady show.
JJ — May 7, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
Smik, very very cool. Great venue. They are tearing it up all over it seems.
heather — May 7, 2007 @ 3:19 pm
I want to do a sketch called Kings of Leon Phelps in which The Kings of Leon meet The Ladies Man from SNL. I think it can be huge. Your thoughts?
Passion of the Weiss — May 7, 2007 @ 5:02 pm
Fantastic all around evening! I just feel privileged to have witnessed KOL and the famous ‘shot to the mouth’ first hand with the blogger herself!
jakehutch — May 8, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
Ah, just what the rock and roll stethoscope ordered! Nice B-Side! Thanks!!
Cheers,
Doctor Mooney — May 8, 2007 @ 8:22 pm
Thanks for the opportunity to get even more excited about their visit to my St.Louis at the end of this month! Their show I saw last year had Caleb in an extremely crabby mood, and led to one of the most electrifying and emotional shows I’ve ever witnessed. Their albums are absolutely great, but that show made me a life long fan.
-M
Hetero-Erotica — May 9, 2007 @ 2:33 am
Does anyone have a setlist for the Cinco de Mayo show at the Ogend Theatre in Denver 2007. If so please email me @ cmalear@hotmail.com. Thanks. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
Chad Malear — May 11, 2007 @ 12:34 am
What a great show it was!
Here’s a 50 sec. clip of “On Call” from that night…if you’re interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9muR3Aou44
renee — May 14, 2007 @ 1:00 pm
Hey, it seems the link to listen/download the B-side “my third house” has expired. If you could take a few minutes to repost the link you would give me a few more minutes of the Kings of Leon…and that would be some well spent time. Thanks as always.
Nicholas — September 25, 2007 @ 10:48 pm