Kings of Leon leave me sock-less and loving it
Jun 6, 2007, 04:38 PM | by Gavin Shulman
Categories: Music
Let me begin by saying that asking me to objectively review a Kings of Leon concert is like asking Sarah Sweet-Tooth to objectively review a Pixy Stick. With that said, however, they did rock the absolute pollen out of New York's Roseland Ballroom last night.
If you're not too familiar with the Kings, I like to consider them The Best Band You May Have Heard Of. I urge you to go, dare I say it, buy a CD. I'm partial to their second album Aha Shake Heartbreak, but their newest one, the polished Because of The Times, may have more pop appeal and is extremely solid.
The long and short of it that the four Followills, three brothers and a cousin who comprise the band, know how to put on a ducking rock show. No tedious monologues, no preaching, no pauses, no slow-it-down ballads, just a tight hour and ten minutes of howl-tastic rock and roll.
Opening up with, for my money, the best track off the new album, "Black Thumbnail," the Tennessee kids came out swinging and never stopped for a clutch. Plowing through their new material, they played pretty much every track off Because Of The Times (except, curiously, "Ragoo," which I think may have made for a catchier first single then the one they went with, "On Call"). It was refreshing to hear so many in the crowd singing along with all the new songs. The vibe of the concert was definitely of the die-hard variety. These people weren't here to be converted, they'd been practicing in the Church of Leon for some time now. Then again, singing along at a Kings concert is akin to speaking in tongues, since no one really knows what frontman Caleb is actually saying. Which is probably where your love for the band will end up hinging. Either you appreciate the ambiguity of their lyrical wails, or you just don't get it. In which case, your loss; go listen to some profound emo.
The Kings rounded out the concert by mixing in their most popular tracks from Aha Shake like "The Bucket," "Four Kicks," and "King of The Rodeo," as well as some killer songs I had nearly forgotten from their first album, Youth and Young Manhood, like "Molly's Chambers" and "California Waitin'." The highlight may have been their ode to drunken impotence, "Soft," which had everyone in the crowd jumping and shaking like drunken impotents.
At one point between songs, Caleb took the time to thank the crowd, announcing, "We didn't remember New York crowds being this good." To which everyone in the sold-out crowd, who had obviously listened to the albums and probably seen the Kings in one of their high-profile gigs opening for U2 or Bob Dylan, or sandwiched somewhere midday in a packed festival slate, roared back, seeming to say, "Don't worry. We remembered you."
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