Kings Of Leon Thrill London In A Scorching Intimate Show
Kings of Leon have been given quite a bit of stick from certain corners over the past few years. They’ve been described as being “a band on auto-pilot”, “adequate” and “unexciting”. But, last night, the Followill clan showed that they’ve got more than enough fight still in them. Adequate? Not a chance. Kings of Leon played a fiery, thrilling set in London’s intimate, piping hot (600 person capacity) venue 229 last night. It was so good; it kind of made you wish they always played venues that size.
When guitarist Matthew Followill was shredding his guitar ferociously to ‘Slow Night, So Long’, or when the crowd screamed 'EIIIIIIIGGHHTEEEEN'along to set opener ‘The Bucket’, or when everyone in attendance – a certain Jimmy Page was also there – lost their sh*t when the snarling ‘Molly’s Chambers’ started, you were reminded of just how talented this band is.
Kings of Leon’s first three albums are among the best rock & roll records released this century. (Don't @ us.) Following those releases, the band moved up a gear and started packing out arenas the world over on the back of grand, polished stadium-sized rock. Their latest album, 'WALLS', is almost like a bridge between their first three records and the following three. 'WALLS'has the scale and sheen of the latter three, but has bags of vim and vigour to go with. These days, Kings of Leon are on strong form.
Naturally, with 'WALLS 'having dropped just last week, last night’s gig was a good opportunity to showcase material from that.‘Around The World’ and ‘Eyes on You’ slotted in like they had been in the set for several years. But it was tracks like ‘Knocked Up’, the band’s 7-minute epic about a pregnancy born out of an illicit relationship, ‘On Call’ and ‘Taper Jean Girl’ that 'really' gotpeople going.
Announcedthat morning (October 18), tickets were priced at just £20, and they sold out immediately.This was a rare chance to see the group in an intimate setting that really played to their strengths, and theirperformance at London’s 229 last nightwas fast, sweaty and a lot of fun. What more could you want from Kings of Leon?
Kings of Leon played:
The Bucket
Mary
On Call
Taper Jean Girl
Find Me
Milk
Fans
Reverend
The Immortals
Pyro
Over
Radioactive
Supersoaker
Eyes on You
Knocked Up
Waste a Moment
Molly's Chambers
Trani
Encore:
Slow Night, So Long
Around the World
Arizona
Sex on Fire