Without doubt 2003 was a year in which Rock re-established itself as a musical force ( read farce for The Darkness! ) and for many the genre of choice. Also without doubt is the fact that 2003 was a year in which the beard once again became the ultimate in Rock n' roll fashion accessories; for men anyway..
Hailing from Nashville, USA, the KINGS OF LEON were undoubtedly the leading players in both the re-emergence of Rock and the great facial hair conspiracy. Their debut album, "Youth and Young Manhood" was for this reviewer one of the best albums of 2003. A heady brew of southern fried bluesy rock n' roll with a hint of The Strokes in both the backline and the production. An extravaganza from the start to the finish from the punchy swamp rock of "Red Morning Light" to the effortless elegance of bonus track, "Talahina Sky," it's a great album.
Tickets for this gig, one of a few on a short tour of the UK were very hard to come by and fetching upwards of 3 to 4 times their face value on Ebay and a bit more outside the venue. ( Thanks again to the gentleman who sold a ticket to the Bradistini massive outside for face value, a gentleman indeed). The place was absolutely packed, a sell out show and then some. This meant we had to wait a long time to be served our drinks at the bar; not a good thing for thirsty people. Sort it out venue, maybe you could hire some more staff, I know this would be a sure-fire hit with the punters..
Anyway, the starry fairy lit stage looked really cool especially as it was so near to Christmas and it made up a little for the period of parchedness. Enter the Followill family led by Caleb, moustachioed and resplendent, the crowd go wild and the band kick into opener 'Red Morning Light'. What becomes apparent early on is that they sound different than they do on record. The gloss and sheen of their major release is gone and replaced with an even more laid back and makeshift stoner approach save the rock exhibitionist posturing of muscle-top protagonist Matthew Followill on lead guitar.
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In some places this translates to sluggishness. "Whicker Chair" in particular suffers from this as does "California Waiting", with both missing out on the sprinklings of magic dust. In fact the show on the whole fails to reach any great heights with the only real departure or moment of note being an odd plodding version of "Molly's Chamber" which sticks in the mind for the wrong reasons, highlighted even more so by being immediately followed by a raucous album ( proper) version of the same track. They still manage to win over the majority and the crowd readily join in without provocation, even taking over with the singalong during "Holy Roller Novacaine."
On stage Caleb is non-committal and self contained, he doesn't say much at all in between songs, his voice cutting through only when it should without dominating the sound during songs. Visually there's not much going on at all and that coupled with a nagging feeling that there's something missing from the sound means the gig overall falls a bit flat.
On tonight's evidence the Kings of Leon live are not the same band as on reckid . That said they've got a great bunch of songs that have only served to build the expectation surrounding these guys to perhaps unreal proportions. It's still early doors and I can't help but remain excited by them, their 21st Century brand of southern rock n'roll..and the beards, of course.
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