Kings of Leon are my new favorite band. They have it all. Great music, great lyrics, and an amazing live show. They’re also gorgeous southern boys. God bless America!
Kings of Leon consist of Caleb Followill, rhythm guitar and lead singer, Nathan Followill, drums and backing vocals, Jared Followill, bass, backing vocals, synthesizer, and Matthew Followill, lead guitar and backing vocals.
Again, I was introduced to this band via Chairpage. At first I thought…They’re hot…and that’s all. Then I actually listened to their music. They have an incredibly unique sound. Caleb’s voice is definitely one of a kind. Nathan is a superb drummer and Matthew kills it on the guitar. And then there’s Jared… It’s no secret among my friends that he’s my favorite. To me, he makes the band. His baseline is truly the heartbeat of the group. The boy has mad, mad, skills! I think he could be one of the greats.
So, this fall I was lucky enough to see them live. And, I do mean lucky. I managed to get front row! Now this was not a case of easily strolling up to the front row. It was a sold out show. We arrived at the venue, The Pageant, in St. Louis, at about noon. I was determined to get my preferred spot! It paid off!
There were two opening bands, The Whigs, and We Are Scientists. They were alright, but I was saving my love for the Kings! The lead singer of We Are Scientists actually stood on the barricade directly in front of me and sang for about two minutes. It was really funny because his…ahem…crotch.. was right in my face. I must say, it was not enjoyable! It was actually a little uncomfortable!
So, after the opening bands came The Kings. They opened with Closer, which happens to be my favorite track off their latest album, Only By The Night. After that, the show is a blur. A very, very, nice blur! They totally gave it their all and they sounded absolutely brilliant. Jared gave us a nice amount of his classic ‘bass faces‘, Caleb danced/mosied around the stage in all his rugged glory, Nathan chewed his gum like a pro, and Matthew dazzled the crowd with his rock star poses.
The concert was a day before the presidential election, so Caleb playfully dedicated Charmer to Sarah Palin, and, Milk to George W. Bush. They were obviously voting for Barack Obama! Could this night possibly get any better?
It did! After the show, I walked around back where we parked (right next to the tour bus!), and stood in line waiting to see if they would come out and greet the fans. I was not disappointed! Nacho (their cousin and guitar tech) came out and chatted with us. He was really adorable and very sweet.
Nathan came out next looking very lovely and stating that he’d start at the front of the line and work his way down. I thought, “Great!”, considering I was at the front of the line…but he walked right past me! I didn’t let this deter me, after all, I was on a mission! I worked up the courage and walked to the back of the line and tapped him on the shoulder and asked if I could get a picture. He said “Yeah, but we have to play smell the marker!”. I had no problem with that! My husband fumbled with the camera (again!) but it didn’t bother me, I got to hang on to Nathan for a couple of minutes. After the pic was taken, I walked right back up to the front of the line! The security must have been feeling pretty generous that night!
Smell the marker!
Finally, Jared came out. I didn’t see him at first. I had my back to the front of the line and my cousin nudged me and pointed. I turned around and there he was, looking beautiful, in all black. He chatted with me for a minute or two and amazingly recognized me from a social networking site *gasp*. He was a total sweet heart!
Caleb and Matthew did not come out to greet the fans. I saw Matt go straight to the bus with his lady, Johanna, but didn’t see Caleb at all. Sad!
It was THE high-light of my year, and I felt high for about a month after! If you ever get a chance, go see this band! You won’t regret it!
Albums
- Holy Roller Novocaine
- Youth and Young Manhood
- Aha Shake Heartbreak
- Because of the Times
- Only By The Night
Concert Highlights
- Closer
- Fans
- Manhattan
- Cold Desert
Official video for Use Somebody
Paranoid Eyes 