Kings of Leon are a four man American rock band from Tennessee. Although they first formed together in 1999 it was not until 2008 that they got their first big break. Their big break came from the two BRIT awards they won from the success of their platinum selling album "Only By Night." This album includes their three number one singles, Sex Is On Fire, Use Somebody, and Notion.
To date, this band has released five albums; "Youth & Young Manhood," "Aha Shake Heartbeat," "Because of the Times," "Only by the Night," and the most recent (back in 2010) "Come Around Sundown." Although this group have been on hiatus for the last couple of years, they are doing a series of gigs over the next upcoming months, and are also due to release a sixth album "Mechanical Bull," sometime this year.
I have seen Kings of Leon twice, once in Manchester and once in Hyde Park, London. For me seeing them play in Manchester on their sold out UK tour two years ago was the most memorable experience. I was originally put off by the price of the ticket and the size of the venue (absolutely massive!) when I was buying the tickets. Shockingly, although I was quite far back from the stage, and the arena was filled with hundreds of fans, the atmosphere was not only electrifying but intimate as well.
I have to admit I have never a seen a crowd of such magnitude become so wild and excited during a gig before. The reception that the band received when they first stepped out onto the stage was so great that it was five minutes until the band could even begin singing.
Considering the gig was only an hour and a half the crowd was certainly spoiled by the number of great songs they got to hear. When I saw them in Manchester their set list was flavorless and included Crawl, Taper Jean Girl, Molly's Chamber, Red Morning Light, Fans, California Waiting, Milk, Closer, Four Kicks, Charmer, My Party, Sex is on Fire, The Bucket, On Call, Cold Desert, and Use Somebody.
What made their performance even more memorable for me was the amount of effort and passion they put into each of their songs.The band seemed in both shock and gratitude by the response the crowd gave them. When it came to the encore, Kings Of Leon ended their show with four more songs including Knocked Up and Manhattan. I was generally gutted when the gig came to an end because the time seemed to fly by.
The quality of the music and talent shown by Kings of Leon was so high that the lack of on stage props and extras did not matter. I would certainly say this is a gig not to be missed.
If you wish to read my review of their live peformance at Hyde Park, check out: http://musicgigsnfestivals.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/kings-of-leon-hyde-park-review.html
Tour dates:
12th June. The 02 Arena - London
13th June. The O2 Arena - London
24th June. Manchester Arena - Manchester
25th June. Manchester Arena - Manchester
9th July. LG Arena - Birmingham
10th July. LG Arena - Birmingham
14th August. Boucher Playing Fields - Belfast
15th August. Bellahouston Park - Glasgow
17th August - V Festival
For more information about their European dates and to buy tickets check out: http://www.songkick.com/artists/2847-kings-of-leon/calendar?page=1
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