KINGS OF LEON gets warm homecoming welcome
They’re not exactly royalty, but they were welcomed home like Kings. Three Followill brothers — Nathan (drums), Caleb (lead vocals, guitar), and Jared (bass) — and their first cousin Matthew (lead guitar) returned to Oklahoma for a family reunion with several thousand of their biggest fans. It’s been years since the Kings of Leon has performed in its halfway home state, but no amount of absence dampened Oct. 4’s fervent celebration of what might be the last straightforward, four-piece rock act that has the bravado and radio-ready song catalog to fill an arena on a weeknight.
“I was living in OKC when I decided I wanted to make music,” Caleb Followill said to the Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd. “I wasn’t quite sure how I’d do it. It ended up working out. Anybody, if you wanna make music, you can do it in this town.”
That’s about as sentimental as the homecoming got. Caleb Followill addressed the crowd only a handful of times. I’m tempted to compare the evening to a humongous church service. Not in terms of volume because I needed earplugs in my perched seat, but rather in the devotion of fans and the band’s no nonsense, nonstop delivery of songs.
Every moment had the timing of a procedure.
Kings of Leon hit every note and mark during a nearly twohour set that touched on every one of its LP’s. The evening flew by.
I’m usually itching for an exit during most concerts once I hit the hour mark. Not that night though.
There’s something about the communal woooooaaaah’s that riled up the crowd and made me feel at home, too.
It’s also worth the price of admission to get a reminder of how raw those early KOL tunes were. In a way, I saw two bands that night — those kids who could sweat it out at Cain’s Ballroom and the top-tier arena talent of today.
“It’s good to be home,” Caleb Followill told the crowd. “You guys are awesome.”
Caleb Followill’s scruffy howls are still perfectly suited for songs like “Milk” and “The Bucket.” That young, unpolished singer is still in there somewhere. I sorta wonder if that’s why the band seems almost swallowed by a huge stage setup. They grew up so fast.
But by no means did they look uncomfortable rocking out.
They stick to their spots and keep relatively still for how spirited the songs are. There’s more rock than roll. Kings of Leon is tame compared to the marathon I saw Bruce Springsteen run on that same arena floor.
Lasers, lights and big screens do a lot of the heavy lifting while the band unpacked the hits and even a couple stripped-down acoustic numbers.
Intimacy isn’t natural in an arena setting so why not let the songs do the talking?
And don’t get me wrong, it’s not all rigid. Caleb Followill slapped Matthew Followill on the butt after a song, and Nathan Followill chewed gum and blew bubbles.
“Still having a good time?” Caleb Followill asked the crowd toward the end of the evening. “I wonder why it’s been so long since we played here?”
Probably because Kings of Leon is welcomed home across the world. However, the band acknowledged close friends and family in the crowd. I heard more than a few Boomer Sooners in reply.
I think everyone felt like a Followill last night. Patrons sang along as if they’ve been belting KOL songs in the shower every morning for years.
Here’s a few more observations from the show.
1. Live music fans smart enough to show up early were treated to an opening set from Dawes. Packed tightly between a huge maroon curtain and several stage monitor speakers, the quintet sped through mostly early material. Frontman Taylor Goldsmith’s delivery was faster than I’d ever heard it before, and solos were kept to a minimum. It was economical, but no less impactful.
“I’ve been in this room before. I watched the Clippers get their a-- kicked by the Thunder,” Goldsmith said to the crowd. “Am I standing where Russell Westbrook dunked? I’m sure I’m close.”
2. The stage was dim, smoky and purple when Kings of Leon got started at 8:45 p.m. It looked like something out of Prince’s basement, but the unfussy vibe represented what I imagine were the band’s early days. The bass drum was glowing orange, outlining the “KOL” taped to it. It resembled a bat signal of the spectacle soon to follow.
3.The band ripped through several songs while much of the stage hid behind that maroon curtain. I loved hearing songs from “Aha Shake Heartbreak” but might’ve liked singing along to “Use Somebody” just as much.
4.The curtain closed for a short, three-song acoustic set. Caleb Followill started on his own with “Milk,” but the rest of the band joined shortly after. It’s fun to see those songs work with such little instrumentation.
5.Caleb Followill seemingly went solo again to play the title track off “WALLS” and for the entire song I wondered where the extra instrumentation was coming from. Toward the end of the track, the curtains ascended and there were the remaining Kings, along with two auxiliary members to help fill up the arena.
6. The stage was constantly growing and transforming. I’m sure there’s a metaphor for the band in there somewhere. I liked the giant sunset backdrop, but it eventually fell to reveal more LED screens. Each song featured fresh designs. The artwork broadcast went from creepy, blindfolded women and suited elderly men to funky artwork and vintage camera filters. At times, the screens made the band look like an Abba music video.
7. Those pulsing guitar parts in “Radioactive” resemble U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name” and it made me think Bono and Co. are the missing link between the rowdy “Aha Shake Heartbreak” and the polished sounds of “Because of the Times.”
8. A few nights ago, Kings of Leon played a freezing, outdoor concert at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre. I couldn’t tell until really late in the show, but Caleb Followill’s vocals started sounding a little rough.
“My voice is not the best tonight,” he told the crowd. “But if you sing with me, it won’t be so bad.”
They obliged.
9. Tracks from 2017’s “WALLS” dominated the set list. I counted seven. It sounded like “Waste a Moment” was the most happily received from the crowd. It seemed like a fitting way to wrap the show.
10. There wasn’t an encore, which I’m definitely OK with. I think it’s silly to go to all that trouble just to walk back onstage. Nathan Followill took the last seconds of stage time to throw a horn’s down. It sparked an OU chant. Yeah, these guys are still from Oklahoma.