Technically, it was the fourth day of Summerfest, but it was our third night at the fairgrounds. The main reason for the visit was to see Nashville’s Kings of Leon, a Southern rock-infused four-piece outfit, which consists of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill.
We caught the end of the Whigs’ set. The band hails from Athens, Georgia and their sound – tight hooks and good song structure – fits well opening for KOL. One of the coolest moments of the night came when lead singer’s guitar strap broke. He tried to reaffix the duct tape that was holding the strap on, but it wouldn’t stick, so he grabbed another guitar, plugged in, and finished the song. We only witnessed about twenty minutes of the set, but they did more than enough to get me to their MySpace page. They’re definitely a band to keep an eye on.
As I looked around the venue, it was amazing to see how many youngsters were not wearing ear protection. The mix was very, very loud and I’m certain there was a lot of hearing damage done that night. I didn’t wear earplugs when I went to concerts as a teenager either, but now I prefer it, mainly because I can hear the song better and I don’t have to deal with ringing ears the next day. If your ears are ringing, it means that you’ve damaged them. My message to the kids: Wear earplugs! And stop smoking while you’re at it!
Next up was Mr. North, a four-piece hard rock band out of Dublin, Ireland. Frontman Colin Smith has an impressive voice, but thick guitars with looooong notes just aren’t my thing.
Finally, the Kings of Leon took the stage. The venue had filled up at this point, and I realized, the smaller the band, the cooler the crowd. When a band is small, there is a sense of community amongst its fans, and once a group gets too popular, that feeling is lost. KOL are pretty big, but they aren’t huge. The general rule of thumb is: if frat guys are playing your music at their parties, it’s time to come out with a concept album.
Since we got there early, we were in the second row, standing on a set of bleachers. As soon as the KOL show started, a lot of people tried to get down front, but many turned around when they saw that there was nowhere to stand with a good vantage point. In general, the crowd was drunk, but reasonably courteous, so the people around us weren’t much of a distraction.
The Kings of Leon sounded great, though Caleb’s vocals were a little buried in the mix. They played a total of 19 songs in just over an hour, moving from song to song without much conversation in between. The band has been in the studio working on a new album, and they played several new songs during the set. Based on this snapshot, the new album should be solid.
The band played several great songs, including “Milk,” “Molly’s Chambers,” “Wasted Time” and “King of the Rodeo”, but the best moment of the night was the guitar opening of “The Bucket.” They closed the main set with a rousing rendition of “Trani” before playing two more new songs as an encore. I’ve seen the band play three times, and they’ve yet to play my favorite song (“Joe’s Head”) but it’s hard to complain after such a great show. I’d argue that Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak represent one of the best debut/sophomore efforts in rock history, and if the new songs are any indication, the Kings of Leon are still on the rise.
