9.3.2010 - Kings of Leon with The Whigs and The Black Keys
September 16, 2010
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Indianapolis, IN
Our second helping of a live Kings of Leon show proved to be just as great, if not more, than our first opportunity to see the band. You may remember that back in June we caught our first Kings show at Bonnaroo…on a larger than life stage, surrounded by 80,000 other people. So, this show, despite being at one of the larger venues in Indianapolis (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater) felt strangely intimate, even amongst a 13,000 plus crowd.
The evening began with a band called The Whigs, who lined up perfectly with the sound and genre of Kings of Leon. These three guys had a lot of energy and watching the show reminded me of seeing videos of The Who and The Doors in their early stages. They had a gritty, old school, “I genuinely love to rock out” feel to their music. There seemed to be quite a few people in the crowd that followed the band exclusively and sang along to every song they played.
Next up was The Black Keys, a two man ensemble from Ohio…but don’t be fooled by any inclinations that they are a simple mid-west band. These guys combined rock and blues in a way that had the crowd so hyped up for the rest of the evening. I’ll admit, I was a bit saddened that their show had to end…I really wanted to know more about their sound and what they had to offer. It was pretty obvious that The Black Keys also had their own following amongst the crowd that evening, which I thought was pretty cool, since bands such as the Keys don’t tend to receive the credit they deserve.
The Kings of Leon soon made their way to the stage, after filling the evening air with their signature red smoky introduction. As I mentioned in the Bonnaroo review, I love the set up and stage production of the Kings live show. It has a sort of dirty, industrial feel with the effect of a backdrop of hundreds of can lights that move, along with the video screen that gave us shots of the band up close in a black and white background. I just think it works perfectly with what they are trying to achieve. It’s not distracting at all and only helps build the energy of the show as a whole. They started off the set with “Crawl,” the quintessential rock show opener. What I noticed more about this set list was that the Kings of Leon played songs from all across their library, letting the crowd know that they have much more to offer than just what we tend to hear on Top 40 radio. I love it when bands find a way to do this…and I especially appreciated the Kings doing this because I think they are well aware that in places such as Indy, the majority of the crowd may only be familiar with songs from “Only By the Night.” It’s a win-win situation for them; they are in a sense introducing new material by means of their older material.
Speaking of new material, Kings played their new single, “Radioactive,” and also “Back Down South,” from their upcoming album. The crowd seemed kind of neutral to these songs, but I say give it a few months and everyone will be very familiar with these two tunes.
The Kings played a full 17 song set, saving songs such as “Sex On Fire” and “Use Somebody” for the ending part of the show. As much as I am a little sick of both of these songs due to their overplayed popularity, I have to admit that seeing and hearing a crowd sing along to these tunes does nothing but reaffirm that the Kings of Leon are a solid rock band. It made me realize that the Kings haven’t necessarily sold out to popularity, but that perhaps they are making such an impact in the music world that even Top 40 radio can’t help but play them.
It was a beautiful evening filled with legitimate rock bands who united a crowd with the same kind of energy that one would expect from the classic rock bands of history. Certainly, the Kings of Leon have aligned themselves for such greatness and we look forward to taking that journey with them through their live shows and their future projects.
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