Tuborg Reader Reviews - Kings of Leon

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I have to admit, being from a small city with small venues, I was dubious about going to a gig at Wembley. Having seated tickets, my friend and I did find ourselves surrounded by people at least twice our age, but hell did Kings Of Leon get everyone moving tonight!

Still looking new, Wembley Arena sits modest and pretty beside the beast that is the Stadium. When inside the mobile beer vendors who don’t seem to have heard of I.D go down a treat as we take our perfectly positioned seats.

The support act tonight are Manchester Orchestra, they play a slightly shy set to a near empty venue whilst their keyboardist appears to enjoy injuring himself. Their strong vocals and mature songs show promise, but they seem awkward on stage. I’d like to be able to tell you the audience reactions to this band, practically unknown in the U.K, but they didn’t leave much time for introductions or applause.

After the most comfortable between-bands wait I’ve ever experienced the lights go down and the crowd roars and screams in equal measures as the four trendy southern boys everyone has been waiting for take to the stage. By this point the venue has filled and from the first strums of Slow Night, So Long the Followills have us entranced. With every wiggle of Caleb’s hips, every pout from Jared, every bubble blown by Nathan and every screech that resonates from Matt’s guitar, the whole of the arena are with them. The rolling drums and jolty guitar of My Party gives way to near disco-esque dancing whilst the heavy bass of Holy Roller Novocaine and McFearless has the walls of Wembley arena shuddering with the weight of thousands of the tight-jeaned “moshers” and crowd surfers it contains.

The most awesome sights tonight are triggered by The Bucket and the mention of “all of London sings” in Fans as the floor beneath us erupts with a sea of arms and singing above the rasping vocals of King Caleb himself.

The end is nigh as the southern blues of Trani gets out the swaying lighters and the encore brings an affecting finish with Knocked Up seeing the band at their best, signalling the crowd to take over vocals before Four Kicks storms in and Charmer joyfully wails it’s way to the end.

Until now I had seen Kings Of Leon just once at Reading Festival; I thought them brilliant, however, tonight was something else. Their stage presence at their own show is significantly different; they seem totally at ease: Caleb talks to the crowd, Jared hams it up, they even smiled more than once! This venue is the perfect size for a band with such energy and popularity of Kings Of Leon; they delivered a truly magnificent performance to remind that it’s not all about the looks. Kings Of Leon are the best band to emerge and remain this decade, lets hope they’re around a lot longer.