He and She embarked on another night on the town Wednesday evening. This time, as ever, was in pursuit of great live music, as well as general merriment. So off we went to the Murat Theatre in downtown Indy to see Kings of Leon, a gritty rock band hailing from Nashville, TN. We had seen them once previously, at Lollapalooza 07, where they were joined onstage by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder for their finale. In the intervening months they have released 2 more albums and amassed a following robust enough to sell out most of their mid-size venue shows so far on this tour. Hot on the release of their latest singles "Crawl" and "Sex on Fire", this show was sure to rock us... and we were not disappointed in the least.
Arriving early enough to enjoy some beers in the lounge, mingle, and people-watch, we grew visibly excited by the minute. We kept time with the opening band, The Whigs, via several CCTVs and speakers, and finally decided to head to our seats just as they were ending. A short break to allow the roadies to check the stage, and then came the Kings. All I can say is WOW! This is good old American rock-n-roll. But the beauty of them - at least at the moment - is they are on the rise, so they are not yet jaded by fame; they had as much fun as the crowd. Every song is full of power and emotion, and every note is played with the same raw energy as the previous. Given that the 3 brothers in the band grew up touring the country playing Pentecostal revivals, it's no surprise that so many of their songs have an almost gospel-sing-along quality. But don't let that fool you, this is straight up ROCK, and they know how to bring it. As Caleb belted out his lead vocals, the crowd matched him with ferocity. At the ballads, lighters flickered and young lovers swayed. At the jams, hair flew and heads bounced. Do you get the scene? Good.
Playing nearly every familiar song they have, as well as a good portion of the new album, their setlist was solid. They thanked the crowd and headed offstage as we all stood for the obligatory applause-until-encore. They returned for 3 more songs, though unfortunately a few sound issues hampered them (apparently a broken guitar string and a blown bass stack). But they dutifully and energetically finished us off with another favorite, giving us plenty for the night.
And because He and She don't like evenings to end before midnight, we trekked down to Chatham Tap for a late pizza and beers. The perfect cap to a great rock show.
Kings of Leon: go see them.. if you can get tix. These guys are hot, and they show no signs of cooling off or even taking a break anytime soon!
