Episode 030 - Kings of Leon Concert Review

This week, we’re reviewing the Kings of Leon concert at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT on October 5th, 2024. We’ll share our history with the band starting with their first album from 2003 and how their music has progressed over the course of 20 years and 9 studio albums. 

And now, as they wrap up their "Can We Pease Have Fun" tour, we’ll get into the show itself. Whether you're a die-hard KOL fan or just know their hits, we continue our efforts to share insights and clips from the show so that you’ll feel like you were there. So please join us for our review of the Kings of Leon concert, this week on the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast!

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Transcript

Alex Gadd: 0:04

Welcome to the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast. I'm your host, Alex Gadd. And this week, I've got another concert review for you. I went to see Kings of Leon at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Connecticut last week at the end of their tour, where they played a solid 26 song set on a beautiful early fall night. I can't wait to tell you all about it. So please join me for my Kings of Leon concert review coming up right now. I've been a fan of Kings of Leon since 2005, almost two years after their first record came out. A co worker of mine, Javier, turned me on to that album, which was called Youth and Young Manhood. Jav, I'm wishing you well, my friend. Anyway, I was pulled right in. At first, the songs sounded different and unique to me, I guess because I couldn't really understand the lyrics. But the music was so catchy that I stuck with it and figured out singer Caleb Followill's cadences and really fell for that first record. Now the band's second record, Aha Shake Heartbreak, had also been released by that time, but the songs on that one never really hit me the right way. Then in 2007, they released their third album, Because of the Times, and I found a few songs that I liked on that one, particularly the odd song"Black Thumbnail." But I was starting to wonder if this band just wasn't going to be a go to band for me. The next year, however, they released their breakthrough record, Only by the Night, and their two huge hits, Sex on Fire" and"Use Somebody," and suddenly everybody knew about Kings of Leon. Now, just a brief background for the uninitiated, and please note, I'm not deeply steeped in the history of this band, but the band's made up of three Followill brothers, Jared on bass, Nathan on drums, and Caleb on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, plus their cousin Matthew Followill on lead guitar. According to articles on the internet that I've read, the band name is a tribute to all four of the boys' common grandfather, Leon. Hence Kings of Leon. The second to last stop on their tour this year was at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, which is really an excellent venue to see any show at. It's outside, but mostly covered by a huge circus tent structure. So concert goers get to enjoy the best of both worlds, indoor and outdoor. Also, the food and beverage choices there are much, much better than at most venues around here, complete with food trucks, gourmet food stalls under the stands, and all kinds of beer and liquor choices at a surprisingly large number of bars. Now it's pricey to eat and drink there, but that's a given at any concert venue. At least at The AMP, you can eat and drink well for your money. The show started with openers Phantogram who were good and I'm digging into their music more now to get a better feel for them. I had never really heard their music before. Then precisely at 8 45 PM Kings of Leon came on, and jumped right into"Ballerina Radio," the first track from their current release, Can We Please Have Fun, released earlier this year, Caleb came out wearing jeans and a tan blazer over a white t shirt, he looked cool and comfortable. No rhinestones or overly tailored clothes. They looked happy, at ease with their position as rock stars They were definitely at home on that stage. After"Ballerina Radio" was the song"The Bucket" from their second record. It may be my favorite song from that second record. Here's a little bit of that one

3:57

It's part of it, and it's all beneath it. I do love my blood sugar. It's a bonus. Only the sugar I eat. My blood sugar.

Alex Gadd: 4:23

"The Bucket" was followed by 2021's"The Bandit," and then the song"On Call" from their third record,"Nowhere to Run" was fifth. And then they came to one of my favorite songs of theirs,"Manhattan." take a listen.

4:36

Um, mhm. Yeah. Is that that's all. Mhm.

Alex Gadd: 5:10

That was followed by two of their more repetitive songs,"Razz" and"My Party," and then they went into their biggest hit of all,"Sex on Fire." Here's how that one sounded. My first real surprise in the set came two songs later with the song Beautiful War. It's a track from my favorite album of theirs, that was 2013's Mechanical Bull. But it's a bit more melancholy and subdued than the other songs of theirs that I like the best. However, I was mesmerized by the live performance of this one, and so I have no video of it because I was caught up in the moment watching, but definitely check out that track. Beautiful song. It was at this point that, for me at least, the show really seemed to pick up in energy, or momentum, flow, whatever, and a few songs later, the band played their"song for the city." This is a cool idea, they have a wild card spot in their set list, where they play a different song for every show, and they only play that song once on the tour. For this show, they chose the second song from their debut album, the song titled"Happy Alone," which they dedicated to their manager, who they said was from the area. It was a nice surprise for me as that's one of the songs I actually knew and liked, and it's a high energy track that they said they hadn't played in more than a decade. That helped keep the momentum rolling. Here's a little bit of that one. The next pleasant surprise for me came three songs later when they played the song"Back Down South" from 2010's album Come Around Sundown. And this one was really much better than I remembered it from the album version. Again, I was caught off guard, but managed to capture the last few moments of this one. Now, since the show, I've gone back and listened to that track on the recording again, and it's really good. I don't know how I missed it the first time. It's funny how seeing a band that I'm not a diehard fan of allows me to experience some of the songs differently from how I first felt about the studio versions. Some I liked more, like"Back Down South" or"Beautiful War," and others I really liked on record, but they didn't wow me live, like Mechanical Bull's first single,"Super Soaker." Now, after"Back Down South," they played a good new tune called"Mustang" from the new record, and then one of my favorites from their first record,"Molly's Chambers." Here's a little bit of that one. That was followed by the song Walls, which was the title track to their 2016 album, and then"Waste a Moment," which was my favorite song from that Walls record. They wrapped up with two songs I really didn't know,"Find Me" and"Seen," before closing the set with"Closer," which is a kind of atmospheric song that was the opening track to their big hit record Only By The Night. It was different and definitely an engaging way to end the main set, usually bands end on a really high energy song. This was much more of a vibe and it was a cool way to wrap it up. The band came out for a three song encore, starting with"Rainbow Ball" from the new album. Then the older song,"Knocked Up," which was the lead track from the Because of the Times album. And I'm not really too fond of this one. They wrapped up with their second biggest hit, the second single from Only By The Night,"Use Somebody," which went over as big as you would expect, got a huge reaction. And with that, we all headed out, headed home, certainly happy, I expect. So here are my takeaways. The band was solid throughout the show. They have a keyboard player and a multi instrumentalist with them on the road. And they were able to really present their songs in a strong way. Playing outdoors is always a challenge, but between the venue's covered tent, the excellent sound system and the band's talent, the music sounded great live. Second, these guys genuinely seem to be having a great time and came across as having fun on stage. They appreciated the audience. It was refreshing to see a band be so at ease so genuinely humble, so down to earth. Third, the band uses the video screens available to them in really inventive ways. They had songs where they projected graphics that pulse to the music. Other songs where they projected lyrics. They never overwhelmed with the graphics. But they use the screens well to enhance the show. Fourth, the audience was way, way into the band. As a casual fan, I didn't really know what to expect, but the audience was singing along enthusiastically to just about every song and it was fun to see them so passionate. Good for Kings of Leon that they have such a strong, dedicated fan base. They've clearly earned it. If I had one knock about the show, it's that early on, the band chose to play a few too many songs that are too light on lyrics and are then too repetitive for my liking. As I mentioned earlier, songs like"Razz" and"My Party" have cool hooks, no doubt, but repeat the chorus too many times, at least in my opinion. I was surprised again, at the end, when they played"Seen" as the second to last song, that's a really repetitive song too, which for me killed that momentum they had been building up in the second half of the set list up to that point. Anyway, not a huge issue at all. Most of the show is excellent, but I think the pacing could be better with a few set list tweaks Finally, the band just wrapped up their tour, so it'll be interesting to see what they do next. Will they head back to the studio again so quickly? Will they take some time off? Will they go back on the road next year. From everything I've been reading, this past album cycle was one of the most positive experiences they've had as a band. And interestingly, they used the loss of the boy's mother in 2021 as a catalyst to rededicate themselves to their band and to their fans. There's a really good interview online at NBCnews. com in which they discuss all of this that was just put online last month, and it covers this in more detail. If you're interested, go find that one. Anyway, I hope that means that they'll be doing something band related in 2025. As of now, there are no tour dates listed on their website at all. I would certainly like to see them again and hope you can, too. This show really reinforced that my initial interest in the band those 20 some odd years ago was more than worth it. I needed to dive in deeper to their music, which I'm doing now, and with nine albums out there, there's plenty for you to dig into, too, if you want to discover Kings of Leon, so give them a try. That's it for this week's episode. Thank you for joining us. We'll be back next Tuesday, and if you like what you heard today, we'd appreciate it if you would subscribe or follow to make sure you get notified about each new episode. And please tell your friends. Also a reminder that we release a playlist for every episode. So look for the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast Playlist on Spotify every week. This week, featuring the songs from the set list of the Kings of Leon show. Check that out. Additionally, we want to know what you think. Please leave us a comment and we'll try to respond to them. The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast is a World Highway Media production. I'm your host, Alex Gadd, and until next time, remember that life is short. So get those concert tickets.