By a last minute chain of events, I found myself at Madison Square Garden for Kings Of Leon’s sold out show along with Gary Clark, Jr. I didn’t have any expectations of the night, but I was in the mood for a rather big show. Something that would allow me to completely avoid the annoyance that is Valentine’s Day.
I ended up getting seats last minute on the side of the stage just angled far enough to be a bit behind it, enough for the tickets to be listed as obstructed view. This worried me a bit during Gary Clark, Jr.’s opening set, as the curtain behind him and his band prevented me from seeing much.
Even so, Clark, Jr. and his band absolutely ripped through their opening set, captivating the crowd with pure rock and roll talent. The sort of talent that you don’t find in music anymore. Clark Jr. is an insane guitar player, so good that it pains me that he isn’t a chart-topping rock star. As the crowd filled in during his set, he continued to work his magic on them, to the point where by his final note, he had a good chunk of the crowd giving him a rousing standing ovation. How often do you see that from an opening set?
There’s no need to discuss how far Kings Of Leon have come as a band now. Playing MSG is practically a regular deal for these guys now, who are so far removed from the old image that I have of them: long haired southern boys who made dirty garage rock. I’ll readily admit that I miss those early days of the band. I still feel that their earlier albums are much better. They got lost in trying to make the biggest music that they could, to the point where it started to feel a bit forced. I’m still not as familiar with their most recent albums as I am with their first four, but I went into the show open minded and it paid off.
I’ve previously seen Kings Of Leon twice before last night, both coming at festival sets (All Points West & Governors Ball). This made this my first real show, and it didn’t disappoint. The band have certainly grown into their stadium shoes, filling out The Garden with confidence and ease. These guys are full blown rock stars.
Their set was a good balance of songs both old and new, with a few select choices coming from nearly every album. We got oldies such as “Milk”, “The Bucket” “Four Kicks”, and “Mollys Chambers”; all flooding me with early memories of just discovering the band. Other highlights were breakthrough tracks such as “Charmer”, “My Party”, “True Love Way”, and “On Call.” Game changers such as “Sex On Fire” and “Radioactive” were massive, as was Mechanical Bull lead single “Supersoaker” which still rules live. I surprisingly adored their performance of “Use Somebody”, after being sick of it for so long. It works wonders in a big arena.
I guess you could say I have had a love hate relationship with Kings Of Leon. I just think they have been really hit or miss lately. But tonight’s performance at Madison Square Garden was the real deal. It was big time. I was quite impressed, and will not hesitate for a moments second to see them again.
Plus, it was pretty cool that drummer Nathan Followill thought to throw his drumsticks to the fans sitting on the side of the stage. I was lucky enough to grab one of those bad boys. Didn’t expect to leave a Kings Of Leon arena show with a souvenir.
Here are some iPhone pics I snapped during the show:
Kings Of Leon:
Gary Clark, Jr.:
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