Gig Watch: Kings Of Leon - Festival Hall

By Sean Lynch

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Kings of Leon blew the roof off of Festival Hall in Melbourne

Do you ever wonder why it is that Rock Stars seem to possess a euphoric presence on the public like no other. They ain't curing cancer, there certainly aren't any Nobel prizes coming their way - let's face it - the major skill is being able to play an instrument. But for whatever reason they are adored like Gods amongst men.

It wasn't until US outfit Kings of Leon hit the Festival Hall stage until I truly believed that a group of musicians deserved such praise. In the words of Ron Burgundy, they were 'The Balls'.

I've never felt old before, I was always the one looking back at the crowd behind me and laughing at the 35 year old couple who seemed desperate to cling to some inkling of youth...that was until heading to the much anticipated Kings gig.

I can no longer count on my hands the number of bands I've lined up in the cold for, on the uncomfortable sidewalk out the front of Festival Hall in order to get a position on the fence. Yet, for some reason, I just thought to myself "I don't think I have the energy for this" and opted to go to the pub. That - and the fact that there wasn't a single punter heading towards the venue that looked like they had more than 4 pubes...

Yep, at the ripe old age of 22 - it seems I've past my prime. But I digress.

Realising that arriving at 5:30pm meant that any chance of poll position was gone, myself and the fellow cohorts headed down to the pub for a few brews, quite content that we would be watching the show from the chilled environs of the back of the GA. Several jugs later, we casually stumbled towards Festy Hall (seriously...how the hell does it still get booked??) and headed for the bar while the relaxed tunes of Youth Group wafted through the crowd.

While I have no real beef with Youth Group, you seem to get the sense that they've really made their way up the ranks without anyone really giving two shits about them. Sure, they had the OC song (good luck finding another track that doesn't sound identical to the rest), yet somehow they've managed to secure some of the primo support slots of the last two years.

None the less, my indifferent feeling towards the support act were the least of my worries. It seems some brainiac had decided to move the easily accessible bar and moved it into some sort of underground dungeon / sauna. With little-to-no audio able to breach the stone coffin that was the bar - we simply had to make educated guesses as to when the show was starting. A few more over priced VBs later (admittedly, the confined space does cause a sense of delirium which is quite fun when mixed with the excitement of seeing a gig) and we made our way back up the stairs just in time to hear the roar of the teeny bopper crowd as KOL entered via stage left.

Yep, it seems it's all of a sudden it's "Fox FM" friendly to enjoy the Kings... which was somewhat annoying (admittedly, the eye candy was phenomenal).

But to the gig. Having been somewhat disappointed by the boys performance at Falls Festival, it was great to see Caleb & Co at the top of their game. Each track was delivered with a furious energy, inciting the little dancer inside us all to bust out some rockin moves. Ripping out instant classics like California Waiting, Fans, Charmer, Molly's Chambers and The Bucket - the Brothers Followill delivered with precision.

Radio friendly hit On Call received the biggest note of recognition from the bottle blonde girls in the front rows (who all seemed to have visited Dangerfield moments earlier to purchase their stock standard "Ramones" tshirt... yep, apparently, they used to be a band. And here we all were thinking it was just a clothing label!!).

Now, I'll admit that I've used this article to vent several frustrations. I need to ensure that my tirade doesn't mask the fact that Kings of Leon: Live at Festival Hall - was without doubt - the best show I've been to. The noise that emanated from the crowd was simply astonishing. It's a bit of a cliche to say that "They nearly blew the roof off the place" - but for once, I legitimately believed that Festy Hall may have incurred some structural damage from the enormous levels of audience adulation.

The band were visibly taken aback by the overwhelming audience, and responded in kind with a ferocious set. This is what gigs were created for - a place where both the band and the crowd enjoy the night as much as each other, and this just happened to be one of those rare occasions.

Covered in sweat and beaming with adrenalin, the packed out crowd spewed onto the streets grinning from ear to ear.

A night to remember.

The crowd was deafening as Kings of Leon ploughed through their back catalogue of hits

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