While an abundance of live music is a daily occurrence in our great city, it is not often that arguably one of the biggest rock bands in the world pays a visit to Nottingham. So naturally when the Followill family announced they were coming over from Nashville and stopping at the Arena in support of their latest opus Can We Please Have Fun, we had to go along to catch the Kings of Leon in action...
It is immediately clear upon entering the arena that tonight’s show is a hot ticket, with support from indie darlings The Vaccines making this a terrific double bill. It’s good to see many have been tempted out early, with the standing area already looking full as they take to the stage. “Hello, we are The Vaccines from London England!” announces frontman Justin Hayward-Young, as they immediately launch through debut album favourites Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra), Post Break-Up Sex and Wetsuit.
The band are looking very chic tonight, all suited and booted performing in front of a silk curtain backdrop, helping to bring an intimate lounge feel to their support slot within the cavernous
arena. It's an engaging set too, with the band storming through all the big hitters from their six albums such as Headphones Baby, Handsome, Teenage Icon and super-catchy recent single, Discount de Kooning (Last One Standing). By the time they arrive on the closing duo of If You Wanna and All My Friends Are Falling In Love, the crowd seem suitably warmed up for the main event.
By the time the interval is over, nearly every spot in the bowl is now full, with only the odd empty seat preventing it from being a complete sell-out. A roar rings out as the Followill family take to the stage, opening their set with a crowd-pleasing blitz of Ballerina Radio, On Call, The Bucket and Taper Jean Girl. The production tonight is as good as any I’ve seen at the Arena, with two huge arched screens flanking either side of the stage, looking almost like windows in a church. Behind the band there’s also a massive LCD backdrop which changes to suit each song, flicking between karaoke style flashes of lyrics to glitzy patterns and artsy visuals.
“Thank you very much, we’re the Kings of Leon” says frontman Caleb Followill, eventually greeting the crowd after the initial run of hits. As ever he’s a man of few words, choosing instead to belt out the opening to Revelry, as a singalong reverberates around the arena and celestial scenes are displayed on the screens. The pace is then immediately picked back up with Nothing To Do, as the handheld camera work used in the song’s music video is recreated live on stage. The crazy cam footage then continues for My Party, as close-ups of the band are shown on the screens and the song’s throbbing bassline sends a jolt of electricity through the crowd.
“Wow, it’s a little bit of a nightclub vibe in here tonight, I like that,” utters an impressed Caleb, acknowledging the untypically energised Monday night crowd. “Here’s a nightclub song then,” he says, before the iconic opening riff of Sex On Fire is greeted with a thunderous reception and swarms of people immediately get up out of their seats all around the arena. While the song itself may be a bit overplayed these days, it’s undoubtedly an amazing moment.
“You guys are great, I guess we’re going to give you the full show tonight,” Caleb explains, as the pace is momentarily slowed and spotlights put on the band for Don’t Stop The Bleeding. A sunrise then slowly comes up behind the quartet for Arizona, which transports everybody to the desert through the hazy sights and sounds.
“We had a show a couple of nights ago in Dublin, and for some reason my voice decided to go on me,” reveals Caleb, who indeed sounds slightly croaky when speaking but immaculate otherwise. “I don’t know how I sound tonight, but I’m having the best time.” The crowd offer reassuring cheers in response, letting him know his voice is sounding just fine.
Nonetheless, the audience help him out on Pyro, which provides a real goosebump-inducing moment as everyone in the arena sings the gorgeous “Can You Feel It?” refrain, as visuals of fire rage on in the background. During the song’s breakdown, the LCD backdrop behind the band also moves higher up the stage, revealing the wall of lights behind it. The band then continue to blaze through their impressive catalogue of songs, with recent single Mustang going down as well as firm favourites Milk and Molly’s Chambers, with some stunning blood red visuals utilised for the latter.
“Alright everybody, after tonight we have about five shows left and then it's back home - and I'll be honest, I was feeling a little homesick,” shares Caleb. “But you all made me feel at home tonight – so now I don't want to go home!” he exclaims, as a cheer rings out from the crowd and the band reminisce during the country-tinged duo of Back Down South and King of the Rodeo.
The visuals then ramp up once again with psychedelic 70s-style graphics for Nowhere To Run and the words “It’s All Better Now” emblazoned in a pink neon glow behind them for Wait For Me. It has to be said, too, that the band’s later material is really holding its own tonight, with Split Screen and The Bandit both sounding great in the live setting.
“We’ve got a couple more to play, then we’ll walk off the stage,” says Caleb, guiding the audience through encore protocol. “If you scream real loud, maybe we might play a couple more.” The crowd immediately start practising their screams as the addictive riffs and chorus of Find Me send them into a frenzy, before the ominous bleeps of Closer echo round the room. The quartet then end the main set on Seen, another track from new album Can We Please Have Fun that really shines tonight.
The band leaves the stage but some hanging lights above the standing area begin to flicker as the chimes of Seen continue ringing out. The crowd roars for more and eventually get their wish, with the words “Only Good Vibrations” in 60s-style technicolour appearing on the screens and the flickering lights suddenly flashing lots of different colours for Rainbow Ball. Multi-coloured beach balls begin bouncing around the pit, with the crowd loving every second. Waste A Moment goes down a storm before an ultra-rare tour debut for Knocked Up, the epic opener to their third album Because of the Times. With it being my personal favourite song of theirs and not expecting to hear it at all tonight, this was a real pleasant surprise.
“Thank you Nottingham, we love you – we’ll see you again soon,” says Caleb as he and the band bid farewell, but not before they triumphantly end the night and their mammoth 27-song set on their biggest single, Use Somebody.
This was a show that truly lived up to the billing, with Kings of Leon pulling out all the stops in terms of their stunning stage production and a colossal, career-spanning setlist. With big singalongs even on a Monday night and some of their newer tracks sounding as good as the old favourites, this was everything you could want from a big arena show. Proof then that these Kings still very much wear the crown.
Kings of Leon performed at Motorpoint Arena on 8th July 2024, with support from The Vaccines.
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