Kings Of Leon

Live Nation presents… Kings Of Leon with the Sheepdogs at MTS Centre on September 14, 2011.

Starting off at 7:30 PM the Sheepdogs hit the stage at the MTS Centre. Being here just a month before performing at the University of Manitoba, the Sheepdogs announced, that they had been here many times before, and want to keep coming back. As their set went on, the floor filled up as fans piled into the arena. Despite most openers, the band had quite the light show. With just 4 of them on the stage, with their beards, and headbands, they rocked like a 70’s band, pleasing both the younger, and older crowd in the building.

It wasn’t long after when the darkness turned into spotlights coming from every direction, beaming onto centre stage, where lead singer of Kings Of Leon, Caleb Followill, was standing tall strumming at the guitar. Playing in front of a crowd of 9 500, this Tennessee band, built up of 3 brothers, and a cousin, are back on tour after cancelling the remainder of the US tour due to Caleb’s ‘Vocal Issue’.

With a tremendous set-up consisting of spotlights that floated up and down above the stage, an elevated drum kit, and colorful lights and lasers, it was definitely pleasing to the eye. Two videographers covered the night, to broadcast the live footage on screens on either side of the stage. The back wall consisted of gigantic LED’s and a pixelated screen.

Opening with Radioactive, a single off it’s latest album, the band continued to play, their classics, as well as their most recent tunes, up until they ended with Sex On Fire. Kings Of Leon sound identical to the recordings, proving that rock is not dead. Continuing as a band, currently on their 12th year, I would not say they are evolving the genre, but continuing on keeping it alive.

After leaving the stage at the end of the show, they waited what seemed like tens of minutes, to come back for an encore. The key song of that encore was their hit ‘Use Somebody’, which was in the middle of two songs that were off the new record, which were songs that the building emptied too.

Overall the vocals sounded identical to the record, if that’s what you like at concerts, than a Kings Of Leon concert would suit you perfectly. The visuals were a lot more than expected at a rock concert, and were phenomenal to say the least. We’re glad to have you back Followill family, keep on rockin’.