It has been a few years since Nashville rockers Kings of Leon played Calgary. Since then the Followill family (brothers Caleb on vocals and guitar, Jared on bass and keyboards and Nathan on drums along with cousin Matthew on lead guitar) has had its share of challenges. After a hiatus they returned last year and are wrapping up an extensive tour, riding into town April 1st in support of their 2013 Mechanical Bull album.
Over 9000 fans hit the dome to take in the band's extensive catalog of songs from 6 albums. Images and shadows played on a screen in front of the stage as they kicked off the show with Charmer off 2007's Because The Times. The curtain dropped to reveal the band in front of an impressively large video screen that throughout the night showed a variety of images along with close ups of the band. Even classic pin ups made an appearance. The show featured most tracks from the current album and 2008's Only By The Night.
Kings of Leon set a blistering pace, barely engaging the audience with any small talk other then a few brief words of thanks to the fans for coming out. Clocking in at just under 2 hours they played 26 songs almost back to back. Vocally, Caleb's voice was strong and the band was very tight. Fans of the band sang along, although not surprisingly the loudest singalongs came at the end of the night with Use Somebody and show closer Sex on Fire.
Although the screen and laser show that dominated the end of the set was impressive, there was a sense of disconnect between the band and audience. The show was about as straight up a rock show as you can get, with a focus solely on the music - which isn't a bad thing. To the KOL fans that left whooping and hollering, clearly it was all that was needed.