Kings of Leon

Yeah, a rock show.
Young fellows, learning some stage craft.

Nice view.

Chillin' at Intermezzo before the show.

I saw the Kings of Leon the other night. Usually when I go to a show, I am the one who knows all about the band and I am dragging my friends and acquaintances to turn them on to this really cool band. Alot of times it is local bands in Charlotte like Benji Hughes or The Lights, Fluorescent and sometimes it would be my old mainstays like George Clinton or Karl Denson. Well, this time, the shoe was on the other foot. My friend David called me up a couple of months ago and said let's go to Kings of Leon. I had a connection and got some seats for seven of us in the second row of one of the side boxes. Killer seats. I loaded up the crowd in our handy rock and roll conversion van and we headed over to Intermezzo for some pizza and beers. The crew had never been much in the Central area so I showed them around afterward to some of my favorite places like Snug and Pura Vida and Boris and Natasha. Over to the Bojangles Arena. A good way to go from Central is over to Hawthorne and then Monroe Road out to the back entrance. Quick parking, no hassle. We went in as the set change was going on. KoL came out and gave a straightforward rock show. I don't know any of their songs so I can't do a set list or anything. The sound was very tight. Lighting show was unusual and excellent. The crowd was early twenties. No tie dye or colorful clothes. Kind of conservatively dressed. I walked all over the arena to look from different vantage points. Sound was excellent everywhere. The facility is well run. Would like to see more shows there--but, right now, Charlotte is overrun with venues especially when the Lazes stuff opens in full downtown. I hope the venues like Visulite and Neighborhood will continue to do okay--they are the ones among others like Evening Muse and Milestone and Tremont that deserve credit for forcing open the minds of the CLT music scene. Well, anyway, yeah, K of L was a pretty good show. They can't be classified and they are cutting some new ground and for that should be applauded. On the other hand, they need to work on their stage presence and showmanship. Sorry, but when I go to see some guys in their twenties, I'd like a little more show than, say, I might see out of CS & N for example. But, let me say, the K of L bass and drums is what sets this band apart. They kick !