Kings Of Leon

I'm sure the majority of you reading this will have heard of this band taking over the, erm, the world right now. Well, that is unless you have been hiding under a rather substantial rock for around 18 months or longer. Caleb Followill and co have their sixth studio album entitled Mechanical Bull due for release at the end of September - a few spell bounding tracks that are worth your ears are; Beautiful War - reminiscent of Cold Desert on Only By The Night, raspy and eerie vocals take hold of the track with thumping drums and reverberating guitar parts adding to the emotion - Wait For Me and current single Super Soaker echo the Kings Of Leon of old, think California Waiting and Back Down South.

However, if you can't wait for a whole month until the pay check arrives, here my friends, is a live preview from Radio One's Maida Vale studio's.


Kings Of Leon at Maida Vale…

V Festival 2010 @ Weston Park: Sunday

A bright and sunny morning descends on Weston Park and I might have been mistaken for thinking that I was, in fact, on a package holiday with the amount of people lounging about on picnic blankets and beer in their hands.  With the baby wipes giving me a clean, youthful and fresh appearance – when in fact this was far from the truth – I headed in search of the first band, Feeder. 

         

I was among a mixed crowd, some were screaming every word like it was their last day on earth - others had decided to start the day early by drinking over-priced alcohol.  Either way Feeder went down a storm, producing hit after hit and thanking the crowd for every reaction they got.  Just a Day, Feeling a Moment and the classic Buck Rodgers were among the best of the set, with new songs Renegades and Call Out getting a worthy reaction.  Feeder were as dependable as ever, giving the crowd exactly what they wanted, and a multitude of gleaming faces were caught leaving.  A fantastic start to a sun-kissed day. 

            

New and upcoming band The High Wire were next on what would be a very packed itinerary.  After a belated start and a very average first song, the reason becomes clear. “Sorry, some of these are slightly hung-over versions”.  Launching with gusto into single Odds & Evens the reaction was minimal from a crowd barely reaching 70 people.  The vocals from both Lead and Backing singers seemed to be under some strain and therefore unable to reach their full potential.  Overall, a disappointing performance from a band who have a lot of promise.  Stick to buying the CD’s if you’re going to experiment with this band.

            

As it neared the hour of 12 o’clock I found it perfectly acceptable to invest in a cold and froth-filled beverage whilst making my way to the back-end of Passion Pit’s set.  Fighting my way through the crowds to get a suitable view, the first thing that caught my attention was the impressive stage presence of the entire band.  This, coupled with a fantastic bass driven and clinical sound made for an impressive sounding set.  Singles, To Kingdom Come and The Reeling received the much expected rapturous applause from the somewhat energetic audience.   This being my first time experiencing Passion Pit live, I would certainly recommend going to see them, if only to experience the excellent musicianship and phenomenal sound.

            

The day was now in full swing, with the sun deciding to stick around for more than an hour and many of the prawn sandwich eaters now off their checked picnic blankets and going to watch some bands, I headed to the Strongbow Bowtime Bar to watch electro three piece The Good Natured.  On arrival, the sight of well-built men in wife-beaters - drinking copious amounts of Strongbow - greeted me.  So, like any lanky 20 something would do, I retreated into a corner a persisted to watch the performance from there.  As for the set itself, lead singer Sarah McIntosh oozed with confidence and made sure all attention was firmly fixed on her.  With heavy black eyeliner disguising the true colour of her eyes and a hooded cape covering much of her face, the singer created a dark and theatrical atmosphere.  The sound was amongst the best of the day, clear and crisp so you were able to hear every note – but with a rumbling bass that added the necessary depth to the performance.  The singles, Kingdom and the better known Your Body Is A Machine received a vaguely improved reaction – nonetheless, with a very sparse crowd and many of them intoxicated the applause was never going to be mind blowing… The timid voice that is Sarah’s speaking voice utters a “Thank you, we’re The Good Natured” as the set came to a close. 

            

On the way to Swedish pop sensation Robyn, I made sure I took full advantage of the free food and drink promotions going on around the V Festival site.  So, equipped with large amounts of Muller Rice and bottled water, and getting some very disapproving looks, I entered the Nissan Duke Arena to await the arrival of Robyn.  Far from the artist that we all know and love who has given us a horde of hits including; Be Mine and Every Heartbeat, this was a new – and unseen side to the artist.  Bounding onstage in what can only be described as maternity wear, or maybe ill fitting coat that makes it appear that way…A hyped up Robyn bounces around stage to some pulsating house music.  Needless to say her endless amount of energy almost instantly rubs of on the crowd, and the entire area is alive with adrenaline.  This is a much more aggressive set than I have seen in the past, with songs ‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’ and ‘Fembot’ getting a raucous reaction.  However, the main criticism here was not about the crowd, nor the performance, but about the dancing to pulsating house music for minutes on end – and not a word recited in that entire time.  It seems Robyn has become more of a ‘dancer’ then a ‘dance act’. 

             

Dusk was descending on Weston Park and this meant many of the drunken youths that had whole heatedly embraced the day, would soon be stumbling back to their tents.  In spite of this, there were still two acts to go, arguably the biggest of the weekend.  First to saunter onto the main stage were welsh rockers Stereophonics.  Lead singer Kelly Jones was looking effortlessly cool with the trademark quiff just adding to his appeal.  Innocent was the first song to kick off their mammoth 18 – song set, eight more songs from the last years Keep Calm and Carry On album would also feature during the hit–laden set.  As we all know, great bands don’t need to waffle – and Stereophonics were no exception – with chat kept to the bare minimum they continued to rifle though their enormous back catalogue and with each hit that was played the reaction became more intense from a rather sweaty and alcohol fuelled audience.   Hits - Maybe Tomorrow, Mr Writer and final song Dakota were the crowds’ time to shine, as Kelly and co handed multiple sections of the songs over for the crowd to complete.  As ever, the kind hearted goodbyes got the reaction they fully deserved, and made Stereophonics one of the bands of the weekend – before departing and making way for headliners Kings Of Leon.

            

Whilst Florence and The Machine fans flocked to the 4 Music Stage to catch a glimpse of her often extravagant performances, room had opened up to gain an exceptional view of the Kings.  Despite being in touching distance of the stage, there were many draw backs to being in this position -  not least that I would attempt to hold my breath for albeit 2 hours.  The likelihood of being crushed was also one of my big concerns, as the lights dimmed and signalled the imminent arrival of Kings of Leon, all problems were forgotten.  Instantly launching into Crawl, the distorted bass lines and raspy vocals gave the crowd the opportunity to go wild.  Stage presence was minimal – although no-one in the crowd cared in the slightest – just the sheer sight of the Kings was enough to send them crazy.  Caleb and co seemed unaffected by the sheer scale of the occasion, and it seems their path to mega stardom hasn’t affected them whatsoever.  The extreme fans among the crowd could be heard (drunkenly) screaming every word throughout the entire set – even to less well known songs; Trani and Slow Night So Long.  Before the obligatory sing – along to Sex On Fire Caleb hails the crowd by saying; "We were hoping that tonight would be a good show. I can assure you we had no idea you guys were going to be as good as you are. This is going to go down as one of my favourite shows in a long time. You guys going to sing along to the next one?”  The crowd then gave the biggest reaction of the night so far by singing along to every word.  Nevertheless, for me, in a set filled with hits, it was the slower – less well known tracks; Knocked Up and Milk that sent shivers down the spine.  On these tracks you were able to hear the raw emotion through Caleb’s voice.  Completing the set with hit single Use Somebody and Black Thumbnail retrospectively, the crowd were able to muster one last emphatic cheer to send the King Of Leon on their way and to complete V Festival 2010.

          

It had one of the best line – ups for years, a unbelievable crowd who embraced every second, a dry and mud-free venue and the obligatory urine throwing.  What more could you want? Bring on next year…   

V Festival 2010 @ Weston Park: Saturday

15^th anniversaries are often special for many reasons, wedding anniversaries often mean you’ve put up with your other half for more than 10 years, that can often be a challenge in itself.  When it comes to music festivals however, the 15^th is something you have to pull out all the stops for, to make it memorable for fans and acts alike.  V Festival is no exception, with two of the biggest rock bands of the year (aside from the reinvention of Journey) Kings Of Leon, who will be hoping the rafters are pigeon – free and Kasabian will be more then pleased to showcase their best album to date.

Alas, the first port of call was to get out of the pouring rain and under some sort of cover.  Luckily for me, that cover just happened to be the Nissan Duke Arena where perfectly pruned Peter Andre was about to grace us with his presence.  Once the initial reaction had passed that I was, in fact, surrounded by 14-17 year old girls and had heard a string of distinctly average Michel Jackson covers, I began to see Peter Andre for what he really was.  An entertainer.  The crowd seemed content with the fact you couldn’t hear the ‘muffled’ vocal, and the choreographed dance moves went down a treat.  Mysterious Girl was the inevitable finale, and once again Andre left it for the crowd to sing.  In my opinion, not a bad idea.  However, I did leave with a rather large smile on my face, for the right reasons? I’d rather not answer that. 

Seasick Steve was also on the agenda, along with his weird and wonderful instruments.  A guitar made out of, and I quote “Two Morris Minor hub caps, and a broom stick” with just one string - also a few other battered and bruised instruments made out of disused car parts also made an appearance.  As for the musicianship, I think it speaks for itself.  Anyone who can make a few hub cabs and a broomstick sound not just good – but pronominal – is a genius.  The crowd gave a worthy reaction to the talent displayed in front of them, to which Seasick Steve gave an almost apologetic “ah, thanks”.  The rawness and gratitude throughout the whole performance was what endeared me, and I’m sure the rest of the audience to him. After a sterling performance by Seasick Steve, the time had come to invest in some much needed, yet extremely over-priced food and drink. 

Re-fuelled with what was essentially a pint of froth, and a very expensive sandwich I made my way to see the now revamped and not-so-happy Kate Nash.  After just one song she began to make cheap jibes at Peter Andre by saying; “Did anyone go and see Peter Andre this morning? I mean, really?”.  If her rather annoying and somewhat shrill voice was anything to go by I’m surprised that people stayed to watch.  When the third song commenced and my ears were near to bleeding, I made the conscious decision to leave and watch Scottish solo artist Amy McDonald on the 4 Music Stage. 

           

It had to be said, this was one of my better judgements.  With the crowd in much better spirits and embracing every moment on a rainy and overcast afternoon in Weston Park, Amy McDonald’s Folk inspired rhythms certainly gave them something to cheer about.  The incredibly strong vocal and oozing confidence was what impressed me most, this is in stark contrast to her soft and almost shy voice when thanking the crowd for their admiration.   An enormous contrast to that of Kate Nash, who gave a lacklustre performance, her voice becoming more irritating and shrill by the minute.  With the weather failing to make up its mind between light drizzle or glorious sunshine, I took the option of looking like a drowned rat and headed to the main stage to watch Paulo Nutini.

           

With numerous people holding signs ‘declaring their love’ for Paulo aloft, I could already tell this would be an exciting and memorable set from the Scottish heartthrob.  Commencing with 10/10 (the first song on his critically acclaimed album Sunny Side Up) the crowd were instantly fixed on his every move, as his trademark hunched stance and effortlessly cool persona have the crowd in a frenzy, jumping, dancing and screaming to the often eligible lyrics.  As the set progresses songs become slower and in some cases, even more passionate.  It is very clear that no matter how many times Paulo has performed a song the passion and intensity is the same, if not greater every time - this seen in his almost painful facial expressions.  This is, without a doubt, one of the best performances of the weekend so far, for pure enjoyment alone.

            

With the inevitable stage of fatigue coming at me like a pack of horses, it wouldn’t be in my best interests to go and watch a dance band…so that’s exactly what I did.  I went for the sensible option of Faithless over The Prodigy, for fear that I wouldn’t actually be writing this, and may be in a box 6 feet under the ground.  Faithless were true to form, feeding the already hyped crowd with dance anthem after dance anthem.  Lead singer Maxi Jazz was as calm, collected and as kind as ever, yet was feeding the crowd with all the signature tunes they needed to go crazy.  The only quibble about an otherwise fantastic set would have to be the poor sound quality, there was not sufficient bass to really carry the songs through and turn them into pulsating anthems. 

Headliners Kasabian’s arrival was imminent and with just inches of room, I could see this would be a close and sweaty encounter for all parties concerned.  Beginning with the classic Shoot The Runner, the crowd were instantly absorbed, and an onslaught of hits were to follow, including; Where Did The Love Go? Processed Beats, and Underdog.  Although everyone, including me, was embracing this whole heartedly and to the die-hard fans I’m sure it would go down as a flawless performance - I couldn’t help thinking that Tom’s excessive and often needless swearing was less-than-cool. To add insult to injury I also thought the vocal and overall sound could have been considerably better.  Criticisms aside, a first-rate performance was given by Kasabian tonight and tomorrows headliners Kings of Leon will be hard pushed to top tonight’s performance.

           

Generally, a day that was full of promise by some big name acts – but when it really mattered did not deliver.  Many of the crowds sheltered away from the unpredictable downpours and braved the showers for the big name acts.  Let’s hope tomorrow’s forecast is somewhat sunnier and the rain macs are left at home.  As for the acts, a better line up awaits…