Photo: Press
“I don’t have to work tomorrow, so I’m going to have a lot of fun tonight. I hope you guys join us!”, Caleb Followill tells Hyde Park, a reminder that these days, he, and his fellow Kings of Leon, live in a more relaxed skin.
A near decade on from the release of 2008’s Only By The Night and the suffocating mainstream breakthrough that followed, the band have come out the other side, able to breathe the summer night air, and however fleetingly, savour the moment.
This isn’t to say that the Nashville, Tennessee four-piece– completed by Caleb’s brothers Nathan Followill (drums), Jared Followill (guitar) and their cousin Matthew Followill (bass) – aren’t without scars.
The conflicted transition from their natural state as cut-loose Deep South rock upstarts, toward well-oiled arena show machines nearly forced the band into oblivion. Tensions peaked in 2012, when Caleb, lost in liquor, walked off-stage in Dallas - forcing a hiatus and period of self-reflection.
It is telling then, that the band should start with ‘Over’, a track delivered straight from the heart, taken from 2016’s confessional WALLS LP, forgoing palatable platitudes to instead muse over the dangers of fame.
Played out as the sun sets on the 55,000 strong crowd, it feels a grounding measure, an assertion of self-awareness about the need to remember themselves.
The double-hit of ‘Slow Night, So Long’ and ‘The Bucket’ that follows– typical of the lo-fi sound that typified their rise, when the guitars and drums could never be fast enough – proves that Caleb’s distinctive ragged drawl is still unmatched.
Numbers from the radio-play years, including the woozy balladry of ‘Back Down South’ and ‘Talihina Sky’, have their charm in the haze of the night, but these by-numbers remnants of the period during which Caleb openly admits he “checked out”, will never be the highlight.
Rather, the show belongs to its moments of personality. The band make clear they’ve been “looking forward” to the evening for a while, and briefly ditch the electric guitars for an acoustic section. This sees Caleb initially left alone on stage to open a striking performance of ‘Milk’ - the pained ode to a girl using her sexuality to feel self-worth, taken from 2004’s Shake Aha Heartbreak.
Stripped bare, it captivates here, offering a taste of the authentic emotive pull that, in part, helped deliver chart success.
The atmosphere is maintained by 'WALLS', the album’s title track, that, like ‘Over’, narrates the band’s revitalisation as “walls come down”. This is reflected literally on stage as the rest of the band re-appear from behind a wall, letting the heft of Matthew and Jared’s bass and guitar work rouse the crowd further.
“I’m enjoying this,” says Caleb, adding “the UK has always supported us, you’re never sure if you’re going to have a good time at these big shows, but you guy are amazing”. It’s the kind of honesty that made to measure TV award show appearances just don’t allow for.
Both band and crowd appear at ease and free, leading to a barrage of heavy-hitting rock numbers, drawn from the band’s critically acclaimed Because Of The Times album. The return to the past feels unashamed, with ‘On Call’, ‘Fans’ and ‘Knocked Up’ putting Matthew’s bass to great use, as guitar riffs burn in the heat.
The mega-hits do emerge, but the arrival of ‘Use Somebody’ is selectively weaponised rather than forced, sprinkled amid WALLS’ catchy single ‘Reverend’ and the darker tones of ‘Cold Desert’ and the haunting ‘Closer’, which both stretch beyond the five-minute mark.
As the night draws to a close Caleb pays gratitude to the evening’s main support act, alt-rock legends The Pixies, who he credits as a “huge influence” on Kings of Leon.
“Last year we were here and we actually did a cover of a Pixies song. And to be back here and to see it live was really, really amazing. I hope you realise,” he added.
‘Sex on Fire’ does of course eventually appear, but whereas once it would be an obligatory closing encore, the band leave new hit ‘Waste A Moment” as the final track of the night. A small detail but symbolic of a band back in control.
Speaking of the band’s struggles at the height of their pop-crossover, Caleb told Rolling Stone: "Back then, we were trying to do something that people remember.
"Now I'm trying to do something that makes my daughter proud. One day, hopefully I'll still be here, but if I'm not, she'll be like, 'My dad was fuckin' cool.'"
Tonight Kings of Leon proved they can now not only sell-out huge shows, but be themselves with it.
