Post by missus on May 3, 2009 2:32:44 GMT
Kings of Leon unleash rock of biblical proportion on Gentilly Stage
by Alison Fensterstock, Contributing writer, Times-Picayune
Saturday May 02, 2009, 7:36 PM
As the Kings of Leon set showed signs of starting on the Gentilly Stage late this afternoon, a friend commented: "It's like this and the Acura Stage are the coastal stages for most people, and the others are the flyover stages." Posted at Gentilly, I worried I was missing something on the other coast as Jersey boy Jon Bon Jovi turned the clock back to 1986 with the suburban cowboy hair-metal soundtrack of my grade-school years. Turns out that the Kings of Leon, three sons of a Pentecostal preacher and their cousin, all former choirboys, can do anthemic just as well.
Lead singer Caleb Followhill kicked things off with a strange display that mixed hubris and humility. He walked onstage and stood with his back t the audience, arms splayed as if mimicking Crucifixion; then he turned, bowed his head and crossed himself. While the crowd was still wondering what to make of it, the group ripped into a hard-driving series of songs and didn't take a breath - not even to greet us - until after the fifth number. I almost wanted to remind them that they had to keep it up for 90 minutes.
The band's first EP, Holy Roller Novocaine, drew praise for its Southern rock rawness, and albums since then have gradually grown slicker and smoother in production - even noodling a bit in the free-jazz-rock psychedelia realm of acts like the Flaming Lips. (At one point, Caleb Followhill spoke - a rare occurrence in the set - and said, "I hope you're happy to be at Jazz Fest. Our songs aren't really jazzy. But we'll try to, um, jazz it up for you.") And they did, putting plenty of echo into the mix and cutting loose, if briefly, with occasional psychedelic guitar breaks and vertiginous swoops from the synthesizer. Though they did bring the power chords, I - and I think many of their fans - would have preferred a bit more interaction and a bit more of the raw soul so audible in their earlier recordings.
Maybe that's why the crowd (which included the bride and groom from the day's earlier Gospel Tent wedding) erupted so heartily when they closed out, five minutes early with no encore, by ripping into the rough, twangy guitar of "Black Thumbnail," an Exile On Main Street-worthy song that was released in 2007, but was a throwback to their early, lo-fi production. One young lady even was moved to divest herself of her tank top - a reaction that, if Bon Jovi was eliciting it on the Acura Stage, I'd be surprised.
by Alison Fensterstock, Contributing writer, Times-Picayune
Saturday May 02, 2009, 7:36 PM
As the Kings of Leon set showed signs of starting on the Gentilly Stage late this afternoon, a friend commented: "It's like this and the Acura Stage are the coastal stages for most people, and the others are the flyover stages." Posted at Gentilly, I worried I was missing something on the other coast as Jersey boy Jon Bon Jovi turned the clock back to 1986 with the suburban cowboy hair-metal soundtrack of my grade-school years. Turns out that the Kings of Leon, three sons of a Pentecostal preacher and their cousin, all former choirboys, can do anthemic just as well.
Lead singer Caleb Followhill kicked things off with a strange display that mixed hubris and humility. He walked onstage and stood with his back t the audience, arms splayed as if mimicking Crucifixion; then he turned, bowed his head and crossed himself. While the crowd was still wondering what to make of it, the group ripped into a hard-driving series of songs and didn't take a breath - not even to greet us - until after the fifth number. I almost wanted to remind them that they had to keep it up for 90 minutes.
The band's first EP, Holy Roller Novocaine, drew praise for its Southern rock rawness, and albums since then have gradually grown slicker and smoother in production - even noodling a bit in the free-jazz-rock psychedelia realm of acts like the Flaming Lips. (At one point, Caleb Followhill spoke - a rare occurrence in the set - and said, "I hope you're happy to be at Jazz Fest. Our songs aren't really jazzy. But we'll try to, um, jazz it up for you.") And they did, putting plenty of echo into the mix and cutting loose, if briefly, with occasional psychedelic guitar breaks and vertiginous swoops from the synthesizer. Though they did bring the power chords, I - and I think many of their fans - would have preferred a bit more interaction and a bit more of the raw soul so audible in their earlier recordings.
Maybe that's why the crowd (which included the bride and groom from the day's earlier Gospel Tent wedding) erupted so heartily when they closed out, five minutes early with no encore, by ripping into the rough, twangy guitar of "Black Thumbnail," an Exile On Main Street-worthy song that was released in 2007, but was a throwback to their early, lo-fi production. One young lady even was moved to divest herself of her tank top - a reaction that, if Bon Jovi was eliciting it on the Acura Stage, I'd be surprised.
Ahhhh, but didn't it make the experience that much better