One could argue that is on the short list of best American rock bands of the past quarter century. The band’s first four albums, released between 2003 and 2008, stand up to the first four offerings from any of their contemporaries of the era. Their more recent releases, while not as dense with instant classics, also include enough moments of inspiration to easily fill a two-hour concert.
And for the most part, Kings of Leon did just that during a 27-song set Saturday night at Dickies Arena. The band’s third stop on their “Can We Please Have Fun” tour, which started Wednesday in Austin and concludes on Oct. 7 in Boston, is in support of their of the same name released in May.
The band, including brothers Caleb, Jared, and Nathan Followill and cousin Matthew Followill, plus touring backing musicians Liam O’Neil (keyboards and percussion) and Timothy Deaux (rhythm guitar, keyboards, and percussion), sounded tight and precise. Singer Caleb Followill’s voice was strong and raspy in all the best ways. He and his bandmates looked thin and healthy after surviving a decade-plus of living the rock and roll lifestyle to the hilt and all that entails.
The two-hour set seemed a tad staid, however, especially with a celebratory theme such as “Can We Please Have Fun.” Yes, please, let’s have more fun. Let’s start with a better-organized setlist and loosen up a little, boys.
Your stationary stage presence was fine in 2003 when you were blowing The Strokes off the stage in Grand Prairie as the opener when nobody knew who you were. Maybe it’s too early in the tour to expect more fluidity in the setlist, but the transitions from one song to the next often seemed haphazard and halting. It’s understandable for a band to play their new songs, but eight new tracks might be pushing it.
And that’s not a shot at the new album because it’s good, and new songs such as “Mustang,” “Nowhere To Run,” “M Television,” and “Rainbow Ball” all sounded great from the stage. Leon’s fans, who nearly filled the arena, responded favorably to the new songs, even singing along to most of them. But there was a significant difference when Caleb Followill flicked the opening licks to well-known classics such as “Sex On Fire” from 2008’s “Only By the Night” and “The Bucket” from 2004’s “Aha Shake Heartbreak.
” “I’m having too much fun up here. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a concert,” he said before telling the crowd that much of their family from Oklahoma were in attendance, including their dads. One of the highlights was a stirring “Beautiful War,” one of two tracks performed from 2013’s underrated Mechanical Bull.
The other was “Tonight,” which the band played as part of their “Song For the City” slot in the show, which presumably will include a different random song for each stop on the tour. Lead guitarist Matthew Followill shined throughout, especially when he got to let loose on songs such as “My Party” from 2007’s “Because Of the Times.” Bassist Jared Followill and drummer Nathan Followill provided a sturdy backbone to the set throughout.
Again, the band sounded great. The setlist just seemed off. The three-song encore started with “Rainbow Ball,” a fun, Devo-style bit of new wave word-play from the new album.
The crowd took turns batting rainbow-colored beach balls up to the band members, who kicked them back into the audience. It was fun, I guess, but the song is begging for a chaotic meltdown ending live on stage. Let it loose, guys! The show closed with two headscratchers.
“Knocked Up,” the dark dirge opening track from “Because of the Times,” seems an odd choice for an encore, although the crowd was digging the singalong. It’s a great song, but it seems a better fit as the closer of the main set, not part of the encore. Lastly, “Use Somebody,” probably the band’s best-known song, is an odd choice as a show closer.
Boys, let’s really have some fun and blow out the end with an all-out extended jam from the early days. Any number of songs from “Youth and Young Manhood,” the band’s debut record, would have sufficed. A 10-minute jam of “Holy Roller Novocaine?” Now that would have been fun.
Kings of Leon setlist, Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas, Aug. 17, 2024 Ballerina Radio The Bucket Waste a Moment On Call Actual Daydream Manhattan Razz My Party Sex on Fire Revelry Beautiful War Nowhere to Run Pyro Tonight (First performance since 2014; Song for the city) Mustang Molly’s Chambers Milk M Television Back Down South Split Screen The Bandit Find Me Closer Seen Rainbow Ball Knocked Up Use Somebody.
