Check out my photos and review of Pettyfest at the El Rey Theatre over at Pure Volume.
Showing posts with label Kings of Leon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kings of Leon. Show all posts
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Kings of Leon at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Check out my photos of Kings of Leon at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater over at OC Weekly.
My review is also over at OC Weekly.
Monday, May 18, 2009
KROQ Weenie Roast at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Stills at the House of Blues San Diego
The dreaded photo pass mix up occurred and I was unable to obtain any pictures for the show but it was a superb line up of Kings Of Leon, We Are Scientists and The Stills. It has been awhile since I spotted ticket scalpers at a San Diego show, but I heard offers in the $100 to $150 range for a single ticket.
The Stills
Logic Will Break Your Heart was a great debut album from The Stills. I remember seeing the video for "Still In Love Song" and was hooked by the propulsive bass line and chiming guitars. "Love & Death" is hands down my favorite song from the album and also made it to my ipod running mix. My expectations for Without Feathers was extremely high and I was a little disappointed by the album but learned the songs translated better in a live setting when I saw them in 2006 at the Henry Fonda Theater.
Oceans Will Rise is the latest release from The Stills and has been spun repeatedly on my ipod. "Don't Look Down" kicked off their set which featured a darkly lit stage with the exception of some golden yellow tube lights attached to their microphone stands. Tim Fletcher (Vocals/Guitars) was slashing away on his Gibson hollowbody while Dave Hamelin (Vocals/Guitars) opted for a Gibson Les Paul. Cymbals were smashed for the intro to "Lola Stars and Stripes" which was great to hear since I didn't know if they would reach into their back catalog. The descending chromatic chords of "Eastern Europe" rocked the audience as the amount of applause grew after each completed song. A storm of jangling guitars during "Being Here" sounded divine as the overall sound was mixed superbly. It was way too short of a set but I hope to catch them on their own headlining tour when it makes its way back to Los Angeles or San Diego.
We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists dispensed their own brand of whip-smart indie rock that delighted the fans. I seem to keep missing We Are Scientists every time they come through town. I have been missing out because they can out party Bloc Party. Chris Cain (Bass) was effortlessly working over his Gibson Thunderbird bass for some hip shaking grooves as Keith Murray (Vocals/Guitars) was pulling some great sounds from his Fender Telecaster. We Are Scientists are touring in support of their latest release Brain Trust Mastery.
"Inaction" stirred some dedicated fans in the front of the audience to start dancing away. Howling synthesizers kicked off "Chick Lit" as I spotted a Moog Voyager on stage. We Are Scientists didn't let up as the vocal harmonies shined during "Impatient". Keith was tapping on his assortment of guitar pedals throughout the evening but deftly crushed his tremolo pedal in mini machine gun bursts of sounds during "Lethal Enforcer". Chris was obsessively tuning his bass after each song which, I thought was funny since it is more difficult for basses to go out of tune compared to guitars. They closed out their set with a rousing version of "The Great Escape". Could Kings of Leon match the energy of the openers?
Kings of Leon
I remember seeing Kings of Leon open for the Strokes a number of years ago. I wouldn't have guessed that the Kings of Leon would be an album ahead and questionably as big if not bigger than the Strokes. Their new album Only By The Night is plastered all over Myspace ads informing you of its availability everywhere.
A fuzz bomb bass line of "Crawl" rattled the room as a various strings of lights hanging from ceiling twinkled in the background. I was highly impressed by the energy of the crowd given that it was a Sunday night. Caleb Followill (Vocals/Guitars) seemed to be as impressed as he frequently thanked the crowd and stated he was having a good time. The energy level continued to surge with "My Party" as Jared Followill (Bass) had his own Gibson Thunderbird bass rattling the rafters. Matthew Followill (Guitars) shined all night with guitar work as he filled in all the right spaces during their set.
In the live setting, "Kings Of The Rodeo" takes on new life and burns like shot of whiskey going down your throat. "Fans" started a small wave of female crowd surfers that tried to get on stage to directly profess their love for the Followill clan. A highlight of the night was the power trio of "Molly's Chambers", "The Bucket" and "Sex On Fire" that knocked the audience off their feet. Things took a spacey turn during "Closer" as the microKorg was put into play during the song while Matthew was speaking into the humbucker of his guitar. Caleb did mention his voice was wrecked for partying in Las Vegas, but I think it added some grittiness to his vocals. They closed out the night with "Slow Night, So Long" which was a good call but I think "California Waiting" would have blown the roof off the House of Blues San Diego.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Download Festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre
One of my first concerts in the early years included an amazing performance by The Cure at the Rose Bowl back in 1992 with Dinosaur Jr. opening. I had a bunch of The Cure shows lined up but was disappointed when they announced they were postponing their shows in order to work on their new double album. One of the few dates they kept was the Download Festival at Shoreline amphitheatre. I opted to miss one of Morrissey's shows in order to go to Mountain View to catch The Cure.
I was too late to catch Love Like Fire and was disappointed I missed them. They totally rocked the Detroit Bar last time I caught up with them. I still can't get enough of their new EP "An Ocean in the Air". I will catch them again for sure.
She Wants Revenge
I wondered into the Shoreline Amphitheatre as She Wants Revenge were rounding out their set. I saw the debut of their new tunes at the OC fair . They have recently released a new album entitled "This is Forever" that I have on deck for evaluation. I did catch the new track "This Is The End" which ironically had a Cure vibe to it. I will see their full set at the Grove in Anaheim.
Black Angels
They had two stages in different locations at Shoreline Amphitheatre and I ran to the other stage to catch the Black Angels. Black Angels have a hallucinogenic vibe that conjurs visions of sitars, pipes, and kaledioscopes. I enjoyed both of their sets when I saw them open for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club earlier this year. The Black Angels are touring behind their psychedelic offering "Passover". I did spot a Moog Opus 3 on stage and a Vox Jaguar keyboard that helped transport the audience back in time. It was still early in the day and weird seeing them behind a gorgeous blue sky versus a dark smoke filled club. I left their set after a handful of songs because I didn't want to miss any of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Metric
My friend texted me in the middle of BRMC to tell me that Metric was destroying over at the side stage. I was not going to miss BRMC, but quickly walked over to catch the remaining songs of Metric. I realized that my friend was right as Emily Haines (Vocals/Synths) was jumping all over the stage. When I wasn't admiring Emily's performance, I spotted a Sequential Circuits Pro-One that she was hammering on to get some warm analog patchs. I manuvered closer to the stage to see that James Shaw(Guitars/Synths) had a Dave Smith keyboard. I was thinking that Dave Smith would probably approve. It turns out he did, because he was standing in front of me. I recognized him from my trip to NAMM last year, and managed to talk to him for a bit. I forgot to ask him about the drool worthy new Prophet '08. Metric did a phenomenal job and got the crowd really going when they played "Stadium Love". If I didn't have my Morrissey marathon, I would have checked them out at one of their shows.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) in the middle of the day was another odd site to see. The sun must have baked Robert Levon Been (Bass/Vocals) as he wore his black leather jacket. The sun was outshone by BRMC's set as they simply killed it. They opened with "Took Out A Loan" and never looked back. Peter Hayes (Guitars/Vocals) managed to grab a violin bow to use on his guitar for the opening noise washes of "All You Do Is Talk" which happens to be one of the best tracks off of "Baby 81". "Weapon Of Choice" was a crowd pleaser as some of the audience members started to rise out of their seats. I was surprised that they played "American X" as it included the feedback symphony ending by Robert that runs for about eight minutes. I laughed when I saw Robert had a strip of black tape over his Fender Telecaster as they are sponsored by Gibson Guitars.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Setlist at the Shoreline Amphitheatre
"Took Out A Loan"
"Berlin"
"Love Burns"
"Spread Your Love"
"Ain't No Easy Way"
"Stop"
"All You Do Is Talk"
"Weapon Of Choice"
"666 Conducer"
"Need Some Air"
"American X"
"Whatever Happenend To My Rock 'N Roll(Punk Song)"
Kings Of Leon
Kings Of Leon were closing out the second stage and I checked in with them. They sounded great but were having monitor problems and could not hear themselves that well. "My Party" was extra loud with Jared Followill (Bass) knocking out the fuzz drenched bass line on his Gibson Thunderbird bass. I heard some more of their set in the background as I went to get some dinner.
AFI
I heard of AFI back in the day when I saw Screw 32 play up in Northern California. Screw 32 had a bunch of AFI stickers on their guitars and told the audience to check them out. I never got into them that much but their stage lighting was fantastic for photography. Jade Puget had a bright white Gibson Les Paul. I heard they did a cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust".
The Cure
The Cure postponed all of their North American dates except for this show. I imagine they were contractually obligated to fulfill this date as they were the headliner for the Download Festival. I was curious to see how the band would fare without keyboardist extroadinaire Roger O'Donnell . The Cure is now a four piece with Jason Cooper (Drums), Porl Thompson (Guitars), Simon Gallup (Bass) and Robert Smith (Guitars/Vocals). They opened with the logical track of "Open" and I couldn't help but have flashbacks from the 1992 Rose Bowl show. "alt.end" was next and I was waiting for a song that had keyboards to come up in the set.Robert Smith was playing his custom Schecter Ultracure signature guitar. Porl Thompson was playing his custom Schecter signature white guitar with a Bigsby Tremolo. Porl was attempting to play some of the keyboard parts on his guitar but it didn't sound quite right in the context of the song. Robert Smith sounded timeless as ever and commented to the crowd how it was such a big departure to be in the studio one moment and then in front of a large screaming audience the next moment. Simon Gallup knocked me to the floor with his low hanging bass and trademark high bass notes. Jason Cooper must run marathons to keep in shape in order to keep the beat for almost 3 hours. The sheer length of their set makes me wonder why other bands can't play longer sets.
The Cure Setlist for Download Festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre (10/06/07)
"Open"
"Alt. End"
"A Night Like This"
The Baby Screams"
"The End of the World"
"Lovesong"
"Pictures of You"
"Lullaby"
"Maybe Someday"
"Kyoto Song"
"Please Project"
"The Walk"
"Push"
"How Beautiful You Are"
"In Between Days"
"Just Like Heaven"
"Primary"
"If Only Tonight We Could Sleep"
"The Kiss"
"Never Enough"
"Wrong Number"
"Signal To Noise"
"One Hundred Years"
"Shiver and Shake"
"End"
"Three Imaginary Boys"
"Fire In Cairo"
"Boys Don't Cry"
"Jumping Someone Else's Train"
"Grinding Halt"
"10:15 Saturday Night"
"Killing Another"
"Play For Today"
"A Forest"
I was too late to catch Love Like Fire and was disappointed I missed them. They totally rocked the Detroit Bar last time I caught up with them. I still can't get enough of their new EP "An Ocean in the Air". I will catch them again for sure.
She Wants Revenge
I wondered into the Shoreline Amphitheatre as She Wants Revenge were rounding out their set. I saw the debut of their new tunes at the OC fair . They have recently released a new album entitled "This is Forever" that I have on deck for evaluation. I did catch the new track "This Is The End" which ironically had a Cure vibe to it. I will see their full set at the Grove in Anaheim.
Black Angels
They had two stages in different locations at Shoreline Amphitheatre and I ran to the other stage to catch the Black Angels. Black Angels have a hallucinogenic vibe that conjurs visions of sitars, pipes, and kaledioscopes. I enjoyed both of their sets when I saw them open for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club earlier this year. The Black Angels are touring behind their psychedelic offering "Passover". I did spot a Moog Opus 3 on stage and a Vox Jaguar keyboard that helped transport the audience back in time. It was still early in the day and weird seeing them behind a gorgeous blue sky versus a dark smoke filled club. I left their set after a handful of songs because I didn't want to miss any of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Metric
My friend texted me in the middle of BRMC to tell me that Metric was destroying over at the side stage. I was not going to miss BRMC, but quickly walked over to catch the remaining songs of Metric. I realized that my friend was right as Emily Haines (Vocals/Synths) was jumping all over the stage. When I wasn't admiring Emily's performance, I spotted a Sequential Circuits Pro-One that she was hammering on to get some warm analog patchs. I manuvered closer to the stage to see that James Shaw(Guitars/Synths) had a Dave Smith keyboard. I was thinking that Dave Smith would probably approve. It turns out he did, because he was standing in front of me. I recognized him from my trip to NAMM last year, and managed to talk to him for a bit. I forgot to ask him about the drool worthy new Prophet '08. Metric did a phenomenal job and got the crowd really going when they played "Stadium Love". If I didn't have my Morrissey marathon, I would have checked them out at one of their shows.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) in the middle of the day was another odd site to see. The sun must have baked Robert Levon Been (Bass/Vocals) as he wore his black leather jacket. The sun was outshone by BRMC's set as they simply killed it. They opened with "Took Out A Loan" and never looked back. Peter Hayes (Guitars/Vocals) managed to grab a violin bow to use on his guitar for the opening noise washes of "All You Do Is Talk" which happens to be one of the best tracks off of "Baby 81". "Weapon Of Choice" was a crowd pleaser as some of the audience members started to rise out of their seats. I was surprised that they played "American X" as it included the feedback symphony ending by Robert that runs for about eight minutes. I laughed when I saw Robert had a strip of black tape over his Fender Telecaster as they are sponsored by Gibson Guitars.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Setlist at the Shoreline Amphitheatre
"Took Out A Loan"
"Berlin"
"Love Burns"
"Spread Your Love"
"Ain't No Easy Way"
"Stop"
"All You Do Is Talk"
"Weapon Of Choice"
"666 Conducer"
"Need Some Air"
"American X"
"Whatever Happenend To My Rock 'N Roll(Punk Song)"
Kings Of Leon
Kings Of Leon were closing out the second stage and I checked in with them. They sounded great but were having monitor problems and could not hear themselves that well. "My Party" was extra loud with Jared Followill (Bass) knocking out the fuzz drenched bass line on his Gibson Thunderbird bass. I heard some more of their set in the background as I went to get some dinner.
AFI
I heard of AFI back in the day when I saw Screw 32 play up in Northern California. Screw 32 had a bunch of AFI stickers on their guitars and told the audience to check them out. I never got into them that much but their stage lighting was fantastic for photography. Jade Puget had a bright white Gibson Les Paul. I heard they did a cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust".
The Cure
The Cure postponed all of their North American dates except for this show. I imagine they were contractually obligated to fulfill this date as they were the headliner for the Download Festival. I was curious to see how the band would fare without keyboardist extroadinaire Roger O'Donnell . The Cure is now a four piece with Jason Cooper (Drums), Porl Thompson (Guitars), Simon Gallup (Bass) and Robert Smith (Guitars/Vocals). They opened with the logical track of "Open" and I couldn't help but have flashbacks from the 1992 Rose Bowl show. "alt.end" was next and I was waiting for a song that had keyboards to come up in the set.Robert Smith was playing his custom Schecter Ultracure signature guitar. Porl Thompson was playing his custom Schecter signature white guitar with a Bigsby Tremolo. Porl was attempting to play some of the keyboard parts on his guitar but it didn't sound quite right in the context of the song. Robert Smith sounded timeless as ever and commented to the crowd how it was such a big departure to be in the studio one moment and then in front of a large screaming audience the next moment. Simon Gallup knocked me to the floor with his low hanging bass and trademark high bass notes. Jason Cooper must run marathons to keep in shape in order to keep the beat for almost 3 hours. The sheer length of their set makes me wonder why other bands can't play longer sets.
The Cure Setlist for Download Festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre (10/06/07)
"Open"
"Alt. End"
"A Night Like This"
The Baby Screams"
"The End of the World"
"Lovesong"
"Pictures of You"
"Lullaby"
"Maybe Someday"
"Kyoto Song"
"Please Project"
"The Walk"
"Push"
"How Beautiful You Are"
"In Between Days"
"Just Like Heaven"
"Primary"
"If Only Tonight We Could Sleep"
"The Kiss"
"Never Enough"
"Wrong Number"
"Signal To Noise"
"One Hundred Years"
"Shiver and Shake"
"End"
"Three Imaginary Boys"
"Fire In Cairo"
"Boys Don't Cry"
"Jumping Someone Else's Train"
"Grinding Halt"
"10:15 Saturday Night"
"Killing Another"
"Play For Today"
"A Forest"
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Kings of Leon at the Greek Theatre
It was a chilly night at the Greek Theatre that was warmed up by the triple bill of Kings Of Leon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Manchester Orchestra. I kept hearing from some friends that the Kings Of Leon gave a stellar performance at Coachella and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club always puts on a solid show.
Manchester Orchestra were up first. They hail from Atlanta, Georgia and played some tracks off their debut album "I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child". Andy Hull (Guitars/Vocals) had a gold Gretsch guitar that had an abrasive scratchy sound which suited their songs well. Overall their sound was similar to Hot Rod Circuit crossed with Band of Horses. Unfortunately they had a short set, so they were warmed up by the time they left the stage. They will be back with the Annuals at the Troubadour on November 15th.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club continues to tour behind its solid fourth album "Baby 81". The album features a smooth blend of all their previous styles yet manages to show continued song writing growth. The Greek theatre has a decibel limit level in order to not offend its neighbors. This didn't bode well for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club because they need to have their amps dimed. The quieter songs sounded good "Ain't No Easy Way" and "Promise" but I missed the usual ear drum blowing sounds of "Spread Your Love" and "American X". They still played a great set, but Black Rebel Motorcycle Club needs to be seen in a dark and smoky club with the floors shaking.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Setlist for the Greek Theatre (9/7/07)
"Took Out A Loan"
"Berlin"
"Ain't No Easy Way"
"Weapon Of Choice"
"What Ever Hapennend To My Rock'N Roll"
"Spread Your Love"
"666 Conducer"
"Promise"
"American X"
Kings Of Leon have gone a long way since I saw them open for the Strokes while supporting their first album "Youth & Young Manhood" back in 2003. They have slowly changed their looks and sound to overcome being lumped as the "Southern Strokes" that they were originally tagged as. The Kings Of Leon had a strong follow up sophomore album with "Aha Shake Heartbreak" and their equally impressive current release is "Because of The Times". I was curious to see how many people would leave after Black Rebel Motorcycle Club since they are the local favorites. The crowd responded very well to the Kings Of Leon and sang/slurred along to most of the songs. Caleb Followill (Guitars/Vocals) was the ringleader of the show front and center stage with his Gibson Hollowbody guitar and Matchless amps. Caleb was more rock and less talk only taking time to thank the crowd near the ending of their set. They sprinkled a few tracks of their first album but focused heavily on their recent releases that features a more straight up rock vibe. Jared Followill (Bass) was thumping away on his Gibson Thunderbird bass and even managed to hit a few notes on his MicroKorg. After an hour and a half set, closing the night with "Slow Night, So Long" was a fitting end.
Kings Of Leon setlist for The Greek Theatre (9/7/07)
"Black Thumbnail"
"Charmer"
"Taper Jean Girl"
"King of the Rodeo"
"My Party"
"Soft"
"True Love Way"
"Fans"
"Arizona"
"McFearless"
"Molly’s Chambers"
"The Bucket
"Milk"
"On Call"
"California Waiting"
"Spiral Staircase"
"Trani"
"Knocked Up"
"Four Kicks"
"Slow Night, So Long"
Manchester Orchestra were up first. They hail from Atlanta, Georgia and played some tracks off their debut album "I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child". Andy Hull (Guitars/Vocals) had a gold Gretsch guitar that had an abrasive scratchy sound which suited their songs well. Overall their sound was similar to Hot Rod Circuit crossed with Band of Horses. Unfortunately they had a short set, so they were warmed up by the time they left the stage. They will be back with the Annuals at the Troubadour on November 15th.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club continues to tour behind its solid fourth album "Baby 81". The album features a smooth blend of all their previous styles yet manages to show continued song writing growth. The Greek theatre has a decibel limit level in order to not offend its neighbors. This didn't bode well for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club because they need to have their amps dimed. The quieter songs sounded good "Ain't No Easy Way" and "Promise" but I missed the usual ear drum blowing sounds of "Spread Your Love" and "American X". They still played a great set, but Black Rebel Motorcycle Club needs to be seen in a dark and smoky club with the floors shaking.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Setlist for the Greek Theatre (9/7/07)
"Took Out A Loan"
"Berlin"
"Ain't No Easy Way"
"Weapon Of Choice"
"What Ever Hapennend To My Rock'N Roll"
"Spread Your Love"
"666 Conducer"
"Promise"
"American X"
Kings Of Leon have gone a long way since I saw them open for the Strokes while supporting their first album "Youth & Young Manhood" back in 2003. They have slowly changed their looks and sound to overcome being lumped as the "Southern Strokes" that they were originally tagged as. The Kings Of Leon had a strong follow up sophomore album with "Aha Shake Heartbreak" and their equally impressive current release is "Because of The Times". I was curious to see how many people would leave after Black Rebel Motorcycle Club since they are the local favorites. The crowd responded very well to the Kings Of Leon and sang/slurred along to most of the songs. Caleb Followill (Guitars/Vocals) was the ringleader of the show front and center stage with his Gibson Hollowbody guitar and Matchless amps. Caleb was more rock and less talk only taking time to thank the crowd near the ending of their set. They sprinkled a few tracks of their first album but focused heavily on their recent releases that features a more straight up rock vibe. Jared Followill (Bass) was thumping away on his Gibson Thunderbird bass and even managed to hit a few notes on his MicroKorg. After an hour and a half set, closing the night with "Slow Night, So Long" was a fitting end.
Kings Of Leon setlist for The Greek Theatre (9/7/07)
"Black Thumbnail"
"Charmer"
"Taper Jean Girl"
"King of the Rodeo"
"My Party"
"Soft"
"True Love Way"
"Fans"
"Arizona"
"McFearless"
"Molly’s Chambers"
"The Bucket
"Milk"
"On Call"
"California Waiting"
"Spiral Staircase"
"Trani"
"Knocked Up"
"Four Kicks"
"Slow Night, So Long"
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