I was around eight years old when I first heard the song "Use Somebody." I became borderline obsessed with it. It wasn’t until last September that I started to investigate further into Kings of Leon’s music. I ended up liking them so much that I created a playlist with nothing but their music, which is the only thing my sister and I listen to in the car (it’s two hours and five minutes long). When I found out they were releasing an album that next month, I freaked out. On the night of October 14, I was up late doing homework per usual. The clock struck 1 a.m., and I opened Spotify and searched "WALLS." I’m pretty sure I listened to the whole album in one sitting. For the next few months, I dug deeper into their music like a pirate digging for some buried treasure and found older gems. I waited anxiously for tour dates, and when they finally popped up, I bought tickets.
Flash forward a month or two, and I’m at Lakewood Amphitheatre, listening to the opening number Deerhunter (who was pretty good, by the way!). Deerhunter exits the stage. It takes a little while for equipment/instruments to be set up. Then, the lights go off and a steady drumbeat starts, and the curtain lifts to reveal a purple glow, and I can see all of their shadows: Matthew Followill, Nathan Followill, Caleb Followill, and Jared Followill. They looked EXACTLY the same live as they did in pictures, except Jared was rocking platinum blond hair in contrast to his usual dark brown. I felt my mouth contort itself into a giant grin, and I started dancing around in my seat - I don't think I stopped moving all night even when the curtain closed and Caleb played an acoustic version of "The Runner," which tickled my soul a little bit. And then they played "WALLS." Only during the instrumental part of the song, the curtains came up even further than they had before, exposing all of the stage complete with a large screen and flashing lights, which were perfectly in sync with the music. It's safe to say that I was pretty surprised and very much in awe.
A few songs and an increasingly sore throat later, I hear the distinctive notes to my all-time favorite song: The Immortals. Usually when this song comes on in the car, I make some sort of piglet squeal-type noise (no really, ask my sister), but this time I screamed so loudly that I got some weird looks from the people sitting around me. I did not care, because THAT'S MY FAVORITE SONG. I'm surprised I didn't cry.
I had read multiple articles that said that the Kings are exceptional performers and have the stamina to rock the stage very well into the night, so I had pretty high expectations. Kings of Leon exceeded every single one of them by far. All in all, this was the best concert I have ever been to. My message to Kings of Leon:
THANK YOU for making car rides to school a lot less dreadful, THANK YOU for my favorite song, THANK YOU for killing the music game since the year I was born, THANK YOU for being my favorite band, THANK YOU for a show that was incredible beyond words. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
