Kings of Leon @ RAC Arena
w/ The Temper Trap
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Given their diminishing returns on record, Kings of Leon had no right to deliver their best WA concert yet on Wednesday. But that’s exactly what they did, as a combination of stadium smarts and their trademark southern alt-rock made a late play for gig of the year.
With two-thirds of the set drawn from the first half of their discography, this is a band who are heavier and deeper in concert than we’ve seen in a long time at RAC Arena. Reminding us that their best shows have been as festival headliners, they provided the perfect balance between belting guitar rock and sweeping epics, with the visual splendour to match: what at first seemed like a relatively small stage set up with no extended catwalks or b-stages, kept growing to reveal an eye-catching display of at least seven video screens and some ornate, reflective lighting over the course of two jam-packed hours. It was stylish, restrained, and undeniably powerful, much like the Kings’ best songs.
A covered stage didn’t leave much room for The Temper Trap to set up in front of, and with zero visual accompaniment they truly got the support band treatment to start the night. This was surprising given the show had been billed as something of a double headline in the lead-up, with Temper Trap’s name nearly as big as KoL’s on posters. The Melbourne stadium-pop act battled on bravely, and lead singer Dougy Mandagi’s voice is always a force of nature in concert. Tellingly, they concentrated on hits and deep cuts from 2009 debut album Conditions, as Science of Fear, an energetic amalgamation of Resurrection and Drum Song, and an uplifting Sweet Disposition closed the set.
Kings of Leon may have had to put the name of latest album (and show) opener When You See Yourself, Are You Far Away up on the screen so people knew what it was, but from there the night was a steady onslaught of hit, after hit, after hit. Building quickly with the opening three tracks from 2004 rock revival classic Aha Shake Heartbreak to follow, it was the Strokes-inspired Taper Jean Girl that really got the room rocking.
If the energy was amazing early, it only catapulted further out into the cheap seats when Revelry and Manhattan dropped. The first cuts taken from world-beating 2008 opus Only By the Night (they took seven from it in total), KoL revealed the dazzling display at their disposal as a swathe of glittering lights formed something of a rainbow disco inside the Arena.
Eight songs in, the third-eye backdrop behind the band fell to reveal the full production, and suddenly that seemingly small set up matched anything Billie Eilish had produced a month earlier. Two songs later, and On Call provided a huge singalong; the stylish red lighting and Matthew Followill’s soaring guitar solo a perfect counterpoint release to the song’s anthemic chorus.
Matthew was the brothers (and one cousin) Followill’s secret weapon all night. Much is made of KoL’s southern U2-isms, but if that’s the case then he is their Edge. Whether gleefully picking his way through Radioactive‘s intricate lead riff, or atmospherically conjuring emotion on unexpected highlight Cold Dessert, he was an undeniable energy source and hard to take your eyes off.
Cousin Caleb’s voice was also in fine form, and what he lacked in stage banter he made up for in soulful pipes. There was barely time to waste a moment, as they reeled off a barnstorming Fans, a spine-tingling singalong to Pyro, and the simply epic Closer, which could really go for another 10 minutes in concert, such is its majesty.
And then, right when you thought they were peaking, they’d switch tempos and remind us how hard they rock – a dirty, nasty Crawl was followed by Molly’s Chambers and The Bucket in quick succession and it took us back to their greatest WA set prior to Wednesday, when they headlined Southbound in 2008.
There’s no doubt Kings of Leon have played some good shows here before – who else remembers their first ever Perth performance supporting The Strokes at the Lookout? But whether because it was the last show of the tour and they are just that tight, or, more likely, because they have now finely honed their live spectacle into a perfect display of their strengths, this was a band at the height of its powers in concert.
Remembering their roots, they ended the night dipping back to 2004 one last time for fan fave Milk, and 2007 for the excellent Knocked Up in the encore. They even left a couple of arena-baiting standards (Notion, Supersoaker, WALLS) in the closet, but KoL were never going to leave without playing the big two: the main set closed with Use Somebody, but by then no one needed any convincing. Like eventual closer Sex on Fire, every lyric and “Woah-oh” was belted back at the band. Look, I’m not sure about their sex, but the room was definitely on fire.
HARVEY RAE
Photos by Linda Dunjey
