KINGS OF LEON LIVE REVIEW! (&The Whigs)

So dear blog readers that momentous day that seemed as if it were never going to happen has happened; I have seen the mighty Kings Of Leon live! After seemingly endless problems dating back to the age old issue that affects us all; your tour bus catching fire on the day of your gig at the O2 Arena in London meaning that there isn't enough time for safety checks and therefore a postponement to a seemingly perfect date after all exams have been sat, then a change of date into right in the middle of exam season. Followed by a few months of worrying that you'll be unable to go to one of your dream gigs before the realisation that the newest date is within half term and you can go to that Kings of Leon ball after all! It truly has been a long lead up to this gig, probably over a year, so I guess all that remained to be seen was if the gig could be worth it all...And it sure was!
On Wednesday we set off for London feeling a mixture of excitement and paranoia that something else would go wrong. After hours of predictable traffic and unpredictable satnav we reached the O2 at about 1pm and spent the next five and a half hours loitering by entrance D because we wanted to get as near the front as we could and knew that would only happen with hours of queuing. Honestly the excitement that built up is indescribable and I can only say that it felt more physical than emotional as I couldn't keep still and it just kept growing especially when we heard the sound checks.
However all of our waiting was to little avail. At about 6:45 (quarter of an hour after doors had opened) and with no sign of any line or way of getting into the actual venue we clocked that something had gone wrong. After asking a lovely O2 man we were helpfully informed, much too late, that for entrance D we have to go to entrance F. Upon arrival at entrance F we crushingly saw that there were already a few hundred people lined up; all that waiting had been for nothing.
Or so it seemed. After getting into the main venue we made a bee line straight for the stage and were amazed at how many people went to the bar and toilets which meant that we ended up four people back from the very front!
 After an excruciating wait the support band took to the stage in front of 1/3 of the audience as most people didn't arrive until much much later. That support band was The Whigs.
 Nope I hadn't heard of them either.
They came on and started up a grungy wall of sound which was fairly accessible to start of with. The front man had an amazing leg dance which everyone should witness just to brighten your day. He hopped about on one leg and played his guitar as if it were a gun with each chord he played a bullet firing into the crowd as he jerked back with each strum. Some of their songs were also quite catchy and had some of the crowd bobbing along to, although I'm unsure as to whether that was because of the music they played or the audiences excitement and willingness to participate because of the main attraction that was to come. The highlight of their set was when the singer/guitarist played the keyboard and the bassist took over the guitar and they played a slower more tuneful song with intricate guitar work. However if I am brutally honest, they left absolutely no impression. I didn't find their songs original or catchy; some were ok but their set was far from great. In fact on numerous occasions I just wished they'd finish already so Kings would come on and that is the main thing a support band has to fight against. Bands like White Lies are perfect examples of bands that have achieved this as they've supported Muse and soon Kings as well but there is something about their performance that makes an audience that has no real desire to see them enjoy the experience and Whigs did not do that at all. In places the performance was self indulgent and misjudged. All in all I wouldn't recommend them as a band to see, there are much worse bands to be sure but there are also so many better.

Next after an incredible short interval where the stage was set and excitement reached a fever pitch those music idols the Followills sauntered on stage and with no mumbled awkward greetings they simply picked up their instruments and played a string of three heavier songs ('Four Kicks', 'Spiral Staircase' & 'The Bucket') to get the crowd going and boy did we go. Everyone went wild jumping, screaming and chanting the words along with the band making it clear we were with them completely, this also coincidentally pushed me even further forward until I was just three people back form the very front. The arena also filled up as soon as people heard the music blaring out like a siren call and almost everyone with seats were up on their feet as well. They couldn't have gotten a more positive response.
During those first three songs I had an epiphany of sorts. The realisation finally hit me; I was actually seeing Kings Of Leon live! The first band I'd ever truly got into myself with no encouragement from adults or peers years previously and now here they were a few feet away playing the songs I love so much. That happiness that courses through you is like a wild fire which burns all worries, insecurities and niggling thoughts away and makes you euphoric.

Throughout the rest of the gig they played a genius set with the perfect blend of new songs and the majority of older ones which kept everyone happy, the new fans who didn't know their old material and the loyal fans who'd listened to them for years. Each song was expertly played and not only replicated from the recording but enhanced and accentuated; they are an incredible band live! Woking as one unit they not only played to the crowd but played with the crowd and after seeing them live it's clear why they are as successful as they are; there is something different about them. They have something indescribable about them which sets them apart from so many other bands and this is highlighted when they play live. So many groups are not as good live as the recording but if anything it's the inverse with Kings, when you see them live the true depth and power of their songs are released.

Caleb also chatted charmingly with the crowd and they all came across as likeable people which completely brushed aside any past inferences from the media that they were divaish or highly strung; they all seemed like decent guys who cared about the gig.
After playing an extraordinarily long set of 21 songs they finally left the stage after much slightly camp but very sweet waving only for the crowd to scream for their reappearance which unsurprisingly happened a few moments later. As they took to the stage again they played the elephant in the room, so to speak, of 'Sex On Fire'. The crowd went even wilder and it really showed the anthem power of their songs that are accessible to so many thousands of people. However whilst this song was great it was not my favourite song by far, there were many more I preferred because out of all of their music 'Sex On Fire' is not the best. They have so many songs that overshadow this one but it is this one that is infamous. Personally my song of the gig was 'On Call' a single from their third album and the first song that got me into the band and when they played it the whole crowd chanted it back and it was just a magical moment.

The band also surprisingly played another song after 'Sex On Fire' and a much less well known one of 'Black Thumbnail' which is one of their older songs notoriously loved by older fans and I think this was a nod to those in the crowd who have followed them before the success of 'Only By The Night'.

So enough twittering. I think you get my main point and I just hope this didn't come across to sycophantic. In all simplicity I just want to say that they are by far the best band I have seen and I would recommend them without a shadow of a doubt; it was better than I could've ever hoped!