Thursday, Oct. 08, 2009

Review: Kings of Leon have a royally good time in Dallas

Preston Jones

DALLAS -- Not so long ago, Kings of Leon was playing rooms not much bigger than a few American Airlines Center suites shoved together.

Thanks to its latest album, Only By the Night, and a pair of sizzling singles (Sex on Fire, Use Somebody), the Tennessee-based quartet has made the leap from underground, overseas buzz band to mainstream rock stars equally beloved by vapid hipsters and adoring critics.

So now, instead of intimate clubs, Kings of Leon is finding itself in teeming arenas, as it did Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.

A sudden rush of success -- "sudden" being a relative term; Kings of Leon released its debut in 2003 -- can often alter bands for the worse, making them prone to exaggerated displays of excess that aren't fully earned.

Thankfully, Kings of Leon (Nathan, Caleb, Jared and Matthew Followill) kept the stage design spare -- just a thin strip of video screens above them and a few, tastefully placed lighting rigs below that -- and the focus on the band's sleek, slightly aloof rock songs.

What separates Kings of Leon from most of its contemporaries is a willingness to indulge in ambiguity via wounded, brooding cool. Put it this way: If James Dean was still kicking around, he'd probably love Kings of Leon.

The 105-minute set, briskly paced yet expansive, touched on all four albums and thrilled the fervent audience, which, while not a sell-out, was certainly a healthy showing for a mid-week gig.

The band's sound has expanded outward since the tight, Southern-fried garage rock of 2003's Youth and Young Manhood. Whether it was the gnarly Molly's Chambers, the gorgeous Revelry or the gleaming Sex on Fire, the Kings didn't miss a step, ably rendering its material in all its shades of complexity.

Even more welcome was the band's genuinely humbled attitude: frontman Caleb Followill paused near the end of the evening to thank the fans for coming out and to throw back a quick shot of tequila.

The warm sentiment, much like Kings of Leon's heightened profile, is a good fit, no matter the room's size.

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