I'm the old guy taking his 16 year old and two of her friends to my daughter's first concert. There is an asterisk next to the word first above because when my wife was pregnant we intentionally went to three concerts. I called it the "in the womb" tour. Try as I may, I can't come up with the third band but I know Los Lobos and U2 were on that bill.
Being young and nervous the girls were road ready a full two hours before. We got on the 405 for our 40 minute journey from the vally and arrived in good time. I should say the security guys at the door had a session with this old guy. "What are those in your top pocket sir?"
"Mike & Ike" I say part apologetically.
"Pull out those keys. Is that a flashlight? Let's see it work. Nice. OK-enjoy yourself."
We're in and we locate our seats. Knowing the seen and be seen aspect of teen-hood I ask the girls to come back to the seats when the first band (The Whigs) starts up. The Whigs were a spirited three piece from Athens, GA that were not quite ready for large venues but I could see them smoking a place like the Troubador where they will be next month.
The Kings of Leon came on stage using some sort of soundtrack piece over the intercom that suggested royalty. The opening number saw everyone come to their feet and in our section of the collanade- no one ever sat through the rest of the show that lasted just over two hours. I am familiar with two of their releases and somewhat familiar with the most recent but there is something about these guys that suggests they will be around for some time to come. There was an overhead arrangement of screens that was used with wit and professionalism. The lead singer came across as humble and sincere in his mid song banter.
I didn't fully understand the humility but apparently these guys have been well received around the world but here in the states it's been not quite. This show apparently represented, "Making it" as their first Los Angeles large arena sell out show. Caleb confided that he's been puking early in the day because he was so nervous about the show. Just prior to the end of the set which included two encores it was clear the crowd and the band were eating off the same plate.
I really hate describing concerts as religious experiences but this was up there for the girls and my old self. On the way to the concert I was thinking about the last time I'd been to the forum and I think it was 1979 or so when I saw Jethro Tull. Unfathomable from my travelling companion's perspective.
My concert kit in this instance was comical when compared to what I might have had at the aforementioned. I took: a pair of reading glasses, a flashlight and some ear plugs in case the first band was crappy. It turned out I didn't need the earplugs until 10 minutes into sitting at the table in Denny's with the girls after we got back to the valley.
These guys are keepers for certain. I have seen a few hundred live shows* and these guys might be top 8. I enjoy their live stuff as well as the recorded and look forward to what is yet to come.
* Aerosmith, Chuck Berry, Black Sabbath, The Blasters, Bachmann Turner Overdrive, The Cars China Crisis, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, Deep Purple, Echo & The Bunnymen, Robert Gordon, Graham Central Station, Haircut 100, (Cheb) Khaled, Kitchens of Distinction, Led Zeppelin, Los Lobos, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Buddy Miles, Prince, Prince Eyango, The Police, REM, Rolling Stones, Sade, Santana, Squeeze, Taco, U2, Van Halen, Edgar & Johnny Winter, ZZ Top
* Aerosmith, Chuck Berry, Black Sabbath, The Blasters, Bachmann Turner Overdrive, The Cars China Crisis, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, Deep Purple, Echo & The Bunnymen, Robert Gordon, Graham Central Station, Haircut 100, (Cheb) Khaled, Kitchens of Distinction, Led Zeppelin, Los Lobos, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Buddy Miles, Prince, Prince Eyango, The Police, REM, Rolling Stones, Sade, Santana, Squeeze, Taco, U2, Van Halen, Edgar & Johnny Winter, ZZ Top
