The Charlottesville Pavilion is a great place for bands to jam and especially tonight. The warm September night sets the stage for an enjoyable, carefree evening where work, soured relationships, and tomorrow’s midterm seem unnecessary. Leading up to the Pavilion entrance is a brick promenade lined with antique looking stores, restaurants and outdoor seating that mimic a European plaza. The Pavilion has stadium seating with lawn seating in the back. The music of the opening act, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, fills the air and permeates the nearby neighborhoods. I’m seated outside a local bar waiting for Kings of Leon to take the stage; that’s our cue to close out our tabs and open new ones within the Pavilion parameters. I had started to seriously question the future of rock and roll until I heard Kings of Leon. The southern bred quartet reminds listeners not to confuse Nickelback for true rock and roll. My affinity for rock and roll started with Tracy Chapman and Jackson Brown vinyl. I’d sit next to the record player flipping sides until I fell asleep and awoke to the sound of the needle ticking.
My first introduction to my generation’s music was an Ace of Base tape and the rewind function of walkman. Next came “Jagged Little Pill” in CD form and with the ability to skip there was no need to listen to all the songs. Technology didn’t make music better, just more convenient. The beauty of the record player is that there isn’t a shuffle, repeat, fast forward or rewind function. I’d listen to the whole album tell a story.
The smell and feel of vinyl is lost on a culture obsessed with singles, diets and packaging everything in plastic. However, Kings of Leon’s latest album, “Because of the Times,” is a refreshing divergence from the whining punk-rock anthem of an over-privileged audience and seemingly self-loathing musicians. They are reminiscent of the 1970’s when bands didn’t make music to cater to the largest market segment, but rather focused on originality and making music for the sake of music.
Think men in tights (actually more like testicular strangulating blue jeans) singing nonsensical lyrics similar of Moody Blues with the rock and roll sound of the Rolling Stones. Kings of Leon are appreciated by an audience whose affection for rock and roll has taken its toll much like water prunes the skin after a long hot shower. These are the people I enjoy being around most. The younger folk crowd the front of the stage hoping that one of the performers will throw a piece of equipment, which they frequently do. I have a white John Pearse guitar pic that a fellow concertgoer I’d been eye fucking all evening caught for me.
Their sound is rooted in lead vocalist, Caleb Followill’s, ability to narrate the guitar riffs. Rather than using his Steven Tyler-esque histrionics to dominate, there is a balance between the music and vocals, in a dialogue that doesn’t require a response. The lyrical story unfolds with tempo changes, backup vocalists and electronic/acoustic variations. “On Call” and “True Love Way” illustrate the bands ability to fuse slow baseline development with bursts of rock punctuated by their southern twang.
“Ragoo” breaks from the bluesy tunes and tambourine calamity of the 2005 album “Aha Shake Heartbreak.” On their website, http://www.kingsofleon.com/home, drummer Nathan Followill describes their growth. "We weren't scared to try anything. I think that's the difference between this album and the last. We weren't timid at all. Every song showed us something we had inside of ourselves that we didn't know existed, which enabled us to be even bolder on the next song," said Followill.
“Because of the Times” is a testament to the versatile musicianship of Kings of Leon. They break from the structure of pop music (two lines, chorus, two lines) in favor of patterns, rhythms, and silences that create mystery in songs like “Knocked up.” The quieter moments allow listener appreciation for the individual contributions from the rhythm guitar, bass and drums.
The band entertained for two hours without much improvisation and none of the performers, all of whom are related (2 brothers and 2 cousins), interrupts the music with conversation. The audience doesn’t seem to mind. They sing along with “Knocked Up,” cheer when “Milk” begins, and chant for “Ragoo.” “Ragoo” is the only song they don’t play from “Because of the Times;” they didn’t play it in Washington D.C. the week before nor in Baltimore the following week. A few songs from the previous album, “Aha Shake Heartbreak” make the cut and the audience is satiated.
Kings of Leon represents the difference between good because it’s popular and being popular because it’s great. Perhaps I can look forward to my children discovering this hidden treasure in my itunes collection.
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