Kings of Leon & The Black Keys @ Cruzan Amphitheatre

 

 

 The Black Keys, opened for KOL last night, and months leading up to the show, I was more excited to see the Keys. After seeing them twice this summer, I was eager for my friends to hear them live. They opened the set with "I'll Be Your Man," going right into their killer jams " Strange Times," and "Everlasting Light." Everyone in the crowd was sitting, and had no idea who they were, or cared for that matter. I was the only person standing in my area dancing. Towards the middle of "Howlin' for You," the energy picked up significantly. Finally, people were cheering, &  getting into the bluesy swing of things. It's hard to deny their talent, and shocking to find out this sound is coming from only two people. Last night they had two extra people on stage with them playing the guitar and keyboard for a handful of songs.

 Kings of Leon opened their set with "Crawl," and almost immediately the crowd was going wild. Even though they played all the songs I wanted to hear including "Milk," "Notion," "Sex on Fire," "My Party," and "Manhattan," I didn't  feel the connection this time around. Or maybe, The Black Keys are so wildly talented, that anyone preforming after them doesn't sound as good.

KOL seemed distant,  there was no real communication to the crowd except to thank the The Whigs, & The Black Keys. They gave a quick shout out to their parents who were in the audience too.  I was actually shocked when they didn't close the set with " Use Somebody," instead closing with "Black Thumbnail." Towards the end of the song, some lame attempt for pyrotechnics went off on stage with like 5 mini fireworks.

 After the show last night, I realized I've completely out grown Kings of Leon. This was my 4th time seeing them since 2006, and never had I seen them in a venue this large. Sound wise, they were on point, but didn't add anything extra to their set. It had only been a year, since I had last seen them at the BankUnited Center, and even since then, they are on another level of mainstream. I have not given up on them completely, and will wait until I hear their 5th studio album Come Around Sundown, which will be released on October 19th.

The Black Keys setlist

I'll Be Your Man  

Strange Times  

Everlasting Light  

Next Girl  

Chop and Change  

Howlin' For You  

Tighten Up  

She's Long Gone  

Ten Cent Pistol  

Your Touch  

I Got Mine

KOL setlist  

Crawl  

Molly's Chambers  

My Party  

Mary 

Fans  

Revelry 

Closer  

Pyro  

Four Kicks  

 The Bucket  

Notion  

Radioactive  

Sex on Fire  

On Call  

Back Down South  

Trani  

Encore

Knocked Up 

Manhattan  

Use Somebody  

Black Thumbnail 

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