KINGS OF LEON
La Zona Rosa; Austin, Texas
March 12, 2005

With the British press sewn to its back pocket, a recent Rolling Stone fashion photo spread tucked under its arm and an opening slot for U2 in the bag, the mighty Kings of Leon chugged through Austin on March 12th with a head the size of its deluxe tour bus. Compound this with the fact that the band's latest effort, Aha Shake Heartbreak, was released in the US a full five months after the rest of the world, and Kings of Leon had a mountain of hype to climb this Saturday night.

A healthy dose of its debut, Youth and Young Manhood, and nearly all of Heartbreak found their way into the set, yet within the first few bars of the opener "Molly's Chambers" the band had set a course that despite all the posing, posturing and pick tossing it could muster, remained slick but road weary throughout its stay.

On this night there were no extended solos, few theatrics and seemingly no deviations in the songs from their studio counterparts; leaving those with well worn copes of their LPs with the feeling that although seeing the band run through its catalogue with all the ferocity and froth of the album versions made for a good night out, a $20 ticket simply bought one more spin. (Jeremy Erwin)

READ MORE LIVE REVIEWS