I've read about Kings Of Leon and heard they were a band "going places" and from the show I witnessed last night the band certainly thinks they are. Everyone at the venue who had crossed paths with them said what a pain in the ass they were and they must have had a bad day because they were all in a "bad mood" especially the lead singer. So much so that one of the security guys I know asked me to make sure I didn't get between the barrier and the stage to get any shot cause they really didn't want to give the band/managment any reason to bitch about anything. In fact the one guy there who had a photo pass to shoot Kings which was issued by the band, got yanked from the same area when he was shooting during the set. Appearently KOL's "management" got pissed he stayed a "whole 4 songs" they only wanted him to shoot 3 at most.. considering we weren't using flash and every yahoo in the place had little shitty digital cams flashing like crazy, they certainly have some weird priorities and which cameras they didn't care for.

And if I didn't already have a preconcieved negativity towards the band; while I was up at the front of the Meridian having just shot in the "red room" as best I could in shitty light the appreciative bands, one of the KOL crew stopped me and asked who I was shooting for. He wanted to be sure I wasn't shooting Kings of Leon. So fuck it I made a note to be sure to shoot em. Not necessarily my best concert pics but given how crowded it was and how low the lights were I was happy to get some decent shots period. I look at it as a once in a lifetime thing since I don't plan on ever bothering to see these guys again. They may be pretty good but there are a lot of good bands out there who are not so full of themselves that they can be fun too.

My respect for bands like Big Head Todd just go up a notch every time I see a band like KOL. Big Head Todd not only allows/encourages taping and is cool about photos they come hang out with the fans after the show. And as my mother in law noted, Todd has a very genuine smile. Now that's a class act.

Man I just read my little review over.. ouch very acidic and negative. Ok they do put on a decent show and if you didn't know about behind the stage rumors you probably would like seeing em live. So performance wise I give em decent marks.

Satyr 3/16/2005