NME Festival Guide
2009

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Kings Of Leon play 'last English gig for a long time' at Leeds Festival

The Followills bring festival to a close with Main Stage headlining slot

August 30, 2009 | 22 Comments
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Kings Of Leon brought the Leeds Festival to a close tonight (August 30) and told fans they won't see them on English soil again "for a long, long time".

Frontman Caleb Followill announced to the crowd at the Main Stage: "This is the last show we have booked in England for a long, long time, so I'm gonna get my buzz on. We're gonna miss you guys - we'll see you next year."

"When we come back, it's gonna be bigger and even more beautiful," he added later.

The singer also praised the audience's reaction to the set, stating it was better than the one they received at Reading Festival two nights ago (August 28).

"We're only five songs in and you've blown Reading to hell. This is for all you people who didn't come for two songs," he said.

The Tennessee rockers played a set that featured songs from all four of their albums, including 'Youth And Young Manhood' tracks 'Molly's Chambers' and 'Red Morning Light', both of which were warmly received by the large crowd.

Raucous versions of 'Four Kicks' and 'The Bucket' also got the masses moving, but it was predictably tunes from their most recent effort 'Only By The Night' that got the biggest reactions, with 'Sex On Fire' and 'Use Somebody' inspiring huge singalongs.

Followill later announced the clan were returning home to make a "phenomenal" new record, paying tribute to British fans for "creating this monster".

"It was the UK that made us feel like we could take on the world. In the process we may have lost a few fans, but we've got the best fucking fans in the world," he said.

Kings Of Leon played:

'Closer'
'Crawl'
'Be Somebody'
'My Party'
'Molly's Chambers'
'Red Morning Light'
'Fans'
'Revelry'
'Four Kicks'
'Charmer'
'Sex On Fire'
'The Bucket'
'Notion'
'On Call'
'Slow Night So Long'
'Cold Desert'
'Knocked Up'
'Manhattan'
'Use Somebody'
'Black Thumbnail'

NME.COM will be coming live from both the Reading And Leeds Festivals sites this weekend (August 28-30). Stay tuned to NME.COM/festivals for news reports, blogs, video interviews and photos from the event.

Get next Wednesday's (September 2) issue of NME for the ultimate Reading And Leeds Festivals review.

Plus have your say on this summer - fill in the annual NME Festival survey now to cast your verdict on 2009, and tell festival chiefs who you want to see next year.

Parmo_85

Aug 31, 2009

Awesome boys, Put the Arctic Monkeys to shame

Ayesha_123

Aug 31, 2009

KOL were an amamzing headliner to end leeds with...callub generally seemed gutted with the reading's reaction, but it was totaly their loss the ungreatful crowd!his voice was amamzing, his interaction with the crowd was the best. Couldnt knock them at all im affraid. they made my leeds fest weekend

Kerplunk1001

Aug 31, 2009

Thats it Caleb moan about about the pop pickers turning up to hear your latest singles after releasing a mass appeal commercial album, you can't have it all your own unless your radiohead of course!

CrashingBlimp

Aug 31, 2009

Couldn't have said it better kerplunk. I love KOL, but I know I'm not the only one who counts myself a little betrayed by their latest manhandling of the mainstream (and their annoying complaints regarding their new found fame). I remember seeing them in 2005 in New Jersey with about 200 other people...

Hindle_4

Aug 31, 2009

awesome? amazing? hardly. And his interaction with the crowd was just cringeworthy. Ok, we get the picture, you love us more than you do america, can you play a song now? It just smacked of insincerity, and all just to get a cheer. Plus, when you hear them play stuff like molly's chambers, red morning light, four kicks, the bucket etc n then they play use sombody... That song is just terrible. Just pleased I stayed to see Soulsavers finish their set rather than rush over and see these bunch of sell-outs. Probably should have stayed for marmaduke. And what's with the arctic's bashing? they were great! one of the few bands to be actually pushing their sound and their audience, and if these 'fans' dont like it they've allways got KOL. Could do with a few less chavs in the crowd anyway. Rant over.

slickjonnytrousers

Sep 1, 2009

you can't blame a band for being popular

saskia_eloise

Sep 1, 2009

I saw them at Reading and along with much of the audience was confused when despite the fact that I and loads of the other fans were singing along the band became really angry. I understand that having a couple of very commercially successful singles must be hard, but that was no excuse, I along with thousands of others paid to see them at the festival because we are genuine fans and they just acted really annoyed with audience which is a shame because they played really well. To say that the Leeds crowd was better is lame considering I only started to hear negative responses from the crowd when the band started to seem angry. I cheered, screamed and sang along to all of their set and they acted like they didn't care. I'm confused by it.

mcintosh007

Sep 1, 2009

Hindle_4's spot on-Caleb ruined a half-decent set by whinging and sucking the British cock-he should have put the time and energy into the music: the new ones sounded average,which they are,but the old and good ones seem to have lost it.mollys chambers,red morning light etc were fast and hairy with massive testes back in the day.now they've slowed it down and they're starting to sound as boring as that last album.have you seen the video for 'use somebody'?the way they mince around pretending to be sweaty or whatever it is they tried to achieve sums them up now.no Caleb, it's not cos you're big now, it's cos your band is shit now.Unlike the Arctic Monkeys,however,who were fucking magic.

jimarillo

Sep 1, 2009

Saskia Eloise - too rigiht. Faith No More were muchmore greatful than KOL. Very dissapoitned. Ima glad I didnt watch all of them and glad they wont be back. Tellign the reading crowd they were frozen, whats that al;labout, they not seen themselves on stage ? Presence of an atom

4kingkas

Sep 1, 2009

it serves KOL right for selling out, and writing rubbish tunes. they went from being AMAZING to being Bon Jovi in the space of 2 albums. KOL had it all, and now sex on fire will be their cross to bear for the rest of their lives. well done lads!

chrisparker1980

Sep 1, 2009

People moan about them being popular all the fucking time yet still buy their records???????????? what a bunch of double standard twats. I have seen them a few times now and can honestly Leeds was the most genuine set i have ever seen of theirs. Caleb`s crowd interaction was in no way over the top. He was just simply trying to get over his reasons for walking off at Reading which in my opinion was justified. Those rich kids down there who get daddy to buy their tickets probably only think KOL have one album and their debut single was sex on fire. Well to you i say fuck off, stop moaning, get involved or fuck off to V festval and watch Girls Aloud or the Sugar Babes. KOL fucking nailed it at Leeds FACT!

thom-morrissey

Sep 1, 2009

I didn't watch KOL at leeds because they bore me nowadays, their music is utterly passionless garbage these days, the first 2 albums are excellent. Also from what I've heard about the between-songs banter at Leeds, it seems to me that they're a bunch of cringeworthy sycophants.I went to watch Marmaduke Duke instead at the republic stage, they were much more fun.

youhavenomail

Sep 1, 2009

"This is the last show we have booked in England for a long, long time, so I'm gonna get my buzz on. We're gonna miss you guys - we'll see you next year."So it's their last gig over here for a long, long time, but they'll see us next year, which just so happens to be four months away? Long, long times aren't what they used to be.

pedrbardd

Sep 2, 2009

Once again KOL rocked me, 12 times now and counting I've seen them since 2005. It was in Manchester and Rotterdam this year that I first noticed the old SOF disease creeping in. Yes new fans need to come and see these guys rock but they need to understand that these guys do rock way beyond SOF and use somebody !! Reading has always been a bit soft and too full of rich kids who just want to look good but Leeds was thumping on Sunday even with all the new breed of fans that had their festival virginity rocked out of them !! Calebs comments were spot on about coming back next year and just playing the 1st 3 albums !! All 4 albums are tremendous and there is no grey area, these guys fuckin rock!!!

TheSeeKerUK

Sep 2, 2009

Well I was at Reading for KOL and near the front, and the crowd certainly weren't there for just two songs. In fact we were loving it, but for some reason they didn't think so. Want proof just listen to the BBC footage. There was a strong cross stage wind and I'd like to think they just couldn't hear the crowd properly, but their hissy fit of smashing up the guitar and walking off stage giving the crowd the finger just didn't do them any favours, or win them any new fans, of which I potentially was one. Love the music just don't like the people playing it! P.S. I'm not a kid, not rich and until recently had spent the majority of my life up north.

lynneTINK

Sep 2, 2009

Can't believe his comments about the Reading performance. There was only good stuff , until he came out with some complete paranoid crap. I'm sorry but, there is something strange going on in that man's head- hearing voices that just aren't there ?

strangerdanger91

Sep 2, 2009

You could so tell that KOL were properly giving it there all at reading and its a shame that in general, the crowd were clearly not getting into it as much as i thought they would, altho in the crowds defence the sound was stupidly quiet and thats coming from someone who was still pretty close to the front! KOL were brilliant, just wish their set was longer and that they received the love they deserve!!!As for Arctic Monkeys .. one word .. BORING.. every song just sounds the same with them, The Prodigy should defo have headlined saturday night!!

RadhiB

Sep 2, 2009

Completely agree with Chrisparker1980, just a lil two faced.if you guys have given up on them(wich is a big mistake btw)you wouldn't be wasting your time and energy on posting comments.they're an awesome band who took a lil different direction that from the last albums, they had more money to try new things so just back off!HAVE YOU HEARD COLD DESSERT?!on the other hand, Arctics were totallllyy on top of their game,lernt half their lyrics in two days and was singing along to the telly :P keep rockin boys do england amasingly proud!BIG thumbs up to BOTH bands ly

RadhiB

Sep 2, 2009

I agree with chrisparker1980,yeh it is a lil two faced,if you didnt care so much and have given up on them(wich is a big mistake btw)you wouldnt waste your time and energy commenting.they had a bit more money to do things a lil differently this time round and created songs that would be better suited to stadiums and blaring out stereos for every kind of people.on the flip-side arctics were fuckin awesome!loved humbug not the same vibe as the other two but something more grown up and you can deff hear the similarities to tlsp.didnt think the sound could carry to the stage well but boy was i wrong they rocked it so big!keep rockin and doin england proud!love you guys,both am and kol ly

rubbersoul7

Sep 2, 2009

Its such a shame what happened to KOL, they were one of the best bands in the world a few years ago. The first two albums were brilliant. The southern country rock of the debut was just what the music scene needed at the time. What the hell has happened to them? OBTN is mediocre at best. Like an earlier poster mentioned, the Use Somebody video is cringe-worthy. I remember watching them back in 2003 when they played to around 80 people and hung around the bar afterwards for a beer with the crowd and the other bands on the bill that night. Its a shame those days are over and they have turned into a Bon Jovi/U2 hybrid. Cant blame them for becoming massive, I am glad they have had the success, but the quality of the music paid the price. They need to take a load of time off and come back with a blues/country/folk style album and see if they can gain back some of their credibility. I last saw them a year ago in Manchester and the crowd was full of chavs and scenester girls. It made me sick! There was one group of girls who spent a good portion of the gig posing so that the stage was behind them and getting other concert-goers to take pics of them with the band in the background!

moopster

Sep 4, 2009

excuse me chrisparker1980 - errrr... were you there? I was at Reading and I'm no rich kid, I bought the ticket myself and I own all KoL albums. This wasn't the first festival this year where KoL have thrown their toys out of the pram, I can see a pattern emerging.We couldn't get anywhere near the front as the crowd was HUGE but from where we were everyone was singing to all songs and dancing but none of the band seemed interested from the second they walked onto the stage, and to insult an entire audience is just plain stupid and ignorant. Their egos have overtaken their talent.

charley5456

Sep 4, 2009

i totally agree with chrisparker1980, KoL have put out 4 incredible albums, even if only by the night is more commercial, its the one that really got them known. I saw them at Leeds and they were by far the highlight of the weekend, and Caleb seemed so grateful that the crowd actually appreciated them. When has Caleb ever been known to interact with the crowd loads? I was actually surprised by how much he thanked the fans, especially dedicating Fans to: "all you people who didn't come for two songs," Sold out? I don't think so. I don't think they realised how big songs like sex on fire and use somebody would actually make them and they're probably having a hard time figuring that out.