Once again, the Cruzan Ampitheater brought one of my favorite (if not, favorite) bands to life. Last night I had the pleasure of watching Kings of Leon, Young the Giant, and Kongos perform with two music junkies, like myself. I have to say this is the concert I've enjoyed most because it is the only concert I've ever been fully on time for (as in, I was sitting before the first opening act started.. yay, progress). For once, I had the opportunity to tailgate for a concert. We opened the trunk, blasted Kings of Leon, talked about great topics for a good amount of time, and made some friends in line for the porta potty (because every one knows that's the best time to make friends). There was definitely a much older crowd than the last time I was there for Paramore and Fall Out Boy, which makes sense since Kings of Leon is a bit older and has six albums released to date. It's a bit overwhelming how many insanely good songs they have because you want to passionately love each of them but there just isn't enough memory in your brain for all. The band is actually from Nashville, Tennesse, which is why you might hear a southern mix in their alternative rock. Many of their lyrics and music videos reflect their childhood in the South. When first discovered by RCA Records, they were only given a month to come up with their first record, Holy Roller Novocaine EP.
So, after years of touring they finally paid me a visit with their Mechanical Bull tour. Unfortunately, this isn't one of my absolute favorite albums but it is still an amazing album with great songs and I think the album where they wrote most about their childhood. They opened up with "Supersoaker" and chose "Manhatten" for #songofthecity, which is basically a song from their first albums that they play specifically for that city and no other (you can request the songs via Twitter the day of the show). They closed with their most famous, "Use Somebody". After saying goodbye, they did three encores, "Crawl", "Black Thumbnail", and the great, "Sex On Fire" (which is my preferential karaoke song.. so you know I was jammin' in heaven).
Kongos and Young the Giant opened up for them. I really only knew one song of Kongos and it's because Jackie showed me it and I had heard it in a commercial; but, every one has to start somewhere. Young the Giant, who is signed with Fueled by Ramen (aka my favorite record label), was great for an opening act. They had great lighting and were just as good live as they are on my speakers.
I also need to add in that the food truck nearest to the lawn seats at the Cruzan had delicious tacos (in case you're ever there and want food). But, my appetite was gone when the couple next to us threw up and passed out on each other after one too many illegal substances. Moral of the story: do your things responsibly. Thankfully, they were escorted out but we were left with no concert neighbors, sad.
A big thank you to the awesomest Jackie and Marc for coming along for the long ride and good music, you guys were the absolute best company and I'm lucky to have people like you to experience such good times with.
I added a playlist with my favorite Kings of Leon and Young the Giant songs for you all to enjoy((:
Title once again inspired by: Klipsch Audio tattoos.
I also need to add in that the food truck nearest to the lawn seats at the Cruzan had delicious tacos (in case you're ever there and want food). But, my appetite was gone when the couple next to us threw up and passed out on each other after one too many illegal substances. Moral of the story: do your things responsibly. Thankfully, they were escorted out but we were left with no concert neighbors, sad.
A big thank you to the awesomest Jackie and Marc for coming along for the long ride and good music, you guys were the absolute best company and I'm lucky to have people like you to experience such good times with.
I added a playlist with my favorite Kings of Leon and Young the Giant songs for you all to enjoy((:
Title once again inspired by: Klipsch Audio tattoos.