Kings of Leon 03/05/14 Sprint Center Kansas City
When going to a Kings of Leon show I knew they were going to play a lot of material I didn't like, but I still love their first three albums so to me it was worth it. I hated the majority of Only by the Night and Come Around Sundown, but Mechanical Bull was actually not half bad and they featured a lot of the new album live. The band played 27 songs for a two plus hour show, chalked full of hits, crowd favorites, sing-a longs, confetti, lazers, and an old fashioned flapper girl/ stripper videos. What were they missing to make an amazing arena rock show? Ill get to that in a second, but first the show it self.
They opened the show with a curtain up rendition of Charmer, before dropping it and going into Rock City. Charmer was raw and Caleb Followilll sounded great on vocals. The whole band couldn't be praised more for their pure musicianship throughout the show, hitting every note on each song. They played material from all six albums, including two from youth and manhood, fan favorite Molly's Chambers, and the surprise inclusion of Trani. During Supersoaker the had a flapper porn video to accompany the song, for Don't Matter the stage grew tailpipes and smoked the VIP section, and lazers appeared everywhere during Back Down South.
The true highlights of the show came during the arena wide sing-alongs during for Use Somebody and Sex on Fire. For me though it was when the played the older material and let that classic rock infused southern flair out. They are truly amazing musicians that can shred when they want to. The thing they need to work on is their stage presence and their showmanship. They stayed in the same spot the whole show and rarely spoke to the crowd other than to saw thank you and introduce the band. It also felt like their was a disconnect between the band and the crowd. The crowd was having a blast, but you could never tell if the band was having fun or going through the motions.
Animals as Leaders 03/10/14 Wooly's Des Moines
I hadn't been to a metal in a while, so when this show came up I was very excited to get back into the pit. Since we came late I decided to wait till the headliner to mosh, and ended up being too hypnotized by the show to go into the pit. They only played 13 songs and the show was over by 10:30, with all that said it was an unbelievable experience and an amazing show.
Here is CAFO live.
The show felt more like a an dream or an acid trip than a metal show. This band doesn't have a singer and doesn't need one, but it does make determining where one song ends and another one begins difficult. This trio plays some of the most complicated and insane instrumentals that I have ever seen in my entire life, and they do it all without breaking a sweat. They even manage to look not challenged enough at times. Both the guitarists and bass player play unbelievable complex lines from eight string instruments. The drummer is a beast hammering out solos and changing the tempo of a song 15 without you even noticing. The whole time they are doing this they have two huge video screens playing some of the craziest images to go along with the music. The played songs off of all three albums including the one that comes out next week. When it was over it felt like only five minutes had gone by. I couldn't believe it had been over an hour I wanted more.
Crosby, Stills, and Nash 03/11/14 Des Moines Civic Center
When you think about the legacy and the sheer body of work that Crosby, Stills, and Nash have it's hard to even come up with comparisons. Not only do they have a bunch or records as Crosby, Stills, and Nash, but they also have some as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, a ton of solo records each, and lots of other huge projects. They between the three of them have been a part of The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Hollies. Let's just say they had a ton of material to pull from for live shows, and they pulled from all of it.
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes live.
Including the intermission they played for three hours and 26 songs. These guys know what is takes to put on a great live show. They have an amazing chemistry between them that you would expect from 30 years of music together, and they are great at interacting with the audience. They tell the kind of stories that would end up on VH1 behind the music, if it had existed back then. They play music from as far back as the sixties and as new as 2014. The hits brought the crowd to their feet with each one and often brought a standing ovation, but at times it did feel like a lot of waiting between sets of new songs for the hits. The only other concern was Steven Stills aged voice. Graham Nash and David Crosby still sound great and can hit all of the notes they used to, but Steven Still has trouble even singing the melody at times. All that said it didn't matter, because when the hits came in all of the little problems faded away and you get lost in the sheer beauty of the music. When they played Suite: Judy Blue Eyes live it sent shivers down my spine.
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