Kings Of Leon - Hammersmith Apollo, London - Thursday 12th July 2007

The Kings of Leon are possibly one of the most exciting bands anywhere in the world right now. Having released an amazing third album earlier this year, they seem to be infallible. Their albums get better and better, but the band are not (yet) being ruined by too much mainstream success and attention. It sounds strange given the number of records and gig tickets they sell, but still, lots of people don't understand why this band are so good. Thankfully, this leaves them to the rest of us (mostly people that have seen them live) that do understand. That's the way I like it, and a lot more "big" bands would be better if they remained a comparative secret.

This gig was a sneaky London date, squeezed in between lots of festival appearances in Europe. Ahead of Wembley Arena later in the year, this was perhaps one of the last chances to see the Kings Of Leon before they do get generally picked up on, and do become truly massive - their Reading Festival appearance in 6 weeks will certainly do them no harm. They do seem to like Hammersmith Apollo though, they have been playing here for a while, including the hottest gig I think I've ever been to.

The show turned out to be a meeting of a devoted, adoring crowd who seemed to know every word to every song. The band came on stage (ten minutes late, and sporting unusually smart and short haircuts), and dived straight into their set without saying a word. In fact, the band barely spoke to the crowd throughout the set, but in truth they didn't really need to. The band know they are brilliant, the audience all came to see them because they also know they are brilliant, so they just played one killer song after another, instead of filling time by talking crap. Throughout the set, the band were so nonchalant, it all just helped to add to how incredibly cool they were.

The music itself was typically amazing - it was loud, it was laced with heavy guitars, and the sound was that dirty, sweaty rock sound that makes boys want to get drunk, and makes girls want to take their clothes off (or so they say, anyway). A mix of songs from all three albums, the only shame was that they played for only around an hour, plus a short encore. It was like a whirlwind during the set, but it was over too quickly, finishing up with a blisteringly loud version of Slow Night, So Long.

All in all this was a fantastic show, and possibly one of the last chances to see Kings Of Leon on their way to stadia and enormodomes. They deserve their success,as a rare band that writes great songs, is comprised of technically awesome musicians, and are just one of the coolest bands out there. They are taking over the mantle that The Strokes made their own in the early part of this decade - and are possibly the coolest band in the world right now.